Blogs from Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

Total chaos (crowd-wise) this week in Edinburgh – Fringe Festival and Tattoo going on, and let’s not forget the crowds migrating north from the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham – probably bringing headcount to half a million bodies at least to this capital city. No thanks, I prefer something more open and quieter, so I opted to go shopping and sightseeing in Queensferry instead. Located 10 miles to the northwest of Edinburgh city center, there are two towns for Queensferry (North and South) which face each other across the Forth. Both towns derive their name from the ferry service established by Queen Margaret in the 11th century, which continued to operate until 1964, when the Road Bridge was opened. South Queensferry sits on the shore in the shadow of the Forth Bridges that cross over to ... read more

From 2015: Locals do not say Saint Andrews, they say "sun-Andrews", with great pride. This is golf's holy land, the sacred fairways of St. Andrews. Golf has been played here since the 1100s, well before Columbus landed somewhere on the Western Hemisphere. And yes, anyone with a handicap below 15 can play here. It is possible to breathe the same air, take divots from the same turf, as Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, and Arnold Palmer. But on most Sundays, it is a public park, where you are free to walk, run, and picnic anywhere on the course. This year's Open (2015), as the Brits call the British Open, is the 29th on the Old Course. The biggest difference in the Old Course is the enlargement of the famous Road Hole Bunker on the 17th hole. ... read more

Our final morning in London was spent sitting in Uncle Walt’s flat eating breakfast and watching England being unexpectantly flattened by the Springboks in the Rugby World Cup Final. But that was earlier. Mom and I were now gazing out of train windows as the cold waters of the North Sea became the Firth of Forth as we eased around St. Abb’s Head. We were officially back in Scotland, our ancestral home, after being away for too long. As he dropped off of at St. Pancras Station Uncle Walt told us to look out for Ally, who would meet us at the Edinburgh station to help us get sorted. I wasn’t much sure about what kind of help he would be however, since Mom and I already had a rental car all booked and wasn’t Ally ... read more

Woke up this morning, after a fitful night’s sleep, threw open the drapes and realized I was looking at my old “neighborhood” off in the distance. We are anchored in the middle of the Firth of Forth half the way between Edinburgh and Dalgety Bay. I could tell immediately by what we used to call the “field” a WWII runway which was just behind (well, NOT JUST but up the hill a way) our house. From our bay window looking south we had an unobstructed view of Arthur’s Seat. I used to sit on the window seat (at age 9 I fit perfectly) read and stare out over the Firth (Bay) and daydream. I’m so VERY Happy to be back. I just wish Phillip, Myles & Betty (Phillips parents) were around to drop by and say ... read more

We had calculated that we are at least 6 hours driving from Golspie to the Edinburgh Tattoo tonight so we started out early heading south down the A9 stopping in Inverness for some Diesel and then another 80 miles south to the “House of Braur“ where we stopped for a break and a bite to eat. The House of Braur is a high quality clothing and food outlet with an amazing array of local foods with dozens of varieties of everything including Pork Pies. After getting the van and ourselves in order, we then proceeded down the A9 to Dunkeld where we exited to make our way to Arbroath but first, an engine alarm flashed on the campervan dash signalling a low “AdBlue” level. AdBlue is an additive used to treat Diesel fuel filters so our ... read more