Friday 20 Sept 2024 Today Andrew and Doreen take me to Falkland Palace on the other side of the river from Edinburgh - somewhere they haven’t been before either. It is a very grey and drizzly day but we set off mid-morning heading back to the Edinburgh bypass and then to where there are three bridges in a row across the river: a rail bridge, the old road bridge and a new road bridge with 3 huge white ‘sails’. Unfortunately it is so miserable that we can’t really get a good view (but we do … [Read more...]
Day 4: Peebles, Scottish Borders
Thurs 18 Sept 2024 We decide on a much quieter day today with an afternoon drive to the small town of Peebles, on the river Tweed in the Scottish Borders area. We also want to get back reasonably early as Andrew and Doreen’s good friends John and Jenny are coming for dinner tonight. It is another beautiful sunny day - to get 3 sunny days in a row has been unheard of this summer - it has been particularly wet and cold. And I’m told we have also had the warmest temperature! It is great to … [Read more...]
Day 3: Edinburgh Walking Tour
Wed 18 Sept 2024 Today we catch a double decker bus from the end of the road into Edinburgh and Andrew and Doreen take me on a walking tour of the old town areas. On the bus journey, I delight at all the stories of ‘that was where I used to live’, ‘that is where I went to school’, ‘there are the playing fields’, ‘that’s where we had our wedding reception’….etc. It was lovely to get such a good feel for where they spent their childhood (although much has changed since). It is a … [Read more...]
Day 2: Around Roslin Village
Tues 17 Sept 2024 Today we explore the village of Roslin, Rosslyn Chapel, and the picturesque Roslin Glen Country Park. We start with a tour of the Rosslyn Chapel complete with a talk about some of its history and features. No photos are allowed inside the chapel but there is a Rosslyn Chapel App that takes you on virtual tour of the inside if you are interested in seeing more. Rosslyn Chapel was founded by Sir William St Clair in 1446 as a family chapel. He had grand plans for a huge … [Read more...]
Scotland Short Break (Day 1)
Monday 16 Sept 2024 After a wonderful two weeks in France exploring my friend Dominique’s home town of Angers, I travelled on to Scotland to catch up with friends Andrew and Doreen who I had met on a trip to Nepal & Bhutan back in 2019 before all the craziness that Covid19 has brought us. Despite France being relatively close to the UK, it still took me an entire day to get there with a 2.5 hour train trip from Angers to Paris, a ridiculously long time (1.5 hours) to get through … [Read more...]