The Sassenach

 SONG - Clare/Jamie Suite from Outlander

Day 24 - May 23

I woke up with a sore throat & head cold and so Mr. B let me sleep in while he brought me back breakfast.  So sweet!  Today it’s raining quite a bit so instead of walking around the Royal Mile we thought we might go to a garden Mr. B discovered and Midhope Castle which I have been wanting to go to for 8 years. 

We decided to go to Midhope first which is near the Firth & Forth Bridge. Midhope Castle was used as the stand in for Lallybroch Castle in the TV series Outlander.  I got us tickets online and off we went in the pouring rain but by the time we arrived the rain had turned into a mist and then stopped altogether.

 We walked up to the castle, which is just a ruin inside and took some photos.  Walked around the to the back & explored a bit. 

Mr. B hamming it up a little with his “air sword” 

He looks just like Jamie right?  (Wink)

It was perfect without any crowds. We even had a few moments alone there. 

We then headed for Mallory Gardens but it was pouring by then and the parking lot was quite a bit away so we scratched that idea and headed to the Sheep Heid Inn for a late lunch/early dinner. 

Sheep Heid Inn - Established in the 14th Century 

We were both quite happy with our front door parking spot!

The Sheep Heid Inn is a great little gastro pub with a skittle alley (bowling) and even the Queen of England has dined there too in 2016. We enjoyed it in 2017 for my birthday and it oozes atmosphere. 

That bright thing above the chairs is a plaque stating that the Queen had been there but it’s got a spotlight on it so it glows…..

I remembered that Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish (both from Outlander) had been here recently and sat in big chairs like these. 

I just had to do it!

However as we headed home we hit a lot of traffic. They had closed down parts of the freeway due to flooding and everyone was trying to get through on surface streets. We made it back to our hotel several hours later and headed to the bar - but it was closed for a wedding. A very nice man who was affiliated with the hotel told us that the wedding wasn’t yet and the band was just warming up and to come on in. Wonderful one bagpipe player and three drummers. Got some shots and a video while Mr. B was getting our drinks.

Perfect end to a great day……

Well it wasn’t really “the end” as we were siting in one of the “sitting rooms”, the fire alarm went off and I thought it was someone near us with an obnoxious ring tone. But no, the staff came through telling us it was a real alarm and we needed to proceed outside. It was pouring outside but they handed us silver protective blankets and told us to go away from the building to the meeting spot.  

We went to our car and finished our glass of wine and watched people coming out in workout clothes, wedding attire, bathrobes and lots of silver blankets. The entire bridal party & the band we just heard inside were outside too.  Finally the fire department came and we got the “all clear” signal from the staff to go back inside.  Well done by the staff and all of the people here who were so calm. We visited with a few people from Texas and Glasgow and then came back to our room. 

An hour later I realized that the sun protector  on my camera lens had fallen off somewhere along the way. Mr. B went out to search and came back in about 10 minutes chuckling and saying “you won’t believe what just happened “   He searched our route through two elevators and down several halls, the table we were sitting at earlier and then went to the reception desk to ask if anyone had turned one in. A woman sitting nearby overheard the conversation and said a friend of hers picked one up on the floor and it was in her room. She came back within minutes and gave Mr. B my hood!  Hooray for today!

Sassenach = an outsider, especially one of English decent 

Heading to the Countryside

 SONG - Going Up the Country by Canned Heat

Day 23 - May 22

Well it finally happened - We did just what Tess (the GPS lady) told us to do when leaving our hotel parking lot and that was to go out of the back of the lot and proceed on a tiny well kept road. We travel many a tiny road here in the UK so didn’t think that much about it. By the time we got to the bottom of the hill we had to drive through two metal posts. This is when we realized we were on a walking trail! Mr. B thought we could make it with him looking out his window and me mine. Well….we didn’t. 

Blew a tire on my side. We limped down to a parking spot and proceeded to make phone calls and fill out paperwork through an assistant of the car insurance company that Mr. B smartly chose before leaving for our trip. Four hours later and a new tyre (that’s how they spell it here) we were on the road passing the Kelpies for the second time today. Hi Kelpies!  

Above is a photo of us following the emergency repair truck to Falkirk on the M9 and passing by the Kelpies

We are now on the outskirts of Edinburgh at our hotel deep in the countryside. 

PS - Tess is on a time out

Mr. B (aka Robert the Bruce) pondering his potential error in judgement

Uphill All of the Way

 SONG - I’m Walkin’ by Fats Dominio

The view from our hotel of the National Wallace Monument 

Day 22 - May 21

In the morning we hoofed it on up the hill to Stirling Castle. A lot of uphill walking as well as many stairs.  It was a beautiful day with mostly blue skies but a definite nip in the air. There is a storm approaching.  

There isn’t any great way to take a photo of approaching the castle as there are lots of people and walls and more walls but here you can get a hint.

And this is what it looked like beneath the wall in the photo above and I cropped out a lot of busses  

First entry on my list was Queen Anne’s garden which was small but well tended

Of course I found two little boys playing airplane in the garden and it made me miss my two grandsons so much!

We then took a tour of the royal palace of King James V

Unfortunately they had not been refurbished well.  Everything looked new and in poor taste.  Not a lick of old furniture except the four poster bed.  It was painted in loud colors which apparently was as it used to be but felt more like Disneyland to me.

Enough for me as I tend to like more subtle colors and authentic decorations of which I found a few.

The thistle is the flower of Scotland 

Fireplace ornamentations 

And of course Mr. B wanted to check out the boy toys - canons

Great views from the top of the hill but after viewing several more rooms we decided to head cross country through the massive graveyard of Holy Rude and visit the 15th century church which was peaceful and quite lovely. Nice docents inside that gave us maps and were so enthusiastic about telling us about their church.  

 Returned to our hotel for lunch & I had a G & T with a side of Motrin because both of my knees were hurting. For lunch we shared a sandwich but it was awful with slivers of cheese and pickle chutney. Uggh. Thank goodness we ordered chips (fries). Went to our room to rest for a bit. Jim made us a dinner reservation at Portcullis which we passed by on the way to the castle. Looks promising. It’s starting to get cold and looks like rain. Yes it rained but we got a parking spot right in front and we were cozy and had a great dinner. Mr B got to talking with the owner, Jamie who knows of lots of Baird’s in Stirling. 

It used to be a grammar school in 1787 and then it became a munitions warehouse and now it’s a wonderful restaurant 

Mr. B said it was the best steak pie he has ever had!