Edinburgh, Scotland

Today we head back into central England, stopping first in York. Means it's time to do my blog post on our visit to Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. I'll leave most of it to pictures - we had a wonderful stay (3-days, 4 nights). The public transport is brilliant - buses are £2.50pp for a day pass and a bus runs every 15-20 minutes right outside the campground.


Crossing the Firth of Forth into Edinburgh

We didn't intent to spend all 3 days in the old district (Royal Mile area) but that's kind of how it worked out. At its peak, Edinburgh had the highest population density in Europe.


City blick from Edinburgh Castle

We had a remarkable day at Edinburgh Castle - though were glad for the half price discount from our English Heritage membership (£15 for the family vs. £30). The weather held - clouds but nice, warm sunny breaks greated us and kept us dry and warm. We started out in the park below the castle, which has a small ampitheater and hiked around the hill and up to the castle (the thoroughfare via the park was closed). After touring, we descended via the "Royal Mile" - a fantastic walk though we didn't quite make it the whole mile.



Looking up at Edinburgh Castle, from the park below


Saint Margaret's Chapel - Oldest building at Edinburgh Castle, dating back to the 12th century


Viewing the canon range


Mons Meg - presented to King James II in 1457


Dan & girls - Edinburgh Castle

For those who are not opposed to the "big bang" theory, a visit to "Our Dynamic Earth" is a good rainy day alternative. The building is next to the Scottish Parliment, at the bottom of the Royal Mile. It's very cool to see the contrast of the historical old city, glimpses of Holyrood Palace, the contemporary Scottish Parliment building all sharing Holyrood Park as the back drop.



Side view of Scottish Parliment building


Scottish Parliment building from the front

Visitors to Dynamic Earth experience an interactive "trip through time" exploring how our earth was created - learning about volanos, earthquakes, glaciers, etc. Again, we were thrilled to have the Caravan Club 2:1 discount - £17 vs. £30 (they charge for kids 3+ which is a shame - the exhibit is better geared to kids 7+). Cool factors include the "glacier" (yes, a huge piece of ice in a cooled room), the "rainforest" (where it actually rains every12 minutes) and the interactivity at the end, helping show how no decision on energy use or conservation is easy. Granted they take each aspect to the extreme, still drives the point home that the decisions we make impact us in ways we don't necessarily anticipate.


Dynamic Earth building with Holyrood Park in the background


Dinosauer evolution?

Had it been a nicer day, we would have ventured to take the hike to Arthur's Seat - but it was quite windy with rain squalls. We slipped into the Museum of Edinburgh (free) for a bit and were surprised at the silver collection - we hadn't known Scotland was famous for silverwork until then. Lovely exhibit including a sample sitting room from days gone by.


View of Holyrood Park with Scottish Parliment on the right

On our way to York now.



Ciao!

Isle of Skye

A visit to Isle of Skye became required after we saw an old travel show by Michael Palin which included his visiting Isle of Skye by train. Since then, we have been determined to visit ourselves. We're only saddened that we only had time to visit one region.

First thoughts - the road we took out (A835 / A 832 / A890) are crazy and we were glad to have the use of the tiny rental car for the drive out (~2 hours). For much of the drive we were on single track roads, with just pull outs to allow oncoming traffic by. The speed limits are crazy - still at 50 mph and people think nothing of passing in areas I would never dream of doing so. For that, we were treated to absolutely stunning scenery.

Glimpse of the scenery on the drive out


Same stop as above, but different direction

The Isle of Skye is now connected via bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh as shown below. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see the beautiful, gently curving bridge connecting Isle of Skye to the mainland in the background.

Bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh to Isle of Skye

We declined the whiskey tour - mainly as the kids aren't allowed on the production floor. There's no real use in touring a distillery if we can't visit all areas. With that stop off the list, we made our way directily for Dunvegan Castle, promised to be "the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland..."

