Auld Reekie

Birthday weekend in Edinburgh.  

We hopped on the train with just a holdall each.  Mine was a lot heavier as usual and I nearly took several people out on the London underground with it.  

Wonderful views all the way - Durham Cathedral, Newcastle, Berwick upon Tweed.  We saw the Angel of the North, wind farms, windmills, cliffs, coast, ruins, lighthouses, yellow gorse.  Then further north, blue tinged fir trees, the odd Scottish manse, and the red brick being replaced by dark, stone buildings.  I can't believe I spent 7 hours on a train and didn't even open my book!

Towers, turrets and the one o'clock gun at the castle

Thursday -

We emerged up out of the railway station straight in to the hustle and bustle of Princes Street.  Our hotel was just across the road.

The Old Waverley Hotel

Sir Walter Scott's monument is the largest memorial in the world, dedicated to a writer.

The Scott monument

We found our favourite pub on the first night, just around the corner.  It had a beautiful ornate plaster ceiling, a square, dark, polished bar and large round lamps hanging from the ceiling.  We ate haggis, neeps and tatties, delicious washed down with some Scottish real ale.   We met a Glaswegian man called George who worked for the BBC, laying cables for outside broadcasts.

The Abbotsford - www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk

Friday -

Opposite our hotel - Jenners department store, opened in 1838.  

Jenners department store

We explored Princes Street gardens on the way to the castle.  The gardens were formed in the hollow of a drained loch.

Princes Street gardens

Edinburgh castle is built on a 340 million year old volcano

Edinburgh Castle

This tiny little chapel in the castle is the oldest building in the city, built 1090.

St Margaret's Chapel

The castle origins date back to 900BC.  In 1566 Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI here.  I imagined her walking through the panelled rooms, her skirts swishing.  

Mary Queen of Scots

The Great Hall, opened 1511 with hammerbeam roof

We shuffled along with all the other tourists to see the Scottish crown jewels which are the oldest surviving regalia in Christendom and had a nose around the freezing cold dungeons.

Statue of Earl Haig

Up some steep steps (so many steps in Edinburgh!) from the Grassmarket is the Royal Mile.

Opposite this piper was what looked like a church but on closer inspection it turned out to be the home of the Edinburgh International Festival and a cafe called 'The Hub'.  The building was originally opened in 1845 and called Highland Tolbooth St John's Church but was never consecrated.

Great photo exhibition inside 

I forced Sarah to have lunch in the cafe even though she had had a cooked breakfast (every morning I might add) but I was starving and it looked right up my street.  Had delicious chickpea and sweet potato soup whilst listening to jazz.  Nice....

Cafe Hub - www.tripadvisor.co.uk

Further down the Royal Mile we had a look around St Giles Cathedral whilst listening to the the organ.  We chatted to two lovely ladies in the shop, shook our heads and tutted about the awful floods down south.

St Giles Cathedral

The Royal Mile

After a trip to the huge (and free) Museum of Edinburgh we were absolutely pooped.  

Useless fact - Edinburgh is the only city to have a dog on the list of citizens given the freedom of the city - Greyfriar's Bobby.  We saw his collar and bowl in the museum.  

We visited The Guildford Arms that evening, stunning inside and obviously very popular.

The Guildford Arms - www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk

Saturday - birthday.

Another cold, crisp, sunny day. Had porridge for breakfast, Sarah had haggis with her cooked breakfast - ugh, too early.  Had a lovely stroll up George Street with it's fantastic views towards the sea and all the inviting shops.  The Georgian buildings reminded me of Bath.

I am drawn to Cathedrals, I always have to have a look inside.  

St Mary's Cathedral - This cathedral is gothic in style but actually not that old.

It has a Father Willis organ, as does Salisbury Cathedral.

I

The very prestigious financial district of the new town.

Unfortunately, this park was not open to the public but I could admire the crocuses through the railings.

We had a desperately needed hot chocolate in a tiny cafe, down some steps below street level - great for people watching.

Wellington Coffee - www.tripadvisor.co.uk

41 foot tall Melville monument - St Andrew Square

We stumbled across this light installation in St Andrew Square.  Little balls on long sticks that light up and change colour by using miles of glowing optic fibre.  We went back at night to see if it glowed.  It did.  I found out that the artist, Bruce Monro lives in Wiltshire and once had an installation in Salisbury Cathedral. Small world.

