September 29, Stirling Castle.

Today we set out for Stirling Castle. Got there fine and though we couldn’t find our way to the castle we found the castle park and ride which was even better. It was chucking down rain. An awful storm when we got to the parking lot but it had stopped by the time we got to the castle. We were just in time for a guided tour. Gary, our guide was so good. He was interesting and injected lots of humour so they we finished the tour feeling we had learned a lot. We learned about various features of the castle and he debunked the inaccuracies of “Braveheart”. We now know the facts of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The castle sits high on a hill, you can see Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh on a clear day. You can see 50 miles in either direction from the castle. An excellent location.



We had a bite to eat and then started our self guided tour. They give you free audio guides but the people, dressed in period clothing throughout the castle provided so much good information that I rarely used mine. One I particularly enjoyed us in the Queen’s throne room. There are several tapestries, the Unicorn tapestries. They tell two stories. One tells a mythical story of men hunting a unicorn and in the other story the unicorn represents Christ and tells the biblical story of his life, death and resurrection.

Spotting the Unicorn or the Betrayal of Christ

The ceilings had carved faces on them. They are called the Stirling faces and are fascinating. Our guide magically reappeared just as we got to the room displaying and explaining them. Gary was fascinating again. He explained that in the 1700’s one fell down on a soldier so for safety they removed them and put them out for firewood. The jail keeper, Ebinezer Brown, the jailer, learned that they were being destroyed and saved as many as he could. He distributed them to nobility at various castles. In the 1960’s they got as many of them as they could back. There are some interesting stories about them. John Donaldson has made reproductions of many of them. There were 80 of them to fill the ceiling and they were short one so he carved his daughters face and they called it “the carvers daughter”. We almost bought a book about them but decided it was very heavy and will see, when we got internet again, if it is available through Amazon

Carved face at Sterling Castle

Recreation of carved faces on Kings Room ceiling Sterling Castle

I visited the place they weave tapestries while Roy toured the Argylls Regiment museum and then it was time to go. We missed visiting the kitchens and didn’t have time to see the old jail. We wanted to see Bannock Burn Battle site. Both the road signs and Andromeda were useless. Roy went in a pub to ask the way. When we finally found it an Australian couple were coming out and they had experienced the same problems. They were quite excited about telling us all the difficulties they had experience (mirrored our experience). They were told a truck had knocked down the sign outside.

The museum was very interesting but not near as elaborate as the Culloden (last battle fought in Britain). We went there in 2008. After the museum we walked out to Robert the Bruce’s monument and tried to find Bannock Burn but couldn’t. When we went back inside Roy had someone show us on the map where it was. We were looking in the wrong place. Hard to put yourself back in time and imagine 10000 to 15000 men being killed there in the battle. Hurrah for the Scots!

Time to go home to the Laundry Cottage on the Estate.

The castle was another one that was never taken by force. Several times seiges and political manuvering causes it to change hands. The castle was in English hands when Robert the Bruce defeated the English at Bannockburn. Afterward when the English left he did not want the castle to be used against him so he had it destroyed in 1314. The castle was slowly rebuilt over the later centuries. The rebuilding is quite notable as there are many places where several different stones are used at each level. The great hall has a type of stucco covering the stone with a yellow wash over the stucco. The whole castle was originally covered in this, but it has all flaked off. The castle was in disrepair in the 1960’s and was still used to house the army when it was turned over to the Scottish Heritage group for restoration. They have tried to restore the castle to what it was in the 14^th and 15^th century. The Royal apartments were build for James V for his new French Bride in the style of the French and Italian decore. Unfortunately for him he died never having lived in the new building. His wife and daughter (daughter became Mary Queen of Scots) did live there until Mary was 4 or 5 when they left to join the French court.

The Stirling faces carved in oak copies were carved by John Donaldson. The are round panels done in the raise plane style. He made copies which are placed on the ceiling of the Kings Hall. John was watching a show on Harps and how the music is 0,I, and II. He thought it re-minded him of something. It finally came to him that he had seen it on one of the carvings. It looked there is a mistake on the border of on that carving. Above the mistake and all around are 0’s, I’s, and II’s. It could be a music score but they are not sure, and the mistake is the start of the score. What they have done is taken the music score, recorded the playing of it on a harp and the recording is played on the way into the galley. There is another strange thing. One of the original panels is of a women looks like her throat is cut and it goes up through the left eye. This is due to the delamination of the wood glued together to make the carving. The new copy is also delaminating in exactly the same spot. The Argyalls were the original thin red line during the Crimea war.

