Ireland and Scotland Dream Realized (Days 9-10)

Day 9 – Castle, Links and Forth

Reluctantly leaving the Laggan Hotel, we set out through Cairngorms National Park again for our first destination, Blair Castle. This was the ancestral seat of the Duke of Athol as well as Clan Murray. It was an impressive home and I loved learning about the long history of the place, including several sieges. The most important involving the benighted Bonny Prince Charlie. One of the dukes took up collecting old weapons as a hobby and they were liberally displayed throughout the building, especially in the entry hall. A young bagpiper came out near the end of our visit and it was easy to imagine one of his forbears doing likewise hundreds of years ago.

Wife and I Posing as the Duke and Duchess of Athol

First View of Blair Castle

Scenes from Inside the Castle

Family Portraits

The Entry Hall

Remnants of the Moat

The Lone Piper

We finished up the tour and then headed out of the Highlands towards Edinburgh. I’m still trying to figure out why it’s pronounced Edinborough but written Edinburgh.  I’m, however, easily confused. We passed through the city of Dundee where we saw a tall ship that was used for Shackelton’s expedition to Antarctica. Crossing the River Tay we headed for St Andrews which I wasn’t too excited about, not being an avid golfer. This is supposedly where that frustrating game was invented. We pulled in directly across the street from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and saw the iconic 18^th fairway on the Old Course, so prominent when tournaments are played there. Strangely the public is allowed to wander over the course and there were throngs of people without golf clubs walking across the fairway. The tour director pointed out the nearby beach where the opening scene from Chariots of Fire was filmed. We had two hours in town so we walked into town in search of a pub from lunch. We saw the pub where, according to the sign in the window, where Prince William and Kate met while attending school there. We found a pub to eat and several other couples from our tour group happened into the same place. That led to a very fun lunch while storm clouds gathered outside which got my wife fuming as she had already sized up the many shopping opportunities we passed while searching for the pub. She got her shopping in and I got wet chasing after her.

Shackelton's Ship

Crossing the River Tay

The Old Course

18th Fairway

Pub Where Will and Kate Met

18th Fairway

Chariots of Fire Beach

St Andrews

Wife and I Near the Final Hole

Streets of St Andrew

Pub Lunch

Shopping District

Our Pub

Then it was on to Edinburgh, crossing over the Firth of Forth on a massive bridge. I’d like to take a minute to comment on the nearly omnipresent roundabouts (traffic circles) that are used in both Great Britain and Ireland. They are literally everywhere and it was fascinating to watch Raymond maneuver through these despite having to drive on the wrong side of the road. They seemed to reduce the need for traffic lights but it was scary to think of their widespread use over here with our less genteel brand of driving. Anyways, we arrived at our final hotel and geared up for an evening in the city. We drove in, through seemingly a hundred roundabouts and I got my first glimpse of Edinburgh Castle sitting majestically overlooking the city. Our destination was a club in the center of the city called Ghilli Dhu, which I’m sure means something awesome in Gaelic.

First Sighting of Edinburgh Castle

City Center

Wife Grabbing the Bull by, Well, You Know

Our Faithful Bus Unloading

The Ghilli Dhu

At this point I feel compelled to find out what it meant:  The Ghillie Dhu, or Gille Dubh, is a legendary being from Scottish folklore, often described as a solitary and elusive forest spirit or faerie. It is said to inhabit the dense forests and wild landscapes of the Scottish Highlands around Loch Gairloch. The name ‘Ghillie Dhu’ is derived from Scots Gaelic, with ‘ghillie’ meaning ‘servant’ or ‘attendant’, and ‘dhu’ meaning ‘dark’ or ‘black’. The Ghillie Dhu is typically described as a tall and lean figure covered head to toe in leaves, moss, and other natural foliage, which serves as camouflage in the forest. Its appearance allows it to blend seamlessly into the woodland environment, making it difficult to spot by unsuspecting travelers. Some legends portray the Ghillie Dhu as having wild, unkempt hair and piercing eyes. According to folklore, the Ghillie Dhu is a benevolent guardian of the forest, possessing a deep affinity for nature and wildlife who watches over the forest and its inhabitants, protecting animals and plants from harm. So now we know.

Inside the Ghilli Dhu

Wife and I Ready to Eat

The Piper Takes the Stage

Now We Know What This Means

Dancers Join Him

Doing the Haggis Thing

Back to our regularly scheduled post. We were attending an evening of Scottish traditional music and dance while also having dinner. The dinner, including some more haggis, of course, was awesome as we were entertained by first, a bagpiper attended by a couple Scottish dancing girls. It was a fun crowd of tourists from many lands including a large contingent of Turks, many of whom wearing newly acquired kilts. It bordered on surreal. The bagpiper was followed by two musicians who were incredibly entertaining. They culminated the night by having us move the tables apart and starting a long traditional Scottish line dance. You know the Favorite Panamanian dragged me out for that and we had a lot of fun. We returned to the hotel around 11pm, just as the sun was beginning to set. I joined another guy from our group in the hotel bar just in time for last call which was weird since it was still light out.

Haggis!

Ate Two Whole Servings of Haggis!

