FRIDAY, 2 JANUARY 2015 Week 19
This is the final leg of the Scottish part of
the tour, and what a week it has been. Oh, half a week. I’m doing another half-blog because there’s so much that happened and so many photos. We set off to Stirling, and the trip there was fairly
frightening. Probably because I was driving, and our stupid Sat Nav took us up some icy mountain pass, and I couldn’t turn around. We slipped about a bit, and I pretended to be the calm, efficient driver, when all I wanted to do was scream
like a big girl every time we did a bit of skid. Below, Stirling Cemetery on a
foggy day
Amethyst on a cold and snowy morning. (We're not the
only mad ones!). We made it to Alloa near Stirling in one piece and we
discovered Stirling Castle was open all year round! Hurrah!! I’ve been starved
of culture for a couple of months. It was bad enough when the seaside town
attractions closed down for the winter on the East Anglia leg of the journey,
but then all the castles and museums were shut in Scotland, too. Humph. It
was a joy to see old buildings and learn a spot of Scottish history.
Stirling Castle - what an amazing place. It was so
beautifully restored to the glory of what it would have looked like during the
Stuarts' reign. This was their Palace, and James VI (England’s James I) was
crowned King of Scotland here when he was just One Year Old. I also finally
managed to clear up my confusion over Mary Queen of Scots and Mary Queen of
Guise from the film Elizabeth!
Stirling Castle. Mary of Guise (her bedroom at the castle above) was French Grandmother to James VI , and Mary Queen of Scots was his
mother and daughter of Guise, which was why the woman was talking in a French
accent in the film. (I know you probably don’t want a history lesson, but I
love the history behind the British Monarchy, and I have certain gaps in it thanks to the hotchpotch way GCSE History was taught when I was at school)
So I learnt (in no particular order) The Battle of Bosworth, The Tudors, The Victorians and then the Second
World War, completely missing out on the Stuarts and the Civil War, Georgians and
the First World War! Anyway, everything had been restored to look like the royal court of the Stuarts, and it was all very impressive. Me in the Great Hall and Del on the throne in the Great Hall pretending to be King. The little girl wanted to be a Princess and wouldn’t
leave her throne for the photo... Haha)
We also got a free tour of ‘The Earl of 'Somewheres' House in the old town of Stirling called Argyle Lodge. I tell you, these Earls
were constantly fighting amongst themselves to be top dog in the Royal court or
attempting to overthrow the monarchy back then… I’m surprised we have a Royal
Family or an aristocratic society left with all the plots, attempted executions
and beheadings amongst them all. (Two of the Earls who lived at the Lodge were
executed for treason and one of the widows was allowed to continue her life of
luxury there because her first husband had been a loyal subject of King Charles
II who her second husband had tried to overthrow!!! Mental!).
Above - Some spooky woods we walked through to catch a bus
to Stirling. (To the side) A wee shop in Stirling town - The Picture says it all... So Cute, I want one! No more history
lessons for now…
We were heading down towards Edinburgh for New Year’s
Eve, or Hogmanay, as it is called in Scotland. Del told me he had a surprise, and boy, was it ever. I was guessing the cinema or a nice Thai restaurant. He even laughed when I asked if it was a ferry trip to some remote island, but no. It was a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia. (Below) Me in the Admiral's Chair.
Besides History, I also love learning about the current
Royal Family. Their lives are so different to ours, born to privilege but also living in a goldfish bowl - every aspect of every day is pretty much mapped out for them, and for that, they are compensated with opulence and luxury.
Although the jet-set lifestyle may be great, I would hate to have paparazzi shoving cameras in my face every time I was in a public place. I can
understand why the yacht would have presented itself as a haven away from
prying eyes.
The Britannia was the Queen's Holiday Home. Like we have a motorhome or such, well, she had her own yacht and 200 staff to serve on it. I was in awe of the place, to think that this was where the Queen had sat or eaten, or slept, and it was just truly thrilling for me, especially when you see that famous picture of Diana greeting Wills and Harry on the deck. I now know what it looks like on the inside… Regarde!!
Oh, and we also ate on the yacht. The food was
amazing. I even took a photo of my plate! The waitress must have thought I was
mad when I also took a picture of the menu whilst she was trying to take my
order!!! My Royal Lunch - Roast Beef sandwich platter with mushroom soup. Mmm..
The Deck, where the Royal Family takes their group photo every holiday. Officers' Mess, where they play Wombat Tennis—can you spy the Wombat?
The family lounge! The Queen Actually relaxed with her
family here!
Edinburgh Hogmanay was amazing to be amongst it all.
There were street performers, and the Christmas markets were still on, which was so beautiful and cosy and a bonus because I thought I wouldn't get to a Christmas Market this year. I even had my first German Sausage, and it was so tasty that I was quite surprised.
We walked up to the Castle, and it was packed with tourists. I couldn't believe it after struggling to find places open in other areas of Scotland. We went into a Tartan weaving museum but got no further than the shop because no one else wanted to see the weaving. So I bought my ‘Anderson’ clan sword Kilt Pin. The clan motto is ‘Stand Sure,’ which I like very much. I also bought a tartan shawl, which I wore for Hogmanay evening.
Unfortunately, we didn’t stay out in the city for the
full event because we discovered that although the council put banners up all
over the city boasting that they fund the Hogmanay Street Party, the minion
masses still have to BUY a ticket to get in. As we didn't have one and I’d
also 'pinged' my back earlier that day, we had our meal at Browns (which was
the best Ribeye Steak I’ve had since I arrived in Scotland).We then headed back to
the campsite at Morton Hall to ring in the New Year. The bar was open until 3 a.m., and we spoke to some friendly locals and listened to a live band, so that was fine. Browns New Year's Eve.
So, there we have it. Scotland has been extensively
travelled, but I would like to go back to certain places in the summer or at
least during the tourist season, like the Isle of Skye, the Orkneys, the Shetland, and the Hebrides, as these would probably have been too treacherous. And the elusive Northern Lights will have to stay hidden for now; there's always another time. Happy New Year, and on to Northumberland.
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