'Field of lights' by Bruce Munro

On to the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the Queen's Scottish residence) past this very strange building.

The Scottish Parliament building designed by a Catalan architect

The Palace of Holyroodhouse

The palace was not what I expected.  It was so cosy and lived in.  There were old lamps, tapestries, tiny doorways leading to narrow winding staircases - the highlight of the whole weekend.  And to see Mary, Queen of Scots chamber - well!  We saw the Queen's dining table and where she sits - no cat paw prints, piles of unopened post and over ripe bananas on her table.

The ruins of Holyrood Abbey

The gardens

Salisbury Crags from the gardens

Hard to believe you are still in the city

I thought afternoon tea in the hotel would be nice on my birthday, whilst looking down at Princes Street.  At least it was the only disappointing thing all weekend.  Doorstep sarnies, heavy scones and we had to put our own teabag in a pot of hot water!  Shocking.

Jam in packets and crusts on the sandwiches?  Oh dear.

Still, we made up for it in the evening by visiting Deacon Brodie's.  Again, it was heaving but being a bit of a ninja, I quickly leapt for a table as soon as someone's bum started lifting off the seat.  So much beer though, so little time.  We tried 13 different real ales over the whole weekend, I hasten to add.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which one I liked best, they've all blurred in to one! 

I love some of the names of the beers -

Wild Cat

Happy Chappy

Highland Island Hopping

Bitter and Twisted



Deacon Brodies - www.tripadvisor.co.uk



Sunday - Sarah's birthday

We took the train back a different way this time - along the western side of the country.  The Trans-Pennine Express gave even greater views.  The Pentland hills, Tinto hills, Lowther hills, Forest of Ae, Eskdalemuir Forest, Lockerbie and then Carlisle.  We saw brown/purple hills, snow on top of the mountains, fir trees, marshes, bogs, rushing rivers....  To have the Cumbrian mountains one side and The Pennines the other was a feast for my little eyeballs.

Two days was not nearly enough time in Edinburgh.  The people were so friendly and there is still so much we did not see, so I will definitely return.  Anyway, we haven't tried all the beers yet........



We're going where the sun shines brightly...

We're going where the sea is blue....

I love holidays at home!

What could be better?  No scrabbling in your bag for your passport, no sweating at the departure gate because you have forgotten to get rid of that bottle of water, no watching the same lonely case go around the conveyor belt for the tenth time and worrying that yours is lost, no trying to order food in a foreign language -just waking up naturally in your own bed and wondering what adventures the day will bring.  Nice.

Last week we were mostly not at work.

Saturday:

I tried a salad out of a brilliant book that I borrowed from the Library, 'A Salad for All Seasons' by Harry Eastwood (page 155).  Tesco's gave us 4 packs of Stilton this week instead of 1 so I had to find lots of things to do with it!  I made a Stilton quiche too.

Stilton, apple and walnut salad

Sunday:

We tried out a new walk in the village to burn off a cooked breaky.

We found this lake at the top of a hill with a little wooden bench next to it.

Seeing pigs was a bonus.  Nice ears.

Monday:

Wilton House - only rainy day.

Wilton House

I have only lived near Wilton House for the last 32 years!  Why do we never see what is on our doorstep?
I have visited the gardens many, many times but have never ventured inside.  I was so excited to see the famous Double Cube Room.  Wilton House has been used for many films, such as The Madness of King George, Sense & Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.

The Knot Garden

We were lucky, we almost had the place to ourselves!

Inside the front hall is a large statue of Shakespeare and the guide told us that he quite often visited.  'As You Like It' was first performed here.

The D-Day landings were planned in the Double Cube room and I didn't know that the house holds the largest private collection of Van Dyke paintings in the world.

When we got home we sat looking out at the pouring rain, eating a cream tea and trying to do the crossword.

Tuesday:

Malmesbury Abbey House Gardens. (Another first)

These gardens are the home of 'The Naked Gardeners' Ian and Barbara Pollard.  We didn't visit on an arranged 'clothes optional day'!

Sarah admiring the formal garden

I like gardens that are relaxed, arty and have strange statues or topiary - these gardens were perfect!

What is that?!

This is Brutus, the pet tortoise

I love a good archway

Benedictine Monks gardened here

Anyone for chess?

I have never seen so many roses, but unfortunately they were past their best.  There were still masses of gorgeous blooms though.

Lily

These beauties were covered with bees in the herb garden

Echinacea - I want some!