Learning about the MacLeod Clan was interesting - though the castle and grounds itself didn't feel to be the most inviting of our tours. I can't fully explain it, but we were left with a sense of tension in the air and a feeling of not really being welcomed to the estate. Maybe part of it is the realization that an active family resides at the castle and suddenly acknowledging how odd it is that we paid to view someone else's stuff. The castle is interesting - there are sleeper bunks inside the walls, remnants of the "fairy flag" which holds magical powers, and several other artifacts. The gardens were quite impressive, with three separate themes to explore.

Dunvegan Castle

Dunvegan Castle - side view

View from the Castle gunyard

Round garden

Inside the walled garden

Water garden

We had inadvertently skipped lunch - there's really not much on the Isle of Skye, at least on the route we took. The villages were quite small, many just a few buildings. On the way out, stopped at a pub that served excellent food and Cuillin beer. Yum - what a fantastic treat to end the day.

Cuillin mountains

Cuillin mountains

As you drive by the mountains, there are visible rivers of water flowing down them - waterfalls like I've never seen before that appear to start at the top and just drop down. We hope to revisit someday and spend more time here. This area has got to be a nature lovers paradise - it's one of the lowest populated areas per square mile in all of Europe, I believe. We would love to hike and wander the villages in detail. Such a beautiful area - and as I understand it, rich in magic and folklore.

Ciao!

In search of Nessie

Posted 21.June, back dated to be in chronological order.

Knowing we can't visit Scotland and miss out on the Loch Ness Monster, we made our way to Inverness (campground at Culloden Moor). Had I known how much we would fall in love with the highlands, I would have planned to stay longer. There's so much in this area, 3-days simply wasn't enough.

This region of Scotland is very spread out and our luck with public transit ran out in a big way. The bus to our campground ran only every 2-hours to Inverness and there are massive changes in the bus operators resulting in confusing time scales and fees. For instance, the 1-day pass cost the same as the 7-day rider. But unlike other regions of the UK, the passes only cover Inverness; not the surrounding region.

We gave up and rented a car for the 3-days. At £38 per day, it was a bargain for saving the hassle of bus transit in this area.

First stop: Loch Ness.
Our drive started from Inverness and off we went, in search of Nessie. Loch Ness itself is 23 miles in length and about 700 feet deep in the deepest waters. There are several pull outs on the road, so we tourists can stop and read all about the history and take a look for Nessie. The girls loved this - gave them something to occupy their imaginations for the day.


The girls & I enjoying a vista of Loch Ness

Loch Ness Exhibition Center - we stopped here as it was the first as we entered Drumnadrochit. It was a bit cheesy but informative all the same, helping to explain what could have, might have, and can exist in the lake. We learned a bit about the mystery of the "monster" and the studies conducted to date in search of evidence. I think the gift shop was the best - full of little green (and one very large) monsters. It was hard not to buy anything.

Off to the tourist trap of the day


Fake Nessie at the Loch Ness Exhibition Center

Urquhart Castle - Just around the bend stands Urquhart Castle - a scenic ruin with commanding views of Loch Ness. We were granted free admission, thanks to our English Heritage membership. I can't do the history of this site enough justice - I recommend relying on the Wikipedia article or the Scottish Heritage information (sorry to my ex-colleagues, but Encarta didn't have an entry for the castle). Suffice it to say it's believed a fort may have been on this site as early as 600 AD with known records of the current site dating back to the 1200's.

This is a must-see in my book - the views and atmosphere are so pleasant. I wished we had a picnic basket to just hang out on the lawns a bit longer and soak in the landscape.


View of Urquhart Castle upon entering the site


Dan & girls waiting for me at the top


Love it!


Amazing trebuchet

Can't forget the Knicker Bocker Glory! We had read about it in a Paddington Bear book but didn't know what it was. Couldn't resist ordering it when we finally saw it on the menu at Castle Restaurant in Inverness. The picture tells the rest of the story:

Ciao!

Ayr, Scotland

Posted 21.June, back dated for chronological order.