September 27, Carmichael Farms

Well, a lot has happened since we last wrote on our blog. This is yesterdays blog entry as we have no internet again.

Reluctantly, we left Burnbrae and Thairn Cottage. It was a mistake not to book longer but hindsight is so good. We are booked into another self catering place between Biggar and Lanark. The news says Pebbles main street is flooded and Andromeda has routed us through Pebbles. The road we took through the town is quite a bit higher than the river and we didn’t see any flooding. It sure looked bad on the news though. We arrived in Biggar in time for lunch. We walked around town and couldn’t decided on a place to eat but did find the book store that is talked about in the guide book. We had lunch at the cafe/bakery next door, stopped briefly in the book store and were on our way to Carmichael.

Amazing! Andromeda found Carmichael farm. Mary at the visitor centre/grocery said it was too early to check in so we decided to go to New Lanark though it was a bit late in the day to start touring the site. It turned out that you buy your ticket and have it stamped at each place you visit.

Linda at New Lanark School

We toured until 3:30 and returned to Carmichael for 4:00 so we could get checked in and oriented. Good thing we were there in time. The directions Mary gave us were confusing. Down the road, turn in at the Estate Gates, with the eagles, first turn on the right. Ha! Fortunately the maintenance man, Darren was there and offered to guide us. Doubt we’d have found Laundry Cottage on our own.

　

To go back to New Lanark . New Lanark is and was a cotton mill. Robert Owen felt that workers had rights and deserved a more comfortable life than most experience. He built a utopian type of town for the workers. They had a medical plan (1/60^th of their wages went to it, day care, schooling a store that sold high quality goods and charged less than the stores in the nearest town, they got one day off a week. The children didn’t go to work until they were twelve and were in school until then. They worked 10 ½ hours and had two meals during the working day. Families had an apartment to live in though they might be crowded. There was work for everyone.

New Lanark and River Clyde

Roy and I thoroughly enjoyed everything we saw. They have a ride - you get in a Ferris wheel type car and as it goes along you learn about the workers lives in the town and mill through a guide, Annie McLeod, a young girl who works in the mill. It was great! The work was hard and Mr. Owen is fair but demands that you work hard.

The Clyde River supplies the water for the mill which I will let Roy talk about.

Corra Linn Falls River Clyde

….Back at Laundry Cottage, Darren has guided us to the cottage and comes to the door with us. On the way to the cottage, I said to Roy, “he is the Duncan of the Carmichael Estate, just like Duncan at Glen boggle (Monarch of the Glen). He is just as enthusiastic an full of energy. We didn’t have coal and wood for our fire so he went back and got us some. I am unable to get the wi/fi so he becomes the IT man and attempts to get it going. The phone line is down. He will report it to the boss as there is nothing he can do. Now we have a huge bag of coal and an equally large bag of wood. For free (18 pound value). Sure hope the power doesn’t go out.

　

The cottage, as the 15 other the rent out are 200 to 300 years old. We are feeling more and more like we are in the Monarch of the Glen show. The cottage is old, with thick walls. Will insert pictures later when we can get this on the blog.

We purchased groceries at Galashields but they would have had provisions from the farm here for us if we needed them. We had a frozen pizza in the oven when there came a knock at the door. It is Andrew Carmichael. His father is the Carmichael clan chief. He inherited the estate (1000’s of acres) when Andrew was 4 and moved the family here from New Zealand. Andrew (the Archie of M of the Glen) is young and good looking. They are doing everything they can do to keep things going . They farm, have cows, sheep, pigs and deer. They sell their meat at the store at the visitor centre and at Saturday markets. He is at our door at 5:30 to say that he is sorry about the internet and will get the phone company on it but doubts anything will happen quickly. The stags are rutting and the sounds they make are quite eerie. Pete has made the sound for the girls and he is bang on.

We crawl into bed early. Staying on estates in centuries old cottages is tiring.

