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Published: October 4th 2018
Ambleside, Northumbria
A morning sweet (hot chocolate and scones) is becoming a habit...As we travelled up the east (Yorkshire, Northumbria and Durham) coast of England, all highway signs mentioned “The NORTH,” until we finally reached Scotland! Immediate impressions: the countryside seems more open (larger tracts of land, not so tightly bounded by stone walls and hedgerows), and the architecture taller (the houses and buildings seem to be more orderly, and reach for the sky). And, of course, Edinburgh features dark, DARK stone buildings - more from grime than from native coloration.
We got rain for our drive into the city, but our touring day in Edinburgh was sunny and chilly, with very strong winds at the castle. Brrrrr! My thrift shop coat zipped up nicely to keep me snug, but Fae had to improvise with her hoodie until she found a hat she liked.
Edinburgh Castle has a distinguished military history, so the featured exhibits were mostly about garrisons and batteries, but after waiting in a looooooong (and cold) queue, we did manage to see the “honors“ (crown jewels) and Mary Queen of Scots’ bedchamber and the (tiny) cupboard in which she gave birth to James VI.
After that, we headed down the Royal Mile with its plethora of wool
and cashmere shops, and rambled over to New Town and back. Tired and footsore at day’s end, we lumbered into a pub and stayed put for ciders and pizza. Even though we have a car, using Uber was the smart choice for getting in/out of the throng.
A quick trip over to Glasgow the next day to visit the fabulous Kelvingrove Museum and the city’s best coffeve shop, and we turned south to the wild and gorgeous Lake District.
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