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Published: July 24th 2014
Scotland 1 July - 7 July 2014 1 July Tuesday Southampton, Edinburgh, Waterburn
We flew from Southampton with a low cost airline called Flybe. Even though only a local flight in UK, security is as per international, ie no liquids over 100 mls and passport to be shown. Dave had the heaviest luggage weighing in at 19.7 kgs with the limit being 20 kgs. Very unusual for Dave who usually travels lighter than all. Smooth flight to Edinburgh of about 1 hour 10 mins on a Bombardier 400 Dash 8 (propellor jet). Unusual set up as Flybe advertise that it is 1.5 hours but have this deal where if they take longer then you get some sort of refund.
The weather in Edinburgh was sunny and warm, a nice change from the past few days. We headed straight into the city to an Archives centre. It was 15 pounds to do a day of digital search which was not likely to uncover anything that Dave hadn't already found at home. So not worth it.
We enjoyed a late light lunch at the Cafe Royal behind the Guildford Arms, a place that Barry and
Sally had frequented in the past.
The drive out of Edinburgh was in a lot of traffic and one way systems. When we were clear of the centre we thought we would have a clear run for our one hour trip to the country. Little did we know about the roundabouts every few hundred metres. We traversed at least 12 before we were truly on the way. Our objective was a place near Selkirk.
We arrived at Waterburn to stay at a lovely place Sally had booked, called Windlestraw Country House. It was owned and run by Allen (the chef) and his wife Julie (front of house and maitre de). It was very luxurious, probably the best accommodation I have ever stayed in. Our room was huge and overlooked the manicured gardens. A dinner, bed and breakfast deal.
We partook of champagne sitting out on the back patio, a little cool but still sunshine. Haven't mentioned previously the ever present dogs in pubs, bars and everywhere else you go. In this case, a big black labrador.
Allen enquired as to the reason for our visit to Waterburn, and upon learning of Dave's ancestry search, mentioned that
he had gone to school with a Lillico.
Dinner, a four course meal, was fantastic, and although advertised as a set menu, we had heaps of choices. We enjoyed post dinner drinks in the lounge, and in hind sight kept our hosts up very late considering they needed to be up early to prepare breakfasts.
2 July Wednesday Waterburn, Selkirk, Hawick
Somehow, we managed a huge cooked breakfast, which for me included eggs, toast, mushrooms, and haggis and black pudding.
We drove to Selkirk. Not sure what happened to the sunshine, it was cold and windy so on with the rain jackets again. A few points if interest about Selkirk: Car parks here have stations for recharging electric cars; Meat deliveries to butchers don't appear to be in refrigerated trucks and certainly wasn't refrigerated sitting in open trays in shop windows. This was common as we travelled throughout Europe.
We started with a visit to the Walter Scott court house museum. Walter Scott is a man of many careers. We then found the local library for Dave to get tips on the best place to go for ancestry, the answer being
Hawick (pronounced Hoik). Sally found the local antique shop to see if any bargain chairs, and we all went to an old junk shop. Walking past a memorial we found private Peter Lillico had died in the war.
At Barry's suggestion, we shared a local Scotch Pie. It is a cold pie filled with beef sausage mince and herbs. Quite a tasty snack.
After walking the length of the town, we went to a little museum which used to be an iron mongers house. It also contained a census list from Jan 1873 in tiny tiny print. Have taken photos to see if we can find Lillico's or Leslie's listed. The lady running the museum used to live in the same street in Tooting Bec that Sally and Barry now live in. Small world.
We then searched the local cemetery stones, breaking it up into sections between the four of us. Alas no sign of the John Lillico ancestor (great great great grandfather of Dave) meant to be buried there.
Sally was keen to look at the local tweeds and tartans to see if there were any deals she could do commercially for her chair upholstery
business. We tried a couple without much success.
So, on we went to Hawick. Dave went straight to the Heritage Hub and there he stayed until near closing time. He had some success and verification of the previous searches he had done (more census sheets), and also found that the address of the family farm was nearby.
Pam, Barry and Sally walked the streets of Hawick, and visited the local tweed mill museum. Pam had a nana nap watching a historical video at the mill. It was a bit of a depressing town with many businesses closed or in disrepair in the main street.