September 18 Scarborough  (North Yorkshire Railway)Scarborough ( North Yorkshire Moors Railway)
The upstairs neighbours were up at 5:00 am, they went back to bed around 6:00 after someone left but it was hard for us to go back to sleep. We were up and ready, lunch packed to leave at 8:00 for Pickering and the 9:00 train. However, it was not meant to be. First Andromeda sent us in the most roundabout route and then traffic was unbelievably heavy. Every mile or so along the A170 there was a village to slow down for and in between we had slow traffic. As we drove along we recognized the villages we had driven through with the Brownes on Sunday. Finally we arrived in Pickering and knew we were late. I saw a sign for the train; thought it said go straight but it was turn right. We drove straight on to probably what was the next village. Roy turned around we got to the station 15 minutes late. Coffee at the station tea room was in order. After coffee we got tickets for the 11:00 train and then walked down the street to an HSBC and withdrew some cash then over to the TI where we got lots of good information and post cards. Time for the train.

Steam train to Goathland

First you hear the chug a chug of the train and then see the clouds of steam and the pssh sound of the steam venting. The whistle blows and the train is there. We were on the train and into window seats. Roy even had paper towels to clean the window as suggested in Rick Steeves book. No sooner did he wash the window than they came along and cleaned them. Nicely settled for our ride, the conductor asks, “is everyone in this car with action tours?” Nope, we have to move to a different car - rats!! We wind up in a compartment for 8 people. There are only 6 of us and a dog (a very well behaved dog). One couple is from Kent, they are older and he is a classic type that we have all seen on a tv show. Very friendly people. The dog people are younger and from Manchester. We enjoyed the ride with them and they seemed to enjoy me trying to take a video and have the camera going when the train whistle sounded. We chug a chugged along to Goathland where we got off. The station was used in the first Harry Potter movie and the village was used as Aidensfield. As you walk up the hill into the village you see the Aidensfield Arms and across the street is Scripps Garage.

Aidensfield Arms

 The garage is a tourist trap with Heartbeat bric a brac for sale. They have a dusty car on display and a couple of motorcycles. Outside there are Ford Anglias. But the gas pump is there and the front of the garage looks just like it does in the show.

Scripp's Garage

  We didn’t go in Aidensfield Arms but continued on into the village. We had our lunch looking onto the Green and grazing sheep and the shops. Very like the show except the Green seems way too small. After lunch we wandered on down (or up) the road past the doctors house, what looked to be the police house and several houses that looked like they had been in the show. There were splendid views of the moors too. We walked as far as a cross road then headed back to the village. Visited the church which is at the crossroad. Back in the village we checked out the shops. Roy got a Ford Anglia police car and I got some coasters. They have a Ford Anglia Police car outside the Aidensfield shop. Next stop Aidensfield Arms - just like is in the show. The pub was actually used for the first five years of filming and then a replica was built at the studio. We had a drink by the fireplace. Could only get near the bar long enough to order. Back to the train - this time we are able to get window seats. We took lots of pictures as the village and the train station are very quaint and picturesque.

Aidensfield Arms



Aidensfield Arms later for a drink

Michael and Shirley had invited us to join them at a pub they go to on Tuesdays for curry but we were back too late and we were exhausted. We think it might be the wind that is tiring us but at the end of the day here in the north we are bagged. We were disappointed to miss going for dinner but they were lucky as we would have been poor company.

I just talked to Michael and we will go see them tomorrow evening.

September 17, Scarborough

No September 16^th date! We didn’t make an entry. As we have no internet here we are making our entries on a word processing program and we got involved in a Jackie Chan movie thought I watched most of it through my eyelids.

Michael and Shirley took us on a road trip. We began by having coffee at a place out of town. It is a Best Western- the Ox something. It was very nice. There had been a wedding the night before and the wedding party was still there.

Next we drove through the forest where Michael played and camped as a boy. It is original forest as it was since in the ice age. Stopped by the river and went for a walk. Jes enjoyed his walk and play in the river. It was very picturesque.

This was followed by a drive through the countryside to a quaint village where we had Sunday lunch. I had ham, Roy had roast beef. It was all accompanied by roasted potatoes, and perfectly steamed carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and mashed turnips. A big lunch for us! Good thing we took Jes for a walk afterwards. The walked ended with an ice cream cone and then we drove on to Whitbey. Micheal gave us a short tour of the town and we visited the fish store where he bought kippers and whelks. I had heard of whelks but never tasted them. It was nice to try them but I think once was enough for me. We stopped for tea and then home. What a lovely day. It was so nice to see the area through the eyes of people who have lived here all their lives.