Continuing our journey North from that Lakes District, we spent a week in Ayr, Scotland. It's a quaint seaside town and the campground (Craigie Gardens) was an easy bike ride from town. Famous Scottish poet Robert Burns lived in Ayr and it's the home place of Tam'O Shanter. The area is probably better known for its world class golf courses, including nearby Royal Troon. Neither Dan nor I play, so we enjoyed the view of the courses from the train. ;-)

Not a lot to report - the visit to Culzean Castle and the addition of a 3G modem are covered in separate blog posts. Interesting is the length of time the sun is up. We are quite far North and noticed that at 11pm, it's still fairly light out. The sun streams through our windows around 5am, making me wish our room darkening shades were a bit darker. It's strange to have it bright out at 10pm and later.




On the path to town - looking at the inlet from Firth of Clyde


We spent some of the time as "down" time - including a fantastic play day at (yet) another indoor playground. The girls love the freedom to run and be as loud as they want. When our two hours were up, we walked out of the building and ran into yet another playground - this one ocean-front and free. It has some awesome equipment. Dan wants to build a swing like the one below in our backyard.




Dream Swing


Now that's a fort

An encounter with a Scottish school girl left me smiling. She asked if America was nice and said she always wanted to go there. I asked her "why?" Her response, "Because Scotland is boring." She didn't like my response that she was lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world and that every town can be "boring." I truly am getting old if I can't sympathize with a bored kid.

We ventured out to Largs via train. Largs is the site of the last squirmish with the Vikings (Battle of Largs, 1263). We skipped the "Vikingar" movie/experience and spent a pleasant afternoon exploring the town. Best stop was the city museum (free). We were the only visitors at the time and the curator was quite friendly. She admitted us to Skelmorlie Aisle, Largs Old Kirk (the old church cemetary). Skelmorlie Aisle is all that was left of the church when it was demolished in 1802. It was built as a masoleum and the coffins of Sir Robert Montgomerie and Dame Margaret Douglass are interred in the vault. The ceiling of the building is ornately painted and includes paintings of Largs through the seasons with the autumn painting including an image of the old church. Sir Thomas Brisbane is also buried in the cemetary - in the Brisbane Vault next to Skelmorlie Aisle. Very cool experience.


Our "all inclusive" travel pass didn't cover the ferry to Cumbrae -- which would have required another bus ticket to get to Millport. With the day getting late, we headed home. Maybe next time. ;-)





Loved this iron work from a church entry in Largs



Viking statue - Largs


Skelmorlie Aisle


Ceiling of Skelmorlie Aisle - showing the coat of arms of Sir Robert Montgomerie and Dame Margaret Douglass

On Father's Day we visited the Ayr market, held at the nearby race course. We resisted the urge to purchase from the "Meat Auction" -- my favorite quote as we walked by was, "It might be prime rib, but I don't know. Who'll give me a 10'er for it?" They literally were plunking meat down on the scale, not cleaning it after the last batch, then dumping the contents of the scale into ordinary plastic grocery bags. We did find some cute new dresses for the girls - a bit on the big side, but both are so pleased with their new formal-wear, I can hardly get them to wear anything else. Late afternoon found us back on the mega playground - which was quite busy this time. It was fun to see so many families out together. The weather, while not super warm, is enjoyable for outdoor activity - though can be quite windy in this region. A nice end to a mellow week.



Meat Auction at Ayr Sunday Market


Chasing Dad on the beach





All dressed up and nowhere to go

All for now - ciao!

3G Wireless - Cool!

We recently discovered 3G in the UK. Welcome to our first roaming blog post. We're driving from Ayr to Culloden today (200 miles) and on a whim, tried our our new wireless connection. What do you know? It works while driving!



Recently, Dan has been known to say things like, "It's nice to have GSRM wireless network connectivity."



Apparently the modem we have works with most networks. It worked right out of the box - no need to set up or install any software. The program we went with is fully pre-paid and you just buy more time when you need it. No contracts - so is perfect for travelers.



Costs:

£49.99 for the wireless modem

£15 for 3gb data



Very cool to finally be connected at a reasonable price.



For reference, the Caravan Club sites in the UK that offer connectivity have been through KeZone. Although we were not restricted on data usage, we found the connections were often flaky and didn't work well. KeZone charges based on time usage and pricing schemes are about as follows (I can't remember the exact pricing for the hourly rates, but this is in the ballpark):

• £5 for 1-hour


• £10 for 4-hours


• £20 for the week.