After a refresher at nearby pub, once again with a cute resident dog, we set off. Given how close the farm was, we drove to Oak Wood Mill where Dave captured a few snaps, in the rain, and with the farmer wondering what was going on as he tried to shepherd his sheep in for the night.
Upon return to Windlestraw it was too cold and wet for drinks on the patio again. Dinner was absolutely fantastic. Somehow we managed to appreciate four courses and didn't keep our hosts up quite so
late this time.
3 July Thursday Peebles, Loch Lomond
We checked out on a sunny day, to drive to Loch Lomond. We first stopped at the pretty town of Peebles. Believe it or not, this was to go to a shoe shop that Julie of Windlestraw had recommended. It had good quality shoes, and Sally found some great walking shoes. I loved them too but no room in my case for buying more shoes! I did buy an Edinburgh Woollen Mills fleece though since it was still so cold.
Peebles is set on a river and is very pretty with a bridge inn, and parks. Barry stuck his toe in the water of the River Tweed, as you do!
We drove onto Loch Lomond at the Southern end near Balloch, and since it was too early to check in, we went onto Luss. Another pretty village set on the edge of Loch Lomond, very touristy. We walked back to a pub to have lunch. Had the worst hand cut chips or wedges ever. They were dry and seemed old, ie cooked many times then just reheated. Everything else was fine. Lunch was
followed by a light stroll through the little village, lots of quaint flowerpots and small bungalows. At the edge of the lake was a little tourist shop which was interesting to browse through.
Close enough to check in time, so we drove back to Cameron House which is quite a large hotel literally on the water's edge of Loch Lomond. What a magnificent building. The hotel was very dark inside but this is part of its theme, as it turned out that all the rooms are very dark in decor as well. The rooms were very well appointed and our room looked directly over the lake, beautiful. We were also right next to a fire escape and exit to the gardens which Pam was very happy about, not many steps to count in case of emergency!
We met Barry and Sally to walk around the Loch, well some of it anyway. We had to branch away from the water line and instead meander next to the golf course and then the time share chalets, huge and plush from the outside. It started to rain lightly after about 30 minutes so we headed back to the main building and
to the Scotch Bar. This is a huge bar with many famous photos of people on all the walls. Sally sat near a young Marlon Brando. The little low tables and the bar stools were all covered in crocodile skins, keeping the theme of dark decor. However, there were huge windows all along one wall overlooking the gardens and loch and so providing some much needed light inside. The boys tried a scotch as you would in Scotland, and Sally and I had champagne.
Our first dinner at Loch Lomond was in the main restaurant, Great Scots Bar, another large room. This booking was also a dinner, bed and breakfast deal. We had a selection across multiple courses and were seated where we could see all the activity in the kitchen. Still trying to find a reasonable red wine comparable to McLaren Vale Shiraz, but proving elusive.
4 July Friday Loch Lomond, Inveraray
After a hearty full cooked breakfast, again, we had planned to go for a long walk to a castle ruin, but it was just raining too much, so we set off to drive further along Loch Lomond to find the
hairy cows grazing in the water just like they are in Grandpa Gill's paintings that we have on the walls at Beverley. We were also looking for the craggy top of Ben Lomond as this also seemed to be a feature in the painting. Given it was drizzling and the clouds were hanging over the top of the mountains, this proved to be an insurmountable challenge. This was also the case for the hairy cows. We persisted in our search walking down to the water's edge, in the rain, and also keeping a look out from the car. No hairy cows or Ben Lomond's to be found. I did ask Barry as he tipped his toe in the water to put his fingers above his ears to imitate a cow, but he couldn't hear me, or so he said.
A little further along, we did come across an interesting Hydro power plant near Firkin Point and braved another walk around the jetty and info centre in the rain.