Dancers Perform

Final Two Singers

Scottish Line Dancing

Nearly Midnight Sunset

Day 10, Castles and Grails

This marked our last full day in Scotland and we made the most of it. The first activity was a driving tour of what is called he “new city” since it only dates to the 1700s. We saw the childhood home of Robert Louis Stevenson, across from a park with an island in a small lake visible from his bedroom. That island became the inspiration for Treasure Island. We passed by St Andrews Park which anchors the road network in the new city before heading into the center of town and the ultimate prize, Edinburgh Castle. The castle is built upon a hopefully extinct volcano and can be seen from anywhere in the city below. Enroute to the castle we passed by a school that served as the inspiration for Hogwarts for JK Rowling, a resident of Edinburgh. Driving through the ancient streets of the city, I felt I was in a Harry Potter movie and its easy to see the role the city’s landscape played in her imagining of those books.

Stevenson's Home

St Andrews Park

Edinburgh Castle from a Distance

School that Inspired Hogwarts

Entry to the School

The Royal Mile

Getting Closer to the Castle

Approaching the castle, we were blessed with the best weather day of the entire trip, there is sun in Scotland (occasionally) although the Loch Lomond skipper had joked they were experiencing a drought since it had been 24 hours since the last rainfall. We entered the castle through the grounds where they hold the annual Royal Military Tattoo (still on my bucket list). I was seriously moved since I’d seen this location so many times while watching the tattoos over the years. The castle itself is huge and still serves as an active duty Army base. I was totally in my element as we walked around the castle grounds experiencing the history laden place. There were spectacular views of the city from each side. We made our way into the center of castle where we saw the Scottish royal jewels and the Scottish War Memorial commemorating World War 1 casualties. Scotland lost a full third of their military age men in that conflict.

Royal Mile from Castle Entry Point

Into the Castle

Royal Tattoo Grounds

Main (Only) Entry to Castle

Finally Made it!

My Favorite Panamanian was a good sport as she watched me acting like a kid in a candy shoppe as we cruised the grounds. I took pity on her and we also visited the oldest active chapel in Scotland, first used in 1100. Just outside the chapel there is a small graveyard that contains the remains of the deceased mascots of the regiments stationed in the castle which I thought was kind of neat. There was also a prison section that included an area with graffiti from Americans held prisoner during the Revolutionary War (some things never change). I took further pity on my wife as we left the castle as I afforded her enough time to tackle shopping on the Royal Mile. That is the length of the road that runs from the Castle to Holyrood, one of the homes of the current British monarch. She was up to the task while I wandered around continuing to be amazed by where I was. We scored lunch in an underground pub off of a tunnel through the wall of the street.

More Scenes from Inside the Castle

The Ancient Chapel

The Royal Quarters

Scottish War Museum

Inside Royal Quarters

Inside Ancient Chapel

The Pet Cemetery

Active Duty Troops in Front of their Barracks

Out onto the Royal Mile

St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile

After lunch we were summoned back to the bus for our next event which was a trip to nearby Rosslyn Chapel. This is small church associated with the Sinclair family and said to have connections with the Knights Templar. Those connections turned out to be the key for its current fame as Dan Brown used this place as the final clue in his hugely successful novel The Da Vinci Code. We didn’t run across any Holy Grails while we were there and the tour guide said nothing in the book outside of its location was accurate. Go figure. There was one interesting aspect. There was a beautifully carved pillar within the chapel. It was carved by an apprentice mason while his master was away. When the master returned, he killed the apprentice in a fit of rage since his own pillar was much less ornate. The mason was executed and in a final jibe, the remaining masons carved his likeness into the church looking directly at the pillar carved by the apprentice. This visit was kind of a yawn after hearing Brown made everything up.

Outside Rosslyn Chapel

Photos Inside Not Allowed

She Finally Took that Parka Off

Our final event of the day was a farewell dinner at a posh Edinburgh establishment., The Scotsman, hosted by the tour director. (we were approaching tip time). The waiters were appropriately snooty, especially when confronted by Americans (egads!). When we were entering I spotted a huge castle just down the road along with a friend. We were wondering what it was all through dinner. The tour director took all the wind out of our sails by revealing the building in question was a defunct school that had been boarded up for decades. Damn! We returned to the hotel for one last night in Scotland. My wife was upstairs trying to figure out how to pack all our souvenir purchases in the overloaded suitcases. I was back in the hotel bar one last time where I got to play Wingman for a single friend from the group when a bonny young lass wandered over to talk with us.

Edinburgh Pub Located Where Public Hangings Used to Take Place

Mystery Castle I asked About

Inside the Scotsman

Our Intrepid Tour Director, Matt

So, there it is. Thanks for hanging out with me through my Gaelic adventures. It really was a dream realized. I’m hoping I can return some day, maybe for the Tattoo! I’ll have to find another travel partner though as I couldn’t drag my wife back there after she experienced the weather. Everything went almost too smoothly on our return flight. American airports could take lessons from the Edinburgh Airport security team with a huge crowd moved through efficiently and quickly. Instead of a van for our drive home from Boston, the car service provided a Lincoln navigator which was very cool. We were home a little after noon, having left Scotland a little after 10am. It was truly strange for me as I drove to the grocery store (back on the right side of the road) that I had woken up that morning in Scotland. Again, thanks for sharing this with me, hope it wasn’t too boring.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather – my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course