We like the 3G service - it's fast, fairly affordable and it works. The clerks in the 3G store were friendly and helpful. One note - the bandwidth rates are more expensive when traveling the rest of Europe ... so check your travel plans and rates.

Most programs we've looked at to date require a 2-year contract - which doesn't work well when touring (e.g. services from T-Mobile, Orange, Clearwire, etc.).

Ciao!

To Dad, on Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I hope we get to do something really fun with you. I hope the sun will stay out all day. I love playing with you. Your cooking is excellent.

We hope you enjoy your Father's Day presensts. They should be your favorite!

Megan & Sophia - Ayr, Scotland

Love,

Megan & Sophia

Culzean Castle - Scotland

We are now in Scotland. Biggest change being that the roads feel wide open when compared to our latest adventures in The Lake District.


Our current campground is located in Ayr, a seaside town. Very cute and historic - with the town plans dating back to the 1200's (though many new buildings are intermixed with the few old).


Took the bus to Culzean Castle (about 30-minutes distance) and had a fantastic day out. The bus drops passengers at the main road and there's about a mile of walking before you get to the castle. Price for the family would have been £30; but we saved £10 with our 2:1 deal from the Caravan Club! Love it!

Visitor's center



Viewing the castle from the beach.




Side view of the castle.

Sadly, visitors cannot take pictures inside the castle. Too bad really, it's so beautiful. My favorite was the oval staircase... amazingly the last item to be added to the house. The kids loved searching for the lego men, hidden in every room. It was a great way to engage them in the experience and allow us to enjoy the beautiful rooms. There is a Camping and Caravaning Club touring site next to the castle and the castle operates a hotel on premises. Would be a very romantic get away. You can see a few interior pictures on the castle web site (click here).





Peep hole at the gatehouse?

We spent a fair amount of time hiking around the grounds of the castle - down to the beach, over to the caves beneath the castle. Then back up and off to the walled garden where we met one of the gardeners and learned all about this monstrous plant (sorry, I can't remember the name of it now) that looks like it's from the Jurasic period.




Jurasic looking plants inside the walled garden.


Palm trees - these were imported from the mountainous region of China and the gardener estimated they are over 100-years old. Apparently it's quite a common misconception that pine trees only thrive in tropical environments.



Another hike out to the bus (fueled by Culzean Castle candies) and we were back to our bikes by 6:00. Funny thing, when we biked through town to the bus earlier in the day, the streets were absolutely bustling with activity. At 6:00, it was silent. Hardly a person in sight and all stores closed up tight.


Ciao for now!

The Lake District

Published 11.June, back dated 8.June to be in chronological order.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people tell us places we “must see” often not knowing or acknowledging the size of our rig. It’s only after the fact that people express surprise that we made the journey. The Lake District was just such an experience – at the campground (Park Coppice) people couldn’t help but stare at us and ask in awe, “You drove that here?” Not knowing has turned out to be a benefit to our travels. We don’t know we don’t fit … so we journey on, assuming that wherever a semi or box truck can go, we can too. Here are some pictures of what I was seeing out the passenger side of the motorhome. Dan laughs at me on these skinny roads, lined on both sides with stone walls. I tend to duck and lean left when the big lorries come at us.

View from the passenger seat

This is what the roads look like...

We stayed at Park Coppice, just outside Coniston. The campground was nice enough to hold a pitch for us – there is really only one at Park Coppice that is sufficient to accommodate us. We also had a few bits of mail waiting for us – the girls were thrilled to get mail from home!

Coniston Waters (the lake) was about 1 mile (downhill) from where we were parked. Sheep graze in the surrounding pastures and as the area is held by the National Trust, it is not overly developed. From the lake, we had a prime viewpoint of Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin for the last 28-years of his life. The Steam Gondola also routinely passed by on its hourly voyage. Otherwise, one is left to contemplate the wide open spaces, beautiful scenery and fortunately for us, nice weather. The girls spent an evening throwing rocks in the lake. Sophia took a tumble immediately after we arrived and was wet shoulders to toes; Megan soon after threw herself in the water, then jumped up, claiming it was an accident. Such a sympathetic sister!