Today we were up and ready to play golf with Michael at his golf club. North Cliff Golf Club. He equipped us with clubs and as it turned out balls because ours that we organized for the trip are sitting on our dresser at home.

North Cliff Golf Clubhouse Scarbourgh

The first hole runs along the North Sea. It is long in my opinion. The second hole takes you to Burniston Road (about a five minute walk from where we are staying). After crossing the road you play the third hole. They have an added hazard - undulations in the fairway. Some undulations go parallel to the fairway and others horizontally. They were quite intimidating to begin with. Michael and Shirleys’ house is across the street from the fourth hole. Nice place to live! After 8 holes I got over my nerves and began to play better. Roy had a very good game. It is a beautiful golf course and Michael was so nice to play with. Holes 16, 17 and 18 are back across the road. On 16 and 18 you are driving toward the sea. Very beautiful! We had lunch at the club and I got to use the Lady Members only change rooms. My goodness, I was a long way from the Valley Golf wash room.

We returned to Pine Lodge for a cup of tea and a snooze. 18 holes of golf and a pretty strong wind played us out! Just as we decided to go for a walk to Scarborough Castle it started to rain. After about ½ hour the rain stopped and off we went. About 100 yards up the street from us you cross the road and follow a path through the trees which takes you to the Scarborough outdoor theater ( more about it later) and then to the beach. We walked along the beach and up the hill to the castle. It was open for another hour so we paid to enter. It was quite an interesting site. The site has been inhabited since 800 BC. I will leave this to Roy.

The theatre has just been restored and is quite fabulous. Michaels dad did theatre lighting for the original theatre and he performed as an extra in many performances. Shirley was in the plays too.

Over to Roy

Well as Linda said, we walked from our abode to Scarborough Castle up on the highest hill around. The headlands have a panoramic view to the surrounding area.

Scarborough Castle from North Bay

 This made it an ideal as a point of early warning and for building a fort. Earliest evidence of people date back several thousand years BC. (800 BC) Whether the early people had a settlement or just used it as stopping point during migrations. Found on sites are stone and flint tools which date this early period. Some of them just look like rocks to me so I have to take their word for it. A bronze sword was excavated which now resides in the British Museum. Along with this is evidence that the bronze tools were actually manufactured here, bronze poured into moulds. When the Romans were worried about the Scots, they put a signal bases all along the coast including here. The base only had a small garrison, but was established in the early 300’s AD and was manned until they left. Shortly after William the Bastard conquered Anglia in 1066 he started building castles all over Anglia.

Scarborough Castle Keep

 Scarborough was one he started in 1068. On 3 sides are steep cliffs and only the 4^th was practical to attack. The main building is the keep, a building within the walls which would provide the last level of defence with only one entrance.

South Bay Scarborough from Castle walls

As kings came and went, they all seemed to feel that it was important and kept upgrading and building on. King John put more money into this castle than any other during his reign. It continued to be used up until WWI when the German Navy shelled it and the town early on in the war. It was interesting and almost empty of people made it quite enjoyable to walk around. We left just as the castle was about to close and walked down hill back to our self catering unit.

 

As for the golf , it was great. The sun was shining and the course was quite open, but difficult. The wind was only slightly under force 4. The undulations Linda talked about are terracing that people used hundreds of years ago to increase the surface area of the farm land. When the city allowed a golf course to be built here, the terracing was and is considered heritage and must be left. When I think of terracing, I think steps, but these have no flat spots instead they are round at the top and bottom. I was using a Taylormade draw driver that Michael use to use. I was really hitting well. I shot 101, with twice shooting 9’s on par 5’s. Those were the only holes I 4 putted. Overall a good day.

