Scotland & Ireland - Part 1

 

Our Nutter Butter is studying abroad this semester in Italy. In February, she started talking about her spring break plans and said she wanted to go visit some friends studying abroad in the England. Afterward, she wanted to travel up to Scotland and then Ireland, solo... As a mom, her solo travel made me nervous and I have missed her bunches so I asked if I could tag along. Anddddd.... she said, "Yes!"

We both arrived in Edinburgh in the late afternoon and met up at the train station. It was so, so good to hug her neck!! We made our way through the hilly streets, luggage in tow, to our hotel and checked in. We walked through the historic Edinburgh streets and made our way up to Calton Hill to watch the sunset. Calton Hill is a hill of volcanic rock and houses several city monuments; however, it is famous for its panoramic views of the city, especially during sunset. We sat, watched the sunset and I enjoyed hearing about her spring break travels in England!

View of the city from Calton Hill

After sunset, we set off to find dinner. We ended up at a small restaurant called No. 1 High Street. Just outside the location of the restaurant was what used the be the gate to enter the city of Edinburgh when it was surrounded by a wall. There are brass markers embedded in the street indicating the original placement of the city gate as well as the place where heads were put on display of criminals that were beheaded. YIKES! For dinner, I opted for traditional fish and chips and mushy peas, of course. For dessert, we split a yummy sticky toffee pudding! The atmosphere was great, food was traditional and yummy but the company was the best!!

We stayed at a hotel right on High Street, the Royal Mile, so it was super convenient. The next morning, we started with breakfast and coffee near the hotel at Black Sheep Coffee - yummy lattes and fresh waffles filled with Nutella and strawberries.

We then headed to one end of the Royal Mile to begin our exploring at the Edinburgh Castle. The castle sits atop a hill of volcanic rock and it is one of the highest points in the city. It has spectacular views of the city and obviously was a great military vantage point. There has been a castle on the rock since the 11th century. The existing buildings on the castle property date from various times with the oldest being the St. Margaret's Chapel dating to the 12th century. It was closed for repairs so we couldn't tour it but the rest of the buildings were open. We visited the war museum on the property which had been a hospital at one point. We also visited the great hall, the prison, and a war memorial hall. Mary Queen of Scots, one of Scotland's most popular royalty members, spent time at Edinburgh Castle. Americans were actually held as prisoners of war in the prisons here, too. 

Edinburgh Castle

Beautiful view from the castle - you can see all the way to the water.

Just behind the cliffs in the distance, is a area called King Arthur's Seat. It is an extinct volcano.

These bags were used to deliver library books to soldiers!

A watercolor of a makeshift library for soldiers.

These berets were reserved for Scottish soldiers that completed a very elite type of training... sounds familiar to the Patterson Party of 5!

This dog (when alive, of course) was adopted by a squadron in the 1800s and kept as a loyal companion.

During WWI, a German soldier found this copy of a New Testament. He discovered the name of the soldier inside to which it belonged and the German soldier, even though he was an enemy, found the deceased soldier's family and returned the New Testament to them.

A glimpse down into a prisoner of war dungeon

Several wooden doors that were used in the prison were on display. They each contained various types of graffiti from prisoners. This one in particular had a carving of the the stars and stripes. 

Notice the note about Americans

Sample of prisoner of war accommodations

Ceiling of the great hall

To this day, they still fire a canon every day at 13:00 on the hour. It was an original practice to signal to ships because the weather is often so poor that they needed guidance.

We left Edinburgh Castle and headed toward Victoria Street  - a picturesque street in the heart of Old Town Edinburgh not far from the castle. It had old cobblestone streets - but honestly, most of Edinburgh does - with vividly painted buildings - which most of Edinburgh doesn't. It is rumored to have inspired J.K. Rowling's Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series. Being that I am not a Harry Potter fan, I wouldn't know! 

After Victoria Street we headed to the National Library. It's difficult for me to turn away an opportunity to get a peek at libraries in other parts of the world! We were only able to view the current exhibitions in the library and the main lobby and staircase areas. The stacks areas were only accessible to those with cards. The exhibits contained some Gutenberg information and also had an interactive part related to Scottish history and history of the library.

Illuminated "P"

Key to the library - I loved that it has a book on top

Notice anyone odd in the Mary Queen of Scot's lineage?

I gave CJ a quick cross stitching lesson.

