Holiday in Scotland

Our journey began, as it does most often, with the farewell to Cooper at the dog sitter’s home, then back on the road for a few hours, heading toward West Yorkshire.  At RAF Menwith Hill, a small base in the hills near Harrogate, we fueled three tanks, one belonging to the car.  It was a nice rest stop; we got to do a bit of shopping at the BX there.  After a brief visit, we were heading north again towards the border of Scotland.  Just as it had in Wales, the terrain became more beautiful as we proceeded out of England.

Scottish Borderlands

Wildflowers along the road

Hidden castles and lochs

With only minor traffic delays and lots of back-road driving, we finally arrived in Edinburgh.  Our route took us through downtown, so we got to see why this city was nicknamed the City of Skyscrapers.  It wasn’t that the buildings’ size that was so stunning, it was their age.  Some ten stories high, and some centuries old, they lined the curvy downtown streets and avenues.  After a few wrong turns and laps around our destination, we found our rental apartment with the letting agent waiting to guide us to the car park.  We stayed in a lovely ground level studio apartment with bright colors and new fixtures throughout.  Since it was equipped with Wifi, we were going to survive just fine.  How about some food after that drive?  Japanese sounds good.  Oh look, there’s a sushi place right around the corner, what a coincidence.

Our rental flat

Our street

We checked the weather and decided, since rain was in the forecast, to use our first full day to go see the Highlands of Scotland.  With Inverness as our destination, we followed the GPS’s wisdom and drove through the lush and green mountainous terrain of the Highlands.  When we arrived in Inverness, we gassed up (more on that later) and we continued over the River Ness, then southward towards Loch Ness. 

Crossing the Firth of Forth north out of Edinburgh

We stopped at the Loch Ness Centre (the official) to get the full scoop on Nessie and after a nice tour of the exhibits there, we’ve concluded that Nessie is REAL, and that we need to find her!  So, on this rainy Scottish day, we went the shores of Loch Ness and… well… we think we saw her…

About halfway down the loch, on the western shore was Urquhart Castle, situated on a piece of land that poked out far enough that the castle had a full view of the loch.  We had lots of fun touring this castle.  Unlike some of the others we’ve seen and toured, this one was decimated by wars and battles.  Very few of the structures remain, giving an idea of the hardships that the land of Scots had to endure.

The landscapes on the return journey to Edinburgh were as equally striking as before.  Taking a different route home, we got to see more of the countryside.  Before we stopped for dinner at a hotel along the road, we stopped in a small village and got to see how the Scots have connected the Lochs using locks…

To add to the adventure of traveling, our car decided to give us a bit of trouble.  With no warning, our engine light came on and we stopped to inspect the car.  No change to the car’s normal operation could be noted.  So, we continued on for the last hour into Edinburgh.  The next morning, we took the car to a certified Mazda repair centre and had them inspect the car for any problems.  More on this later…

Without a car, and stranded a few miles away from downtown, we took to public transportation and rode a bus back to the busy streets of the Royal Mile.  There, we climbed through a park to the entrance of Edinburgh Castle.  The castle seemed to be more of a city perched on a mountain-top with a multi-tiered gate system providing a strong defense to protect the castle from attack (very similar to Minas Tirith).

View from the top of a double-decker bus

Climbing a trail through Princes Street Gardens

Looking up at the Royal Mile

Looking up at the castle

Google Earth vision of Edinburgh Castle

After passing through the second portcullis, we hooked up with a tour group that was starting and followed a very knowledgeable guild around the castle.

Photos from inside the castle

Views from the top of the castle

After the castle, we continued down the Royal Mile, stopping in boutiques and saw what they had to offer.  We went through the Nationally Gallery and saw some very impressive Scottish art.  At the end of the Royal Mile was the new Scotish Parliament building, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse where the Queen stays when she visits Edinburgh.  There were a few military members there, in full dress uniforms, doing all sorts of fancy parade exercises.  Later that day, the repair place called us and told us our car was ready for pick up.  We surprisingly found the correct bus back.  The oxygen sensors indicated that we put in fuel with too high of an octane level, which is Scotland’s normal level, oh well.  They we very nice to us, and even gave the car a very well deserved wash.  The car doesn’t perform any different, just a sensor somewhere making us aware of the issue. 

The Church of Scotland

The National Gallery of Scotland

Scott Monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott

Bagpipe music fills the air in the city centre

The Scottish Parliament building

Views through the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse

That night we made reservations at an Italian restaurant near our flat and had an authentic meal served to us by someone who would have done well saving a princess from an evil giant dinosaur villain.  Anyway, it was AMAZING! 

The next day, we made the long journey home, stopping again for American fuel, and making it home in time to pick Cooper up before dinner.  Overall, Scotland was incredible, almost like the Canada of England.  It had very friendly people and was a remarkable place to visit. 

Oh yeah, one more thing.  I found my favorite drink in the UK.  It’s called Irn-Bru, pronounced Iron Brew, except that you have to roll the “r” in Bru.  From what I’ve read, it out sells Coke in Scotland.  This caffeine-rich orange soda is unusually bright orange, almost neon orange.  It looks like if you could crack the bottle, it would start glowing!  It has a warning on the label that says that it will stain clothing upon contact.  Anyway, it has a slight bubble gum taste which appeals to the younger crowd and it probably why I like it so much.  Give it a Google, its worth a look, and taste.

~Blake

Blooming in Britain

Spring is moving into summer, and the weather has grown warm, sunny, and dry in England!  In fact, it's the driest spring in fifty years here!  Undeterred, the plants are in full bloom, and with no rain to dissipate the pollen, that pretty much means the worst allergies in fifty years too!  Cooper has taken to sunbathing in the rear garden and eating grass salad, and then bringing all the allergens inside to our laps.  Seriously, click on the picture to make it bigger and check out all that white pollen on his face!

Armed with Allegra, we've been making the best of the gorgeous weather, with the three of us spending lots of time gardening, grilling, and admiring the variety of surprise flora that has popped up everywhere.  We had no idea when we moved in in the winter how many plants there were!  I decided to circle the house and photograph all the different flowers we have in our front and rear garden:

And finally, a shot of a curled tendril on my cucumber plant, just because I thought it was cool-looking :)

~Lindsay

Gransden Woods

This last weekend, we had some beautiful weather here in East Anglia.  We decided to take Cooper out and see one of nature reserves in our area.  This time of year there is a particular flower blooming in our region, one that isn't found back in the States, the Bluebell.  So, we headed to Gransden Wood.  Lindsay, armed with her new lens, and me, with Cooper strapped up, charged into the woods and followed the trails until we were "proper" lost.  These woods were blanketed with Bluebells.  Cooper ignored the signs posted about not trampling the Bluebells, and preceded to tromp wherever he pleased.  We hiked all over with Cooper off the leash and didn't run into any trouble.  After awhile, we followed the sun back out of the park and back to the car.  Before we left, Lindsay snapped some really good shots of a nearby Rapeseed field which seems to be one of the main crops here.  Within minutes of getting back in the car, Cooper was asleep in the backseat, too cute.

Lots of Bluebells

Forest Butterfly



Ancient Oak-Ash Woods

Crab Apple Blossoms



Rapeseed Field




Worn Out Cooper

~Blake