September 15, Oxford to York

Sunny skies greeted us this morning. It was even too warm for a jacket by mid morning. Last evening we suffered the smell of very strong perfume in our room. Man, you felt like you were eating it. We decided it was coming from the room above. I opened our window for a while and put the bathroom fan on but it didn’t go away. Next morning we discovered the “night light that didn’t work” was a room deoderizer doing its job! Our host, Richard served us a delicious breakfast that his wife had cooked. They manage the property with the help of staff. Richard has a broken shoulder from a fall downstairs and is very tattooed, even inside his ears. He and Roy share the same taste in reading so they had a grand old chat about Bernard Cornwell and others. We set out for the York Museum where they trace Yorks history back to the Romans. We had a good morning there tracing the history of York through Vikings, Celts, Romans, Saxons etc. Fascinating, if only I retained all I learned. None the less, I enjoyed seeing things so very old. Pubs have been very convenient but we are tired of them so we decided to go to a tea shop for lunch. All the tea shops inside the walled York were very busy. HMS York was given the freedom of the city today. The sailors, with their band paraded through the streets. Very stirring. We decided to head over the bridge and go to a place closer to Linden Lodge. We had seen one with a Tetley sign - that would be good, it turned out to be a pub. Lunch was eventually purchased from a bakery and eaten on a bench outside a church on Scarcroft Street.. Back to the car and off we go. Richard has given us more direct driving instructions to get to the A64. Andromeda brought us in on a very winding out of the way route, but she got us where we needed to go. Traffic was stopped dead at the on ramp to the highway. We had to pull to the side to let an ambulance through. In a short time we were on the highway and traffic was moving. The trip to Scarbourgh was uneventful. Found Pine Lodge and Denise got us settled. Carol and Harry stayed here two years ago and had told us the story of the black towels. This is a small apartment. We have a front room/dining room, kitchenette/shower and sink (shower and sink are part of kitchen), toilet room and bedroom. Very comfy. Anyway most people who stay here are from England and they bring their own towels. Too bulky if you are coming from North America.. Harry and Carol had to ask for towels and they were given brand new black towels. New towels shed so they were covered in black lint after a shower. It was hard to keep a straight face when Denise brought us the famous black towels. We are grateful for the towels as otherwise we’d have to go buy some. Next we hit Tesco for some groceries and then we called Michael and Shirley. They gave us a great welcome. The view out their front window is of their beautiful garden and a golf course beyond. They moved into the house 18 months ago and have done extensive renovations as well as building on. The house is 56 years old (they have been married) 56 years Shirley had a delicious dinner for us. There was a lot of food and it was all so good. They are going to show us around town tomorrow and we will go for lunch at a pub with them tomorrow. After Skpying the Caines we came back to Pine Lodge before it got dark. Michael and Harry were in the National Service together. I am off to watch Midsommer Murders (there really is a Midsommer) and have a drink of Scotch to salute the end of another good day. God Bless, good night Just a quick note. We turned on the TV and there was Oliver Stone and his show Vikings which starts out in York.

October 2, Glasgow

We had a bit of downtime yesterday and it was evidently much needed.  Both of us felt better this morning.  The shuttle bus took us into Edinburgh and we made our first stop Wetherspoons (Campton).  What a great place, we give it a 10 out of 10.  Prices were very good, as was the food and the ambiance was good too.  As Roy said, it didn't have the character of some of the old places but it more than made up for it.  Next stop, the tourist information place where we got a map of Glasgow and subway directions.  Off we went - their subway is old and a bit claustrophobic but it got us to our destination.  It was orignially powered by a steam engine and cable system.  It was a short walk to the Kelvingrove Museum.  Wow, an amazing place.  The first room we went in was filled with life size animals (not live ones) from all over the world.   It reminded me of "Night at the Museum".  There was a full sized Spitfire hanging from the ceiling.  We learned about the "Glasgow Boys".  20 artists 1880 -1920? from Glasgow who formed into a sort of group.  Hornel was my favorite.  Dali's "Christ of St. John is in the collection and really touches you.  It is hard to stop looking at it.
There were rooms dealing with furniture, womens rights, life in Glasgow, I could go on and on and on.  We limited our time there as there are only so many hours in the day and our brains can only absorb a small amount at a time.  Pity we won't be back.