Our next Edinburgh stop was the National Museum of Scotland. It is free to enter and not too far from the library. Honestly, it was one of the most unusual museums I have seen.  It has a large section dedicated to Scottish history but the other parts seemed so random to me. There was a fashion section, a maker's section, something like an inventions section, an animals section, a performing arts section and more. 

Dolly the Sheep - remember her?

Zip ties... really???

When we left the museum, we happened upon Greyfriars Bobby. He is a legendary Skye Terrier named Bobby and the story goes that when his owner suddenly died, the sweet little loyal terrier began holding vigil at his graveside in Greyfriar's Kirkyard. He spent his remaining 14 years most often sitting on his master's grave. Locals fed him and made sure he had water. When his existence was threatened because he didn't have a valid license, the director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals paid for his license thus guaranteeing his safety. Bobby died in 1872 and is buried in the same cemetery as his master. In 1873, a local was so touched by the story, she had a fountain erected in the area with a life sized statue of the terrier at the top. It's thought to bring luck to those who rub his nose. There are skeptics of Bobby's devotion and actions; however, being the dog lover that I am and knowing the strong connections they can have to their families, I have no doubt this story could be absolutely true!

Artifacts of Greyfriars Bobby including his collar and drinking bowl are in the Museum of Edinburgh.

We made our way next to University of Edinburgh and walked through the campus. HRH The Princess Royal Anne is actually the chancellor of the university. We continued our walk through the city to St Giles' Cathedral. It has been a working church for over 900 years, beginning in the early 1100's. It is where the services are held for the the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (highest honor in the country) is held. It's architecture was interesting to me - very historic with elements that were very modern!

McEwan Hall at University of Edinburgh

Stained glass at St. Giles' Cathedral

I loved the blue ceiling!

We grabbed some food and headed back the hotel for a bit because we had reservations for an nighttime Hidden and Haunted tour!! Scotland enjoys a fascination with the supernatural. There are stories galore of witches and hauntings. Neither my Nutter Butter or I are supernaturally inclined but we thought it would fun because the tour took place on the streets but also in the underground areas of Edinburgh. We enjoyed the tour and our theatrical guide and got some laughs out of it. There were history tidbits about the city thrown in as well so, overall, it was a fun tour!

We ended the evening with a stop for dessert - Banoffee Pie and Tiramisu! Yum!!

We began the next day with a light breakfast at our hotel, left our bags with the desk, and headed to Holyrood Palace. It is the official Scotland residence of the British monarch. They use the palace for official monarch business only - meeting with other dignitaries, ceremonies and such. It's not a place where the come to just relax and hang out. It is located at the end of the Royal Mile (which isn't actually a mile) opposite of Edinburgh Castle. The Holyrood Abbey, which is connected to the palace on the left side, is the original structure on the grounds. It was established in the 1100s and was used for a number of religious ceremonies and weddings. The original part of the palace wasn't constructed until 1500 and was attached to the Abbey. It was added on to throughout the years up through the late 1600s. One of the most significant historical events that has taken place in the palace is the murder of the guard of Mary Queen of Scots. Her paranoid husband turned on her and had her guard murdered. There is so much intriguing history surrounding Mary Queen of Scots. It was a little odd to stand in the room where this major even had taken place.

Holyrood Abbey ruins

The left side of the palace is the original portion.

Beautiful gardens of Holyrood

The third floor of the turret in the distance (left) is the chambers of Mary Queen of Scots and where the murder of her guard took place.

This is the Parliament building - VERY modern and across the street from Holyrood Palace.

After our tour of Holyrood Palace, we walked back up High Street and made a stop into the Museum of Edinburgh. It was a small local museum dedicated to historical information and artifacts specific to just Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh is filled with what they call "closes." Basically they are little alleys/tunnels that go through the buildings. Most are very historic looking - cobbled paths and stairs. This one was much more modern looking.

After the museum, we opted for a late lunch/early dinner at a local spot on High Street. I really enjoyed my steak and ale pie and we had a great seat by the window to people watch on the street!

After lunch/dinner, we boarded a bus and headed to the coast - Portebello Beach. We walked along the beach a bit, touched the frigid North Sea and hopped back on the bus. 

The North Sea

After we got back to Old Town Edinburgh, we picked up our bags from the hotel and and headed to catch the express bus to the airport and make our way to Dublin!