Day Fifteen:Bonnie Scotland

We got up bright and early to pack our bags and to allow enough time to locate the Hyde Park Ward to attend church while we're here in London.  The ward building is currently being renovated, so they are temporarily meeting in the Baden-Powell house (which also serves as a hostel...we blended right in with our carry-on wheely in the lobby, lol). After church we scurried off and caught the train to Scotland!

That's right, Bonnie Scotland here we come! I took lots and lots of pictures of the British countryside, to Richard's vast amusement.

• Richard: 'How have I been married to you for more than two years and never come across your consuming fascination with sheep!?'
• Letty: 'Oh just be quiet and take another picture of them! They're adorable!'

In my defense, I took some pictures of the cows too!! And also of the sweet English countryside, which, aside from the large quantities of sheep, appears to be very similar to the midwest.

 

We passed through towns with names that I had previously only read in books or watched BBC films about, like York and Newcastle. So I took pictures of those too! Well, of the train station platform anyway.

 

On the way to Newcastle we whizzed right buy this castle-ish type building on a hillside that went by so fast we couldn't get a picture! We made total tourist fools of ourselves, falling all over our table and traincar attempting it, with me hopping up and down and telling Richard to 'take it already, take it!' After missing the opportunity we had settled dejectedly in our seats for about 15 minutes, when an older gentleman, very quintessentially British, paused at our table on his way to the door of the train car.

'I couldn't help but notice...' he says (soooo British, lol-soooo understated!)

'I couldn't help but notice...that you missed getting a picture of the old abbey back there...and I thought I'd let you know that there are some very fine pictures of the bridges in Newcastle over the River Tyne coming up on the right in about 3 minutes.'

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a sweet guy! We thanked him profusely and readied our camera!



Apparently the bridge that looks like the STL Arch rotates entirely on its access in order to let shipping pass!

Shortly after Newcastle it was time for our 1st glimpse of the ocean off the Eastern Coast of Northern England. Beginning as just a little inlet off in the distance, the train was soon running right along the coast.  It was so lovely, and looked SO cold!

 Richard took a couple 15 seconds videos of the train running alongside the shoreline, and of a lovely little town that we were passing.

Once we arrived in Edinburgh it was gloomy and dark, and COLD.  And we were rather lost in old-town Edinburgh looking for the hostel we were going to attempt to stay at (but my computer had frozen at the 'confirmation' point of booking, so by now we were just going on a wish and a prayer). So we set off up some very steep cobblestone streets, trundling our little carry-on behind, and wishing the British believed in the glowy-type of reflective street signs.  Or ANY street signs, for that matter. Here are some pictures I took while we were lost. Hey, I never said it wasn't a fabulous place to be lost IN.

After walking down a couple deserted and definitely 'iffy' streets, we managed to locate the Budget Backpacker's hostel.  I found it amusing that pretty much everyone assumed we had some clue what we were doing and didn't really 'orient' us as to how the whole thing worked. I mean, generally people who stay in hostels have done it before, alot, but everyone has to have a first time, right? And Richard and I were both hostel newbies.  Ergo, his surprise at entering a bathroom and finding a girl in it. A quick reconnoiter of the door revealed that it said 'Ladies' on the top half, and 'Gents' on the bottom half. A quick rapid discussion between us and we decided that it really was both, and went on in again to take care of business. Further investigation of the hostel revealed that there were also bathrooms that said only 'ladies' or only 'gents.'  But as the universal one was closest to our room, that was what we used.  Which was nice and convenient for us married types I guess, lol. We picked a couple bunk beds in the dorm-style room, put the sheets we'd been given on them, and deposited our stuff in a locker.  Then we were off to see Edinburgh!

It actually didn't take very long at all to locate the castle, which sits perched on a massive volcanic rock, overlooking all of Old Town. And then proceed to take lots of silly pictures.

Richard looking for a 4-Leaf Clover

With only 2.5 days in Scotland, we made the decision that we weren't even going to poke a toe out of Old Town to the rest of Edinburgh, just to keep the sightseeing within manageable boundaries.  However, this means that I will forever remember Edinburgh as this tiny, ancient town perched on a hill, and not the thriving modern metropolis it actually is, lol.

