Thwarted Plans in Culross!

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Crail Harbor

Slept well last night - the bed was comfortable and the duvet was warm and fluffy. The pillows were also comfy unlike some of the other pillows with cement like consistency we experienced. We got packed up and went down to breakfast. We talked quite a while with the 3 ladies who had the room across the hall from us. They were all from the UK and were really nice.

I walked down to the harbor area to take some photos. Mom wouldn’t come with me, she waited at the hotel. From the Scottish ladies we learned that Neuk means corner. The East Neuk of Fife is just the east corner of Fife which is the county. The harbor was just lovely and picturesque. The sun was out and the sky was bright blue! I got some nice photos of the fishing boats and just the general harbor area. I walked back to the hotel along the castle walk. It was super windy along the exposed castle walk. There’s a wonderful view out across the Firth of Forth from this walk which runs along the edge of the cliff. I met a wonderful local elderly lady on this walk who I talked to for a length of time about photography and the beauty of Scotland.

Royal Burgh of Culross

We had to choose between Falkland and Culross to visit today. We decided to go to Culross as it was on the way to Stirling where we are staying this night. We drove along the coastal road to Culross and we passed through several picturesque fishing villages on the way. We found Culross easily and parked in a lot along the Firth. It was now really gray and cloudy and since we were right on the water the wind was whipping! We walked down the street to the Culross Palace - and - it was closed!!! Apparently the opening days changed and they didn’t update the website. There was a hand printed sign taped over the regular National Trust sign and it showed closed on Wednesdays.

We decided to find a tea room and then make a decision what to do next. We had some orange poppy seed cake and mom had her tea. We stopped in the little craft shop that was downstairs from the tea room and bought a couple small ceramic figures. Then we walked around the village a little. The village was really very cool. It looks just as it did in the 16th century. But with nothing open there really wasn’t much else to do. Guess we should have gone to Falkland, but how could we have known…

Culross is basically a 16th century time capsule. Even though people live here, it looks frozen in time. The village was restored by the National Trust for Scotland over a period of more than seventy years.

Highlights include the 1597 Palace, restored to its original mustard yellow render and wooden shuttered condition. And on the hillside above the village are the remains of Culross Abbey, which was founded in 1217. The 1626 Town House with its 1783 tower is also a showpiece. However, what really sets Culross apart as special is the way such a large part of the village is original, with narrow wynds and lovely buildings. Here you can begin to see what a 16th century village might really have looked like.
More info: Undiscovered Scotland's Burgh of Culross page

Doune Castle

We decided we should just continue on to Doune Castle which is just north of Stirling. This was on our list as a maybe depending on time available. Doune Castle was built by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. The first mention of the castle was in documents from 1381. This is the castle that was used in the filming of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
The castle is something between a ruin and a preserved house. There are parts of the castle that are pretty much completely preserved including some furniture, wooden floors and ceilings and other sections that are just empty shells. The Lord’s Hall has been beautifully restored. It was just starting to rain slightly while we were here, so we didn’t hang around too long after seeing the inside of the castle.

Doune Castle is a late 14th century stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling district of central Scotland. It's 5 miles north-west of Stirling. Doune is remarkable among Scottish castles, as it is the product of a single building period, and has survived relatively unchanged and complete. It was begun in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. It is now maintained by Historic Scotland. More info: Wikipedia's Doune Castle page

Stirling

We thought about seeing Stirling Castle this afternoon too, but we circled around the city of Stirling several time due to some new pedestrian and one way streets which confused both us and the GPS! Eventually we stopped and asked someone how to get to the Golden Lion Hotel, he have us directions to go back around again, but coming out on the other side of the pedestrian area. Then as we took the corner the same guy stopped us and told us to just drive down the pedestrian area (buses and taxis are allowed there, just no cars) as our hotel was in the pedestrian area section of the street. So we did and lo and behold there was the hotel! Mom ran in and got directions to the hotels private car park and the also have a lift - woo hoo!

We got checked in and took our luggage up to our room on the 4th floor. The Golden Lion Hotel is in an older building, but the rooms are modernized and the bathroom is really nice and even has a vessel sink. We were starving, so were asked at the desk where we could get something to eat at 3pm, most places here stop serving lunch by 2pm and don’t start serving dinner until 6 or 7pm. The desk clerk suggested the Sportster which obviously is a sports bar. Mom and I both got pasta which was yummy. We also got some more money at the cash point; so far I’ve only taken £140 and used credit for everything else. We had made dinner reservations for 7:30 so we poked around window shopping then just headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner.

We went to the hotel restaurant right at 7:30 and we both ordered steak burgers. They were just awful. I ate 2 bites out of mine and then just ate the chips and salad. Mom might have eaten about a quarter of hers. What was weird is the server never asked us about the totally uneaten burgers on our plates, she just took them away and offered us dessert menus. We both ordered apple strudel, but of course they had run out of it. We gave up at this point and just went back to the room. We watched the 9/11 Hotel special on TV.

More info: Undiscovered Scotland's Stirling Castle pagel

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Photos

Crail Harbor
What a picturesque harbor!

Crail
View along the street toward our bed & breakfast

Golden Lion Hotel
Stirling