Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Wednesday, 15th October 2014

 

Dear Everyone, when I last wrote on our Sunday morning, we were heading off to explore Edinburgh and what a great time we had. We walked along the Royal Mile and booked into the 12.45pm show of The Real Mary King’s Close, which was a 1 hour guided tour under the street and through the remains of an old warren of streets that has remained frozen in time since the 17thC. We really got a feel for how these people lived, worked and died and would both recommend this experience very much. Like all paid tours we get a handy Seniors’ discount and our cards are never very far from view. Added to our memberships of the Australian National Trust and the National Gallery of Victoria, we find we are able to enjoy free or heavily discounted entry to many sights. Of course much in Scotland is free – and the Museum was our starting point this morning.

Wes by the statue of Greyfriars Bobby – we went to the church and visited his grave as well as finding a Lt Col John Munro who served in the East India Co

We were so impressed with the design and layout of the Museum. It is very easy to access, lots of lifts, stairs, toilets, signage and explanations. As well as signs asking you not to touch, there are plenty you can feel or operate. The highlight for us was the wonderful dissertation on Scotland’s history, including an old jug containing 197 groats that was found after 500 years. Someone’s nest egg that was lost when they unexpectedly died or forgot to tell anyone where they had buried it. There were also some beautiful Catholic chalices etc that had been hidden for many years when Catholicism was banned.

After the tour underground it was time for a late lunch, so we made our way to Wildfire Steak & Seafood Restaurant in Rose Street, where we ate the best Cullen Skink we’ve ever tasted and Wes enjoyed a shoulder of lamb, while I munched my way through seafood gratin. We ordered a lovely bottle of Heathcote Shiraz, which turned out to be twice as lovely as we thought – I ordered a £17 bottle, but we drank a £37 bottle and thought it was amazing value. The names of the two bottles were very similar and I hadn’t gone far enough into the wine list to realise there was a trap for the unwary! Bread and water went on the menu for dinner that night.

We had been out and about for 7 hours so decided to come home and see if our washing had dried (no), but the heated towel rack was hot, so I draped underwear over it and hoped for the best.

Pitlochry – beautiful greenery on the start of our walk to Ben-Y-Vrackie

The next morning, Monday, Wes rang Barbara and I spoke with Leanne and we caught up on their news. We have officially given up on the drying element of the washing machine and are getting around in precious little with the room temperature up to 30°, as that is the only way to make the heated towel rack in the bathroom work. Clothing is draped artistically around our unit and it is all drying so much faster than in the washing machine/dryer.

We headed off after our very healthy muesli breakfast for Edinburgh Castle, which we had last toured in pouring rain in March 2010. This time it was only cold, which I imagine it always is at that place. We loved going back, looking at things we remembered well such as the Scottish National War Memorial, the Dog Cemetery and St Margaret’s Chapel, which is the oldest building in Scotland. There weren’t hordes of people yet, so we had a leisurely walk through the The Honours of Scotland – The Scottish Crown Jewels, and were able to read all the information along the way as well as listen to our audio guides.

On our way to lunch we stopped at the Museum of Childhood, on the Royal Mile, which is the first Museum in the world dedicated to the history of childhood. It displays toys and games from across the generations and explores aspects of growing up from schooldays and clubs to clothing, health and holidays. We loved it.

Wes had booked us into a French restaurant for lunch – La Garrigue, which has been open for 13 years and offers beautiful French food and wine at very affordable prices – at lunchtime anyway! We both started with the grilled sardines and Wes followed with pork belly on cassoulet and I had coley (or coalfish, similar to cod) on rice pilaf. Both meals were very yummy and we had a glass of French white wine – not sure what it was, but it was just what we felt like.

We emerged to discover the Scottish mist had descended with a vengeance so spent some time in the Old St Paul’s Scottish Episcopal Church nearby, which has some beautiful stained glass windows and looks as if it might have started life as a Catholic Church. Up the stairs beside it we climbed, until we reached North Bridge and headed off to find the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, which we had promised Gillie we would visit.

By the time we got there we were rather damp, but completely warmed by the exciting displays in this beautiful old building. We loved an exhibition by painter, John Byrne, who is the father of Tilda Swinton’s twins. Another good exhibition was called Remembering The Great War, which celebrates the roles both men and women played in portraits and sculpture. We moved on to a small area devoted to women moving out of the shadow of men in 19thC Scotland, and a large room dedicated to Playing for Scotland – a celebration of Scottish sports.

After a stop for a hot drink, we decided to come home as the mist was showing no sign of abating, and our heads were full with all we had learnt and seen during the day. Wes is always keen to come home for a couple of fingers of Edradour Whisky, and I make a big mug of Jasmine tea until it is time for red wine and a total unwind.

Yesterday it was another chilly morning but we headed off for the Old Calton Cemetery which is just at the end of Waterloo Street (the extension of Princes Street), where we are staying. There are some amazing monuments and Wes was particularly taken with the one dedicated to Thomas Muir & friends, who were all sent to Australia as punishment for their political beliefs and contributed to the freedoms we enjoy as our rights these days.

Then onto Calton Hill, which we circumnavigated and admired the various views of Edinburgh, as well as the National Monument of Scotland, which is a memorial to all the Scottish Soldiers & sailors who died fighting the Napoleonic Wars.

We looked at some very modern art at the Collective Gallery also on top of the hill, before finally deciding we absolutely had to climb to the top of Nelson’s Monument and enjoy the stunning views from there. It was only 143 steps, a doddle as far as we intrepid climbers were concerned and we were the first visitors for the day.

After that we walked to the Edinburgh Art Gallery, and stopped in their café for a refreshing hot drink, before getting lost and eventually finding our way into the Gallery, where we were again lost, this time in admiration, not just over the art, but the way it is displayed, the great variety of artists and the huge time span it covers. We especially loved the Dutch rooms and I particularly loved this painting by of The Flight into Egypt by Guillaume Dubuffe 1894.

Wes had chosen a Scottish restaurant for lunch, but when we found it, it was closed for holidays, so we decided to look for the Cantonese one he had sourced, called Karen’s Unicorn. We enjoyed a wonderful meal – shared some lightly battered prawns & calamari to start, then he tucked into duck, while I ate monkfish. The service and the food were both faultless and we were so thankful once again for Trip Advisor, as we would never have found this place otherwise.

Amazingly we still had some energy left, so decided to visit The Georgian House in Charlotte Square and we were so pleased we did. It was sold to the National Trust some years ago and they have restored it to look as it would have in 1796 when the Lamont family lived there. We started in the basement with a 15-minute video, which gave us a real feel for the family life, then walked through the kitchen & pantry; the dining room; the main bedroom; the drawing room, and finally the children’s bedrooms. Each room had a very knowledgeable, interesting guide and we enjoyed asking questions and learning even more from them. This is one of the best house tours we have ever done and recommend it highly if you are ever in Edinburgh.

On our way back home we were unable to resist this delightful dog with cap in mouth begging on behalf of himself and his owner. In the minute or so we were there, very few passers-by could resist putting some coins in the cap.

Back home we settled in for a quiet night, with a glass of Edradour for Wes, a red wine for me and some Scottish Stilton when we got peckish!

This morning we were up early and decided to make Holyrood Palace our first destination. It looks like another pleasant day of 4°-12° – we have been very lucky, as we have only been soaked twice, which isn’t bad, and without the rain Scotland would not be as absolutely green and beautiful as it is!