We had just enough time to drive on to Inveraray Castle, via the scenic route of Tarbet, Arrowchar, Cairndow and Loch Fyne. Along the winding roads, we stopped at the
scenic look out. It was raining so hard, and so much fog about, that we couldn't see a thing. However, there in the middle of nowhere was a coffee van. So coffee we had. When we got to Inverary Castle, it was still raining, but not once we got inside. This castle is still lived in by the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, so there were some areas we couldn't access. Lots of grand rooms, and especially artillery on display. It was the setting for Downton Abbey tv series when they visited their highland relatives. In the compulsory tourist shop, Barry found a guide to Scotches so he purchased it for reference on the rest of our holiday. We did have another win here at the castle. In the fields of the castle were grazing cows .... Of the hairy variety. They were at a distance and nowhere near the water's edge, but beggars can't be choosers, even if we had to use the zoom lens.
We returned to Cameron House to the surprise that Sally had organised for Pam's birthday, a champagne cruise on Loch Lomond, on a small launch. We were privileged to be the only passengers
Loch Lomond
Cameron Housethat afternoon, and although the weather was cold and drizzly, we still managed brief moments out on deck. Our skipper was Scott and his crew was also named Scott. Scott number 2 was on his maiden voyage in this job. Our captain Scott was also the tour guide. He bore a strong resemblance to Hamish McBeth, according to Dave. Boy, could Scott talk! So much so, it was comical. The only way to get a question in was to interrupt his flow. I don't think he even stopped to draw breath. He has been doing this job for 10 years, and his father also had an association with Cameron House. Scott gave a good history of Loch Lomond and surrounds, including plenty of quips which was very entertaining.
Following the cruise, and the subsequent compulsory bar visit, we took the short walk to the Boathouse restaurant, still part of the Cameron House complex. We enjoyed pre-dinner drinks and then a lovely meal, with better quality than the main restaurant for both food and service.
It basically rained all day but the hours of sunlight are long so at least that allows plenty of time for sight seeing.
Dave at Loch Lomond
The ever present and much travelled St Kilda cap 5 July Saturday Luss, Edinburgh
After checking out, we drove back to Luss to the Highland Games for a couple of hours. Parking was in the field and a little disorganised. Both Barry and David thought they could have done a much better job of traffic direction and double up parking!
Around the outside of the main arena (main clearing in the field), were many stalls selling kilts, scarves, hats, food, beer, books, and souvenirs. They were also doing a grand trade in umbrellas given the weather.
Many of the locals were wearing kilts of their clans, both in full dress and some more casual, i.e. Tartan slacks. Even the little kids had tailored tartan clothing.
We saw the equivalent of an Iron Man competition called the heavyweight champion event. There were 6 contestants who worked their way through a series of competitions including the shot put, throwing the hammer, tossing the kaiber (didn't know this was a thick, long wooden power pole about 5 metres long - don't know how they could even pick it up), and tossing the hay sheath with a pitch fork over the high jump bar to
Thistle flowers
Cameron House Loch Lomond a height of 21 feet.
Concurrently with this competition were running races for all ages and sizes of children (handicapped to make it fairer), long jump, high jump, and then the same again for adults, including a man versus woman obstacle event which was very funny. One guy was doing really well, then fell from the top of a rope climbing obstacle to land flat on his back and shoulder. He ran the rest of the event holding his arm like it was broken. About 15 minutes later we saw him run in another running race, so the local Luss lads must be made of stern stuff.
The games also included the obligatory highland dancing competitions, and bag pipe playing which looked a bit like dressage with each contestant traversing a boxing ring type set up, doing precise steps, twists and turns in time with the music they were playing. The most challenging thing for those of us who aren't endeared to bag pipe music, were the rehearsals which consisted of many contestants standing facing the wooded edges of the main field, tuning and practising their playing all at the same time, but not in synch of course.
We walked back around the other side of the main arena to give our ears a rest.
Unfortunately we only saw the warm ups of the weightlifting events, which involved much setting up and shifting of weights coupled with the intermittent cigarette. Hmm.
Sally, who had paid an extra pound to sit in the grandstand away from the drizzly rain, was really disappointed when we opted to leave the games after 2 hours as the rain was persisting. She was ready to settle in for the rest of the day.
