Author: Mary Lou Taylor (Page 2 of 2)

Yesterday we took the “Scenic Drive” around the Lake District. Nobody told us it was a white knuckle drive on roads too narrow for 2 cars at a time. Any time a car is coming in the opposite direction, one driver has to pull as close as possible to the hedgerow or stone fence while the other squeezes by. And the roads had more blind twists and turns per mile than I have ever seen. I was lucky enough to be in the back seat while Mary drove and Elaine navigated. A hair-raising adventure!

But it was well worth it! We drove past Crummock Water to Buttermere, a small but picturesque village and lake, where we ate at the Skye Farm Tea Room and walked the 4-Mike path along the lake. (The path, too, was considered “easy,” but required walking on wet, stony parts and through an unlit tunnel full of water before getting to the “easy” part.) I think the English are a hardier breed than we are.

After treating ourselves to ice cream, we drove to the village of Grange, where almost all of the buildings are built of the local slate from the nearby Honister Slate Mine, then came back to our comfy home by the river to have wine on the patio.

We have been eating well. For lunch, I had Yorkshire pudding stuffed with roasted beef, over mashed potatoes, and for dinner there was Hungarian goulash. Who knows what the choices will be tonight?

I have been collecting pictures of signs I like, ones that I think reflect the English character. So I’ll end with a sampling:

After a rainy, dreary Sunday, we were blessed with great weather today—light showers early on, then sunshine and puffy clouds as we made our way around most of Lake Derwentwater, near Keswick. I had no idea that there were so many hills (mountains?) in the Lake District. Here are some choice photos.

The last picture is of Welch poppies! I never knew they existed, but they totally delighted me.

After we had walked close to 6 miles, we came to a hotel serving food and had a great, relaxing lunch before catching a ferry back to Keswick to shop for food and collapse at home—just in time for it to rain! Altogether, we walked 9-1/2 miles. Not bad for 3 old ladies!

Monsters first:

We went to Loch Ness, and this is what we saw! Actually, Loch Ness really wasn’t terribly special, but is a must-see for tourists. And we had a good lunch.

Yesterday (Saturday) we left the Isle of Skye to return to Edinburgh, stopping several places along the way. We sampled a whisky at a famous distillery.

One of the nicest people we met on the trip was Gary Norwood (and his equally nice wife, Ann), a large-animal vet from Cheyenne, Wyoming. When we were oohing over the hairy coos, Gary went up to pet them, then leaned over to give the big fella a kiss. Gary and Ann have invited us to visit them in Wyoming.

When we got back to Edinburgh, we got to our hotel only to be told our reservation wasn’t until Sunday night, and the only room they had available would be over $600. We frantically searched the internet for a cheaper available room, finally finding one at an airport hotel. A tram ride later, we checked in—at close to 10 pm. Luckily, the restaurant was still open, and the bed looked really good by the time we got up to it.

Today we picked up our rental car and after spending a huge amount of time trying to figure out how to operate it (I have the newest car of the three of us, and it is 9 years old), get the navigation system figured out, etc, Mary started her up and drove around the car lot for a few rounds to get the feel of driving on the left hand side of the road. Being on the bus trip helped get us familiar with the system, and Mary quite expertly got us from Edinburgh to Keswick, England, mostly in the rain. We stopped in Penrith, where I had my first steak and ale pie, served with mashed potatoes and garden peas. Very good!

In Keswick we are staying in a lovely 3-bedroom place on the river. The town itself is lively, filled with outdoor sport stores and enchanting pubs. Of course we had to try one, before coming home to a dinner of crusty bread, hummus and cheese.

And now for the miscellaneous: Things I loved about the Isle of Sky:

Sheep. There are far more sheep than people on the Isle. They pretty much have the run of the place, and cars frequently have to share the road with them.

White Houses. The majority of houses are whitewashed stucco, most often with gables and often with chimneys on either end. I fell in love with them.

No pictures of the last thing I love—bagpipe music! Totally unexpected, but our guide played some of the most beautiful songs, pensive and full of longing. I’ll never make fun of bagpipers again. Well, maybe never.