We saw these hiding in the woods.  We have some at home on the drive.  I don't know why I like them so much.  May be they remind me of a book I had as a child called 'Flower Fairies of the Autumn'.

Lords and Ladies

Other names:  Cuckoo-pint
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Wild Arum

We descended down through the wooded glade to the River Avon.  It is hard to believe that a lot of this wasn't here or even accessible before 1994 when the current owners bought the house and gardens.

A Monastic fish pond

www.abbeyhousegardens.co.uk

On the way home we enjoyed a delicious cream tea (with the obligatory wasps) in Castle Combe, a village renowned for it's pretty, quaint streets and also a popular film set!  ('Dr Dolittle', 'Stardust', 'War Horse' etc, etc).  I know it very well as my family are from round these parts.  

Cream tea (no. 2)

It's good to know that we aren't the only ones to have a wasp problem.  The farm manager had to drive his 'grabber' up our drive so he could squirt foam in to next door's wasp nest too!

Wednesday:

Grovely Woods

Yet another first!  I have always wanted to walk from one end of Grovely Woods to the other, to join the dots and see what it's like in the middle!  It was quite a complicated affair as we weren't sure we could walk there and back (10 miles) so we drove both cars one end and then drove Sarah's back to the start (hoping that we'd be able to find my car again at the end of the walk!).  We ended up walking further than the 5 miles as we did get slightly lost.  It looks like a straight line on the map - it's not. 

We were very excited to see Fungi already.

One of my favourites - a Lurid Bolete (if you cut it, it turns blue - very strange)

It's so hard to identify Fungi!

Rooting Shank?  

We took a flask of coffee and a picnic in the backpack

I think that is a Pearl-Bordered Fritillary

By the time we reached the middle of the woods we saw no one.  

We saw Peacock and Red Admiral butterflies

Himalayan Balsam

Other names: Policeman's helmet

Kiss me on the mountain

Gnome's hat stand

I thought I had stumbled on a huge, rare Orchid but it is actually called 'Poor Man's Orchid' - says it all really.  It was introduced from the Himalayas in 1839 as a garden ornamental and can grow up to 3 metres high!  It is the tallest annual plant grown in Britain and is closely related to the 'Busy Lizzy'.  

Thursday:

Hengistbury Head

The v v expensive beach huts at Mudeford - I can look

Heathers

View of Christchurch to Mudeford

I found mostly Slipper Limpets

and Tortoiseshell Limpets

Friday:

New Forest

We are very lucky to live near to the coast and the forest.  Even though I love the sea, if I had to choose it would be the woods every time.  The New Forest is only 14 miles from our bungalow and takes half an hour to get there.  We try to visit a different area each time but it is so large and varied in landscape that we could explore it for the rest of our lives and not see it all.  

This time, we tried 'Telegraph Hill'.  It was quite windy in the car park but I later found out that it is the second highest point in the forest (128m above sea level).  How this area of the forest got it's name is interesting.  It was the site of a 19th Century optical shutter signal station.  It was one in a line stretching all the way from Plymouth to the Admiralty in London and used during the Napoleonic war to send messages at speed.  Apparently the shutters were opened and shut whilst someone with a telescope relayed the message down the line.  A message could travel from London to Plymouth in 20 minutes!!!   In poor visibility the message would be carried to the next station by a rider on horseback.  

Dosn't that look sooooo inviting....

Yellow Hoary Cinquefoil

Foxglove

A fungi lover's paradise

Pale Oyster Mushroom

Hoof Fungus

Dorset Heather

Bell Heather

Heath or Bog Heather

A dead heather!

Ling

We then had a weekend trying not to think about work looming on the horizon and being a bit manic and clingy about the house and garden.

The Rudbeckia that my sister grew from seed looks so good in our front garden

My sunflowers

I tried to ignore the ducks quacking and read my book

Sarah's peppers are getting rather large

How many different ways can you cook runner beans?

We found more fungi on a walk

Dryad's Saddle fungi

And we had a bake off:

Cheese and bacon loaf v chocolate chunk cookies

Best loaf yet.  So delicious just with butter and the next day as a bacon sarny - I nearly imploded.

We always wear our dogs out.  We went on so many long walks last week that she is now lying on her bed with all four paws in the air and begging us (with her eyes) to go back to work.  Still, a fab time was had by all and I suppose all good things must come to an end........