Onward north to Scotland

This morning we continued our travels northward towards Scotland. It wasn’t long after leaving Ambleside that we headed into the border country and Hadrians Wall. We had seen a glimpse of the wall on our last visit, and wanted to find out a bit more, so off we went in search of some of the Roman Forts that had been excavated. On our way through the hills we heard a rumbling behind us then all of a sudden a there were two fighter planes dog fighting at low altitude through the valley – it felt like they were right on top of us. Unfortunately we weren’t quick enough with the camera – they were out of sight almost before we realised what was going on!

We continued on our way towards Birdsowald Roman Fort on Hadrians wall. There is a long line of the wall still visible here, along with the foundations of a number of the buildings that would have been in the fort. The wall would certainly have been impressive when it was complete. Unfortunately now most of the stones have been taken to build the houses and sheds for the farms in the area, so the wall is not even visible in some places.

From here we moved in to the Scottish Borderlands, and Hermitage Castle. A few people had told us about their driving experiences in Scotland – the single lane roads with passing points every few hundred yards –and we thought they were talking about the roads in the highlands. We soon discovered these roads are all around Scotland – in the border country as well! The roads were pretty quiet, so it wasn’t a problem but I would hate to be driving through in the peak tourist season! Not long after we got into Scotland and it started raining. Hermitage Castle, which we were going to visit, is another ruin – no roof. It was only raining lightly, so we continued on our way. By the time we were wandering around the castle, the rain had really set in and was quite heavy! The hills we had driven through were no longer visible. There is a saying about Scotland – if you can see the hills, its about to rain, if you cant see the hills, it is raining! I really do believe this!

We ran back to the car and continued to Floors Castle – this one is lived in, so we hoped it would provide good shelter, as well as being an interesting place to look around. And it was. The castle is the home to the Duke and Duchess of Roxborough, and is a beautiful place. The garden was a bit soggy (it had stopped raining by the time we finished looking through the house), so we didn’t spend much time there, and continued along towards Edinburgh.

On our way in to Edinburgh, we stopped at Rosslyn Chapel (made famous by The Da Vinci Code). It is currently undergoing a major restoration, and so is covered by an ugly tin roof and scaffolding. This does allow a more close up view of the outside of the chapel, but does ruin photos! The work that went into creating this chapel is amazing, every section is elaborately carved, and all windows, ceiling sections, wall adornments etc are different. Everything has a story as well, such as the colums carved by the master and his apprentice – the master carved the first one, then went to France for inspiration for the second. While he was away the apprentice carved the second colum, and when the Master returned, he was so angry that he murdered the apprentice. The apprentice did a wonderful job – more elaborate than his master, which wes probably his downfall!

We finally finished looking around the chapel, and were on our way to find our B&B in Edinburgh. It was much easier than we expected, so we wandered into the Royal Mile before long. We were near the Castle when we heard a band playing. There were quite a few soldiers around, so we kept going, and found that the stadium seating was all up ready for the Tattoo in August, and that there was, in fact, a band playing. We had arrived in time to see the ceremony to install the new Governor of the Edinburgh Castle. It was really good! Thank goodness the rain held off for this, and till we walked back to our B&B!

(Alison)