Today (Friday, September 5) started out with a mixture of sun and showers, sometimes both at once. But by the time we finished our lovely breakfast and had to meet the bus, the rain had stopped.

We began traveling North from Portree, which is on the East side of the island.

There are smaller islands everywhere, with the mainland of Scotland beyond. We stopped several times along the way.

When we got to the North end of the island, we were able to stop for an hour to walk in the beautiful mountains.

We tried hard not to worry the sheep!

Next, we went to an old fishing village (though due to overfishing by other countries, herring fishing is mostly a defunct industry), where we had a great lunch of Cullen Skink (a Scottish fish chowder) and a local beer.

Afterward, we spent another hour or so climbing steep trails and walking in a fairy circle (you walk the circles into the center, leave a “gift” for the fairies—not money!—make a wish and then walk out backwards.) It was fiercely windy, but it felt so good.

(Elaine made it to the top!)

Finally, we went to Dunvegan Castle, an imposing castle by the sea that has been inhabited by members of the McLeod clan continuously for 900 years. We wandered through the massive gardens, where I found an old friend and spotted an European robin!

Then we toured the castle.

We also got to see the dungeon (horrific) and a small sampling of the servants quarters, that put the grand living of the McCleods in an altogether different light.

Graham dropped us off in town, where we found a restaurant and had our first taste of whiskey, a Dunbar 12. Meh. I would have to work hard to develop a taste for it. But dinner was excellent—salmon, potatoes and great fresh vegetables. A brisk 15 minute walk back to our B&B, a bit of chocolate and we were ready to say goodnight.

And not a drop of rain.

There are creatures that live in the lochs, cunning creatures who feed on humans. They are shape-shifters, and when they are hungry, they rise out of the water and take the form of a beautiful white horse. When a human sees it, they can’t help but to go to the horse and pet it. Something inside them whispers, “Get on his back,” and so the human mounts the horse. As soon as he is on, the horse’s mane wraps around him, trapping him as the kelpie gallops back to the loch, where the hapless human drowns.

We were lucky enough to see a kelpie, but we were even more lucky to be on the bus, where we couldn’t be tempted by the beautiful white horse.

That was a fairy tale. Unfortunately, the next story is true.

December 31, 1691 was the deadline for all the clans in Scotland to sign oaths of loyalty to King William III, king of England, Scotland and Ireland. The chief of the Glencoe McDonald clan went on the 31st to sign it, but was told he needed to go to a different town, 100 miles away. He went and signed the oath, which was then sent to Edinburgh. But the Secretary of State, Dalrymple, did not like Highlanders, so convinced his superiors that all the Glencoe McDonald’s should be killed. The king signed orders to have 200 soldiers billeted in Glencoe, and following the rules of hospitality, the McDonalds welcomed them, though most were from the rival Campbell clan. After several days, the Campbell officers received orders to kill the McDonalds, and on February 13, 1692, 38 McDonald men, women and children were massacred, and another 40 died of exposure fleeing in the forest in winter.

Scottish clans have been fighting one another for as long as there have been Scottish clans. I don’t understand. Never will.

Yesterday we left our apartment early to arrive at the bus station and board our Rabbie’s Tours bus to the Isle of Skye on Scotland’s West coast. We were met by Graham, our kilted, bearded guide, and boarded the bus with 13 other passengers, mostly from the US, but a couple from Korea and a young woman who lives in Denmark.

The weather was typical for Scotland—sunny one minute and rainy the next, windy one minute and calm the next. But the scenery was spectacular. We started in the lowlands, green farmlands and rolling hills. Then came the dramatic demarcation to the Highlands—steep mountains, lots of forests, rocky cliffs.

We were able to stop in several villages or lookout points, but didn’t get to do any real hiking. For part of the trip we paralleled the West Highland Way, a 97-mile walking path through the rugged terrain. It looked inviting in the sunshine, but I pitied the hikers as they slogged through the downpours.

Graham supplied a good commentary of what we were seeing and the history of different clans of Scotland. So much of the history involves fighting, wars and death—or is that just what men have chosen to document?