 Old Town is full of really, really amazing architecture and OLD, OLD buildings. Well, I guess you could probably get that from the name.  One of my favorites was this red-doored church, where a slightly creepy guy offered to take our picture for us.

Edinburgh is also SUPER confusing, because it has multiple streets at multiple levels.  Much like downtown Chicago over by Michigan avenue, come to think of it.  Except Chicago has MUCH better indications on their maps, as well as sensible street-naming conventions, like 'upper whacker' and 'lower whacker.'  No such thing in Edinburgh...the street would just not be there. And then you'd have to start looking down the hidden alleyways for one of those winding sets of stairs that would take you to the upper level of streets.  Anyone who spends much time there habitually has GOT to have great calves, that's all I have to say about that.

 There are also so many cute little shops it could give a coronary to a shopaholic. Since I only hit my shopping mania phase about twice a year, I was able to stroll on by without much angst. The shop on the left, Ness, is a diminutive of 'Nesssie' or 'The Loch Ness Monster,' which tale seems to have become a national legend from which bars, restaurants, and (apparently) clothing shops feel free to take their name. In addition to snapping pictures of shops and architecture, we explored the steep, narrow alleyways that are one of the hallmarks of old town Edinburgh.

These winding mystery cobblestone paths often open out into squares or 'courts' of housing that are hidden from the street, random ancient gates, or an unexpected pub. Usually marked with a discreet plaque that indicates which famous people at one time resided in the alley or court, they were LOTS of fun to explore! And goof off in. The newer buildings are just sort of glommed onto the old, making for some unusual looks (and a pretty killer mold/musty smell problem I'd bet!)

I did my best to video what it was like to go through one of these alleyways with the following film of

'John Milnes' Court'

A cool architectural note of interest: Back in 'ye olden times' when carrier pigeons and doves were a primary method of getting messages back and forth over distances, most major houses and homes contained a dovecote in the eaves, or area just underneath the roof.  Here the birds could enter and exit at will, returning to roost and bearing their messages strapped to their leg. The following are pictures of this unique architectural feature as it still exists in old-town edinburgh. (Look for very small round holes just underneath the roofs of the buildings).

 We used the St. Giles Cathedral as our primary landmark when navigating Old Town, which is the really cool looking spire on the right in the picture below. Just above the door there are some detailed and lovely carvings of some important looking people (see what happens when I don't get a guided tour!)

Inside the church we actually got to see one of the few extant copies of the signed 'Covenant' from which the famed Scottish Covenanters Rebellion takes its name.  Later on in our trip we DID get a guided tour (albeit a ghost tour) called the City of the Dead, which was where I actually learned about the Covenanters in the first place.  After which we made a trip back to the church to see the signed covenant-lol. From wikipedia:

'The Covenanters are so named because in a series of bands or covenants they bound themselves to maintain the Presbyterian doctrine and polity as the sole religion of their country...In 1637, Scotland was in a state of turmoil. King Charles I and William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, met with a reverse in their efforts to impose a new liturgy on the Scots...the covenant was adopted and signed by a large gathering in the kirkyard of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, on 28 February 1638, after which copies were sent throughout the country for additional signatures. The subscribers engaged by oath to maintain religion in the state in which it existed in 1580, and to reject all innovations introduced since that time.'

The short version is-they wanted to be Presbyterian not Church of England, and they were willing to fight a religious war to enable them to worship 'according to the dictates of their own conscience.'

Finally exhausted and starving to death we set off to find something to eat. We just didn't feel up to trying new things at this point, so we passed up the first pub offer below, and settled on the second picture.  Which was the best food I have eaten since crossing the pond, bar none. AMAZING.

We found our hostel again about midnight and collapsed into our bunk beds. Turns out that the way we travel (non-stop touring action) makes hostels a pretty good deal, as we push ourselves to the cliff-edge of complete and utter exhaustion, at which point we don't really care WHO is in the bunk next to us snoring away.