On Saturday, June 13, our Trafalgar bus tour left Glasgow to head north into the Scottish Highlands (pronounced "heelands"). We began to have very atmospheric rain and mist, and much furrier cows (pronounced "coos") and sheep in the pasturelands. We took an hour's cruise along Lake Lomond, which is in a popular Scottish song. We also saw the cave where Rob Roy hid from the British, very helpfully labeled.
Our next stop was in the Valley of the Weeping, absolutely beautiful.
In the afternoon, we visited a working sheep farm to see a demonstration of sheep herding with border collies. The shepherd has 18 dogs, and is training a 10 week old pup was hanging on his master's every word. The dogs went out to get the sheep, and brought them to us, so that we could see various commands like "left," "right," "lie down," or "slow down." Each command was given in words and whistles. There was even a blind dog who could perform perfectly well with only his hearing and his sniffer.
After the demonstration, we were allowed to bottle feed the spring lambs, and hold the 5 week old puppies, who were shivering in the cold away from their mama inside.
The next day, our main stop was St. Andrews, on the east coast. Obviously, Alan was thrilled to make the "pilgrimage" to the birthplace of golf. We walked around the 18th hole to take pictures. Gracyn was more interested in St. Andrews as the location of the events that inspired Chariots of Fire. So we went out onto the beach to do some re-enacting.
The town of St. Andrews boasts many other historical attractions, including castle ruins and the remains of an abbey abandoned after the Reformation. Plus scones.
Our final day in Scotland was exploring Edinburgh. Again, our first instincts dictated tracking down the locations connected to Harry Potter. So we saw this cafe, where J.K. often wrote, and this gravestone in the next door Greyfriars churchyard, which may have had some role in inspiration.
After that, we made our way the rest of the way up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. It was not bombed during WWII, and remains quite breath-takingly perched on the top of the rock edifice. We took audio tours, and wandered the structures from various different periods. For me, the references to Mary Queen of Scots' time in the castle was very interesting, including a visit to the room where she gave birth to her son, James.
We enjoyed shopping as we walked back down the Royal Mile, and took a walk through the Princes Street gardens, where one can get the best view up towards the Castle.
That evening, we elected to go on one of Trafalgar's "optional" expeditions, to an evening "Taste of Scotland" dinner and a show. We started off with a delicious meal, including a plate of haggis. I had no intention of tasting this item (if you don't know what it is... Google it), but when our host proclaimed that "if you have eaten chicken nuggets or hotdogs, you have had worse," I had to agree. It was very tasty.
Now the show portion of the evening was traditional Scottish music and dancing. It started off feeling overproduced, with a very loud sound system, lots of swirling lights, and a slide show of pictures in the stage. It was probably very popular with the octagenarians present, but not quite what we expected. That being said, it toned down a bit, and we were enjoying ourselves, along with the rest of our table. During a portion where they taught a Scottish dance, Alan was pulled to the dance floor to do the reel in front of the whole crowd.
Well we had a few more days in the bus, through York and Stratfor-upon-Avon, and then two days in London. Our final London activities will be the subject of the next post!
Our next stop was in the Valley of the Weeping, absolutely beautiful.
In the afternoon, we visited a working sheep farm to see a demonstration of sheep herding with border collies. The shepherd has 18 dogs, and is training a 10 week old pup was hanging on his master's every word. The dogs went out to get the sheep, and brought them to us, so that we could see various commands like "left," "right," "lie down," or "slow down." Each command was given in words and whistles. There was even a blind dog who could perform perfectly well with only his hearing and his sniffer.
After the demonstration, we were allowed to bottle feed the spring lambs, and hold the 5 week old puppies, who were shivering in the cold away from their mama inside.
The next day, our main stop was St. Andrews, on the east coast. Obviously, Alan was thrilled to make the "pilgrimage" to the birthplace of golf. We walked around the 18th hole to take pictures. Gracyn was more interested in St. Andrews as the location of the events that inspired Chariots of Fire. So we went out onto the beach to do some re-enacting.
Our final day in Scotland was exploring Edinburgh. Again, our first instincts dictated tracking down the locations connected to Harry Potter. So we saw this cafe, where J.K. often wrote, and this gravestone in the next door Greyfriars churchyard, which may have had some role in inspiration.
After that, we made our way the rest of the way up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. It was not bombed during WWII, and remains quite breath-takingly perched on the top of the rock edifice. We took audio tours, and wandered the structures from various different periods. For me, the references to Mary Queen of Scots' time in the castle was very interesting, including a visit to the room where she gave birth to her son, James.
We enjoyed shopping as we walked back down the Royal Mile, and took a walk through the Princes Street gardens, where one can get the best view up towards the Castle.
That evening, we elected to go on one of Trafalgar's "optional" expeditions, to an evening "Taste of Scotland" dinner and a show. We started off with a delicious meal, including a plate of haggis. I had no intention of tasting this item (if you don't know what it is... Google it), but when our host proclaimed that "if you have eaten chicken nuggets or hotdogs, you have had worse," I had to agree. It was very tasty.
Now the show portion of the evening was traditional Scottish music and dancing. It started off feeling overproduced, with a very loud sound system, lots of swirling lights, and a slide show of pictures in the stage. It was probably very popular with the octagenarians present, but not quite what we expected. That being said, it toned down a bit, and we were enjoying ourselves, along with the rest of our table. During a portion where they taught a Scottish dance, Alan was pulled to the dance floor to do the reel in front of the whole crowd.
Well we had a few more days in the bus, through York and Stratfor-upon-Avon, and then two days in London. Our final London activities will be the subject of the next post!
Great. Now I'm going to have the Chariots of Fire theme stuck in my head all day. Thanks, guys. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, does Rue have a canine sibling in her future?!