I will talk about the Glencoe massacre and the legend of kelpies when I can come back to it, but right now I have to get my shower and get started on a new day.

Today we rise early to organize (with 3 women sharing a bathroom, it takes a while), then walked to the Scottish National Museum—in that turned out to be an all-day rain.

We were meeting Sue and Pat Lawrence, friends of our Cotswold friends, Paul and Hilary. Pat is retired RAF, and Sue is an author—21 published cookbooks and 7 published novels! They were lively, interesting and so kind.

Pat and Sue left after brunch, while we continued on to the museum, met shortly by Steve. We learned a lot about Scottish artists, especially the Glasgow Boys and the Glasgow Girls of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. We had a chance to wander through the Impressionist section before leaving for a walk (with many detours—and stories—by Steve) to St. Gile’s Cathedral.

St. Giles’ was founded in 1124, and oldest pillars still support the elaborate spire. The stained glass is bright and alive, even on a rainy day. John Knox, founder of Presbyterianism, first preached there in 1559. Queen Elizabeth lay in state there in September, 2022.

After St. Giles, we went to get coffee, then had to take our back packs to the hotel where we are staying Saturday night. Early tomorrow we take off for a 3-day bus tour to the Isle of Skye, but we can only take our small suitcases and small bags to carry on, so we had to take our backpacks to store. It costs 60 £ to store them 3 days! But the good thing was we were right near the Royal Bar, so we ducked in there for a tasty fish and chips dinner.

We had to say a reluctant goodbye to Steve. He was so kind and generous with his time, and made our two days in Edinburgh unforgettable.

On September 1, Elaine, Mary and I met at Mary’s Glen Ellyn home to consolidate luggage and get to O’Hare for our 6:35 overnight flight to Edinburgh, Scotland. We had planned this trip almost a year ago, a whirlwind, 24-day trip spanning Scotland, England and Wales.

We landed to a beautiful, sunny day, highs in the low 60’s. Getting through passport control was completely automated and took minutes, the luggage was on the belt quickly and we easily found our way to the tram. But it was when we got off the tram at St. Andrew’s Square that the magic began.

Steve Kydd is an energetic, jovial 73-year-old Scotsman who Elaine and I met on our first Camino. He is a retired videographer/TV cameraman who has amazing tales of stories he has covered and an incredibly deep knowledge of Scottish history and the history of the British Isles. He kindly offered to take us around the city—we had no idea that we were getting the best possible personal guide.

Once we stored our luggage at the nearby bus station, Steve walked us just blocks to the National Portrait Gallery, a site we totally would have overlooked if we were just following the guidebook. It is a beautiful building, with a main gallery that has a mural of the history of the people on Scotland and busts of famous Scots, including the literary giants Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. We did not go into the exhibits, but looked at the gallery and the library, then had coffee in the cafe.

Steve walked us to the Holyrood House (where the royals live when they are in Edinburgh) at the base of the Royal Mile, stopping on the way to show us two beautiful old pubs and a very old cemetery where the philosopher David Hume is buried and there is a memorial to Abraham Lincoln.

At Holyrood Steve told the story of the night Princess Diana died. He had been filming interviews, but on his way home he decided to drive past Holyrood House, just in time to photograph a young man laying the first flowers at the gates. By the next day, the whole street was filled with flowers.

We walked slowly up the Royal Mile, stopping in front of Clarinda’s Tea Room to hear about the unconsummated love between Carinda and Robert Burns, stopping into Canongate Kirk, where Queen Elizabeth worshipped, and ducking into pends and closes and peaceful gardens.

At 3 we had tickets for the Edinburgh Castle, an entire walled city of old, dating back from the 12th century. It was great weather to walk around the grounds, and we got to see St. Margaret’s Chapel, the Crown Jewels, the royal residences, the great hall, the WW I memorial and even the dog cemetery.

by the time we finished, Mary and I could barely stay upright.

At some point, we retrieved our suitcases and dropped them off at the Airbnb, right on the Royal Mile, then we went to a pub for some dinner, said goodnight to Steve and came back to our place to unwind and finally get some rest.