We drove to Edinburgh through scenic farm land. Many occurrences of wind farms in this part of Scotland. Fields were all a lush green, with sheep as white as snow with plenty of feed of long grass. We glimpsed the new and famous landmark of the Kelpies at Helix, huge sculptures of horses heads (30 metres high), a tribute to central Scotland's working horses. This also turned out to be a better way into Edinburgh as we only encountered four roundabouts.
We booked into Hotel Duvin, which is a renovated asylum. The passages, steps and rooms are crazy, lots of angles and corridors like a maze.
Our room had a few challenges for the unwary with low angled ceiling heights in several parts of the room which was a very odd shape - wardrobe and coffee making down one alcove, the toilet in a little room around the corner to the front door, the wash basin part of the main bedroom in another alcove (with a window overlooking a roof and main intersection making interesting nude viewing for those below if they were interested), a shower alcove with no door or curtain also in the main bedroom, and a separate bath almost at the foot of the bed! A far cry from the accommodation we had become accustomed to over the past few days. However, functional and located well for our tourist purposes in Edinburgh, thanks again to Sally for organising.
We walked some of the Royal Mile (which goes from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyrood House, the Queen's Scottish residence). Heaps of tourists and very crowded at this time of the afternoon.
We stopped for a late afternoon beer at the Grey Friars pub next to our hotel. Then later that evening, we ate at the hotel Bistro, followed by a
Scotch in the tiny but relaxing little bar upstairs. Barry and Dave tried a scotch that Dave had enjoyed at a Perth scotch tasting evening, called Bruichladdich.
6 July Sunday Edinburgh
Sally and Barry were meeting some friends today, so Pam and Dave were to be tourists on our own. We had a very late start, must have been fighting all those asylum ghosts all night, as still very tired. Could also have been through being on the go, ever since we landed in London. We had a late breakfast at Olly Bongos which is a turkish and greek cafe around the corner from our hotel (we later discovered that B&S had also eaten there earlier). Good hearty cooked breakfast for Pam, including baked beans, eggs, toast, mushrooms etc etc. Dave was much more controlled with a croissant from memory (getting into practice for Paris).
Our walking tour started with the Grey Friars Kirk grave yard. This is where the dog, Bobby, is buried that legend has it stayed by his owners grave for 15 years after his master died. I was disappointed that they hadn't buried the dog right next to his
The Lovely Loch Lomond
Not a hairy cow in sight! master, but instead quite a few metres separate.
We walked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. It was way too crowded to do anything other than do a relatively quick walk around the outside courtyard and take a few photo opportunities. The snake queue for tickets was formidable.
We then tried to find the Writers Museum which is tucked away somewhere in an alley off the Mile. After considerable walking, steep steps and much map consultation, we gave up and went to the National Gallery of Scotland. We enjoyed 2 of the possible 3 gallery levels, particularly the impressionists collection. The variety in the collection was impressive. In one place, a portrait of a dog is prominent. The dog's owner bequest a large sum of money a long as his dog's portrait continues to be displayed forever. It enabled the art gallery to purchase many paintings including Monet pieces.
For sustenance, we stopped at the museum Contini cafe for coffee and a shared carrot cake. The table settings of flower vases, and the vista of the Mound Gardens was lovely.
We continued our walk through these gardens, to the Scott monument completed in 1844. We
paid to climb the 287 step spiral staircase to a height of 61 metres. It had various landings for good look outs and photo opportunities. It was a very "friendly" staircase in that it was bi-directional but only built for a single person width in many places. We had to back track in one place which is no mean feat when you can't turn around, you have a back pack on, and the steps are very narrow and steep upwards and backwards. In other places, we just got to know strangers very well, literally face to face and belly to belly. Having 3 points of contact, per Pam's safety training, was also a challenge when no hand rails. The views were worth it and we did some great exercise.
Then it started to rain, so what better place to shelter than the nearest shopping centre, Princes Mall, which happened to have sales on. I bought a new blouse which would be useful during our summer holiday.
The weather improved slightly, so we walked to Calton Hill and traversed the inclined path rather than the more direct steps. We passed on climbing to the top of Nelson's monument which
entailed another spiral staircase. Instead we visited the temporary display of guitars, drums and old records which was some sort of interactive art display.
