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!

Boats in the Air & Mythical Beasts

 SONG - Myth - Celtic Music

Heading north from Glasgow to Stirling we had some time to explore before going to our next lodging for the evening. So we took a small detour to the Falkirk Wheel and Kelpies.  But first I have to share with you that it’s our grandson, Charlie’s second birthday today! Not to worry though, we will celebrate when we return home. He is such an enthusiastic and sweet little boy who tries to keep up with his big brother at every turn!

Happy Birthday Sweet Charlie!

Our first stop was the Falkirk Wheel that connects the Forth and Clyde Canals with the Union Canal and is the only rotating boat lift in the world. 

Signage at the site state that it could turn itself with the energy from just 4 teapots because it’s engineered so well and expertly balanced.  They also state that it could hold 100 elephants!

The gate opens up,  asking sure the water levels are the same inside the holding tank as it is in the canal, and the boat glides in. 

The giant gears begin rotating the boat and another holding container full of water & a potential boat above. 

The device raises one boat up and lowers another. 

Once both boats are where they should be the gates go up or down depending on where they are - top or bottom and the gates open to release the boats to sail happily on their way. 

As we were leaving we noticed several narrow boats on another canal. They were beautiful and fun to watch - along with a mama swan on her nest and daddy swan on the lookout. I saw a crow come close and boy did he go after it!

On towards the Kelpies……

The Kelpies are mythical water creatures that can turn into humans.  And they represent the horses in the Scottish culture.  The sculpture was made by Andy Scott and unveiled in 2014.

Just incredible

We then traveled further north to Stirling so Mr. B could do some of his family tree research but after contacting the minister of the town near Stirling, he found out that they didn’t have the records he was looking for nor could he go into the cemetery where his relatives were probably buried due to unsafe conditions (most of the headstones were toppled over).  So since we already had reservations there we decided to visit Stirling Castle and see what else we might take in.

Our home for the next two nights and it looks like something out of Harry Potter, doesn’t it?

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

- Harry Potter