Steamboat Gondola - This puppy can cruise!

The Lakes District was home to Beatrix Potter, the “Lakes Poets” (Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey), John Ruskin and hydroplane speed records. In 1957, Donald Campbell broke his previous speed record by attaining a speed of 239.07mph on Coniston Waters (source: Microsoft®Encarta®2007). Today, it's a very popular tourist destination and we were surrounded by people with trekking gear intent on reaching their destination.

Path to the lake (Coniston Waters) through another campground, through a few fields, inside the rock wall.

Bridge to Coniston

Beautiful hotel - love the stonework

We spent a day trying to reach the Beatrix Potter Experience in Windermere. The friendly staff at the Coniston Tourist Office directed us to take a bus from Coniston to Hawkshead; change to a private bus from Hawkshead to Ferry House and take the ferry to Bowness. Sounds fun. Only we are not early morning people and the buses run hourly, at best. We arrived in Hawkshead around 1:30pm… the next bus to Ferry House was not until 2:10. Exploring Hawkshead was fun though the old grammar school, attended by Wordsworth, was closed. Given that we were aiming for the Beatrix Potter “Experience” we skipped the Beatrix Potter Gallery which houses the original artwork (managed by the National Trust). Accents came to play in the next interchange – the bus driver kept asking why we didn’t just take the Stagecoach bus to Windermere – he then thought we wanted to get off at Hilltop, the location of Beatrix Potter’s home. Finally figured it out and we arrived without further ado at Ferry House. Turns out, we could have saved ourselves a lot of money and time had we understood the bus service better.

Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead

Entrance to grammar school, Hawkshead

Tourist outing foiled, it was a nice day out. The passenger ferry to Windermere is quite small and very beautiful as you can see in the picture below. We wandered the hilly area a bit, then decided to catch the bus to the train station (our connection to get home) a bit earlier than planned. Turns out it was the best possible decision as traffic gets clogged down by the marina and our bus was 10-minutes late. We arrived with 20-minutes to spare to make the last bus out of Windermere and back to Coniston.

Ferry from Ferry House to Windermere

Cruising across Lake Windermer

Windermere - these buildings are actually side-by-side.

Sunday was another beautiful day. We wanted to hike Old Man Coniston (2,635 ft), but after checking with a few folks, we learned it wouldn’t be appropriate for Sophia. Dan and Megan headed off for an afternoon of hiking. Sophia and I biked off to the marina at Coniston Waters to take in the Gondola Yacht and disembarked at Brantwood. We spent a good amount of time exploring the gardens and the house. Ruskin was an English art collector, critic, and thinker whose ideas influenced many later generations. My favorite two things from the house: 1) in one room was a bucket of stones. An excerpt from one of Ruskin’s books welcomes the visitor to take a handful of ordinary rocks; select one to examine and realize it’s a mountain in miniature. 2) a quote found in the study, “There is no wealth but life.” I’m attempting to read his book, titled “On Art and Life” and enjoyed exploring the gardens and house. We tried to grab a bite to eat before heading back to meet Dan and Megan, but the restaurant was too slow. We gave in to sharing a piece of carrot cake and tea. She thoroughly enjoyed it!

View of Brantwood House from across Coniston Waters

Met up with Dan and Megan at the Black Bull. We had tried the pub earlier in the week with dismal results on food but yummy beer. We had agreed to meet between 2 and 3pm so I didn’t think it an issue to arrive closer to 3. They had been there, waiting, for an hour already! Oops. As Sophia and I hadn’t had a real lunch, I ordered a Sunday roast and the restaurant redeemed themselves from our experience earlier in the week. Their Sunday roast was quite tasty and Megan grooved on it too. (Roast beef, served over mashed potatoes, with gravy, deep fried potatoes, two biscuit-like things, filled with gravy, and a side plate of fried turnips, squash and zucchini). We ate outside but I couldn't help but take pictures of the interior. Love it!

Inside the Black Bull, a 16th century pub

Black Bull bar

Megan's pictures from the hiking expedition

More gates...

View from trail

Looking over the village of Coniston