We saw the National Monument which has never been completed and wandered around the hill to appreciate the views. This is a very popular spot for weddings because of the photo opportunities. We saw a wedding party with the bridal party happily wandering to find the best spots, and then parents trudging along behind complaining about the gravelled paths with their fancy shoes. Further down the hill was the restaurant for the wedding reception. Everyone was outside enjoying cocktails in their finery. A lot more hats being worn than we would see in Oz.
Then it was down the hill again for us, to Calton Burial Ground. A bit over touristing by now, so after only a few minutes, we headed toward our hotel, making only one stop at the St Giles Cathedral in the Royal Mile. Great windows and an interesting ceiling in the Thistle chapel.
We gave our legs a well deserved rest and watched the end of the Wimbledon's Mens Final on TV.
We all had to go to
The Doctors twice while we were in Edinburgh. That's the name of one of the closest pubs to where we were staying, probably named that way as we were in the University precinct near the surgeons schools. Barry and Sally had returned from their day with friends and we planned to go to a Thai restaurant nearby. Unfortunately it was crowded and no possibility of entrance for ages, so we walked to Maison Bleue in Victoria St. We enjoyed entrees and mains and for the first time on this holiday, resisted the desserts.
7 July Monday Edinburgh
Dave found a laundromat close by that would do our washing at a very reasonable price. Great news.
Today we had some lovely weather at last. Breakfast at Olly Bongos again, with Barry and Sally. Then off to find the Surgeons Hall Museum. After a false start using Dave's navigation skills, we eventually found it, but alas it was closed until summer 2015. On we trudged to High Street, the Royal Mile, in search of John Knox house. We almost missed it, but came upon it by chance. Another seniors entrance for 2 of us ....
There are some advantages to being 60. So, who is John Knox?. His house was built in mid 1500s and some even earlier back to 1470. John Knox was a religious reformer, originally ordained as a catholic priest, who moved to what was to become Presbyterianism. He was one of the main figures behind the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots as he felt that a king brought up as a Presbyterian would be better for Scotland. He was a great speaker and influencer of people. He died in this house. It was a quaint museum with puzzles to do, some dress ups, and interesting roof carvings.
Next we continued our walk down the full length of the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyrood House, the Queen's residence in Edinburgh. It was quite expensive to go in, making Sally exclaim that we didn't want to buy it, just visit it!
Since the weather was good, we decided we were up for the walk to Arthur's Seat or at least part the way since it is up quite a big hill and a long walk. We opted for the low walk, which was still quite taxing elevation wise
at the beginning but levelled out to a gradual climb after a few hundred metres. Sensational views and some good exercise which was what we all needed. We took a different road down and walked along the base of the hill (Queen's Drive) and then back to our hotel. Barry's brand new sneakers had a blow out on the way up the hill, so while Barry and Sally went back to exchange them, we opted for some more sight seeing.
We tracked down the elusive Writers Museum and walked through it, learning some interesting history and admiring the architecture and the old inscribed paving slabs in the outside court yard.
We found a set of steps, amongst seemingly hundreds of them in Edinburgh, that was made of different marble for every step. It was in the most unlikely place, so I can't remember exactly where now.
We walked back through the extensive Princes Street Gardens behind Edinburgh Castle, and saw the floral clock which had arms made of succulent plants. The gardens were very green and lush with many families enjoying the sunshine and picturesque surrounds of beautiful gardens and fantastic views of Edinburgh Castle. Dave had
read that there was an art exhibition at St John's Church, so we went on further and did find an exhibition but not the one he was looking for. We went in for a viewing. Given it was being held in the church hall, the subject matter was very risqué.
We returned via Kings Stables Road leading to the Grass Market and eventually the hotel. A decent amount of exercise today.
After a short break we joined Barry and Sally at The Doctors again, followed by dinner at the Thai Restaurant. Very casual set up sitting at benches amongst many others, but great food.
Before we went to Scotland, we were more worried about the language barrier in Scotland than for our next leg in Europe. Maybe the broadness of accent is not as bad as in the past or maybe we have done a lot more travelling and so had no problems with Scot's language.
Barry and Sally have been excellent tour guides for us during our trip to Scotland so we are very grateful for their advice and good company.
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