After the Kelvingrove museum we took the underground to the Transportation and Maritime museum.  Another great place which we didn't have near enough time to do it properly.  There are all sorts of cars, motorcycles, trams, trains,model boats, and steam engines throughout the museum.  We heard that there was going to be a tour in 15 minutes so we went over to see about it.  We were the only people who showed up for the tour.  Our private guide took us to all the highlights as he called them.  It took about an hour.  There was the remains of a steam engine coach built in 1837 which was like a horse drawn coach with the engine separate and infront of the passenger coach.  The builder was light years ahead of his time in design, but opposition to non horse drawn coaches was too strong for him to overcome.  When ever a ship building company built a major ship, they would make a model of the ship to use as advertising to other clients.  Inside the museum are models of at least 100 of these models, including the QE1, QE2, and the Queen Mary.  These alone could take a long time to enjoy them. One of the cars was an MG TC.  After the tour we told our guide that we would be leaving and going back to the airport.  He offered us a ride, as he had a car and was going right by the airport on the way home.  We thanked him, but declined as we wanted to go down town to see what it looked like.  Instead of the underground we decided to walk along the River Clyde.  It took about 40 minutes, but was good excercise for our long flight tomorrow.  Dinner was at our Glasglow local where we had breakfast.  Good food, reasonable prices and a pint of Guiness.  doesn't get any better than that.  

We have packed up, weighed our bags and blogged.  Time for bed and our flight home tomorrow.

Another marvelous trip.  A couple of hiccups but lots of fun and new things to see and people.

September 30, 2012

Today we traveled to Edinburgh.  We didn't want to have to drive in the city and find a place to park so we stopped in at the TI in Lanark and asked about train service.  Being Sunday, train service is lousy from the small stations, one train and if you miss it you are hooped.  Next was can we park somewhere and get a bus.  Yes of course you can and there is good service.  The guy at the TI spent at least 1/2 hour trying to confirm that the busses run from the Park and Ride at Herminston and which bus to take to get to city centre.  It didn't matter which site he went into, it directed him to the same site which gave no information.  Finally he found a painful way get the information and confirmed we could get buses in and out.  Next he printed us directions to the park and ride which was really helpful because the GPS would only accept the town nearby.  We did put in the nearby town for the GPS and of course it was different than the ones the TI gave us.  It was pouring rain when we left, but the weather report told us it would clear up in Edinburgh by 10 AM.  Part way the road was closed due to flooding.  Divert onto the road which the TI gave us and carried on.  Fortunately the diversion put us right to the Park and ride.  Walked over to the bus stop and met a nice older couple and had quite a chat about Canada and the west coast.  A bus comes not ours and they told us we were at the wrong bus stop, oh well, we only hadto cross the street..  Really glad we didn't plan on driving into Edinburgh.  A lot of the streets are torn up with construction, it would have been a nightmare for us.  Got off the bus and walked to the Royal Mile and picked out a resturant for lunch.  It was almost empty when we went in but it started raining cats and dogs and the resturant quite quickly filled up.  After lunch we decided to hit the main attraction for us, the Scottish National Museum.  We planned on a couple of hours there.  Its another one of these places which takes days to give it justice.  Its also free.  There are two buildings, one has Scottish heritage and the other has the rest of the world.  We went into the Scottish heritage side and found out there were 5 floors, starting at the bottom for the beginning.  Looking confuse, a nice enthustactic young man told us all about the museum and its history and what we absolutely must see.  First floor took over 1/2 hour and we didn't spend too much time at each area.  By the time we had done 3 floors we had spent over 2 hours and felt we needed a lot more time on each floor.  We decided to do one more floor and leave the rest for next time.  On the way out it was almost time for the milleniun clock to do its thing so we decided to wait.  It was quiite a sight to see this clock built from pieces found in scrap yards to do its thing.

.It is hard to see, but inside there are gears, wheels and objects which move to music played to represent all the people killed all over the world in the 20th century

 

  The air was getting stale and we were getting tired, it was time to leave.  Once outside we needed a drink, which spells pub.  Greyfriers Bobby pub was on the corner, as was the statue of Grey Friars Bobby, so in we went for a glass of water and a swift half.  Refreshed we headed out to the royal Mile for a stroll. 



 There wasn't anything particular we wanted to do or shop for but it is a nice stroll and different.  We stopped at the whiskey centre  and I bought some travellers bottles of BenRaich to try out.  There was a bottle of 50 year old Johnny Walkers there, selling for only 1750 pounds.  Tempted, but no, probably tastes the same as Red Label.  After strolling about 1/2 way down we decided it was time to head for the bus.  On the way we walked through part of the gardens which were created from a drained lake.  Uneventful bus ride back and Linda was able to program the GPS to take us around the flooded area.  Back to our abode to have supper, clean up and do some packing.

October1 Glasgow (Linda)

The  rules for Carmichael Cottage state that "as this is a self catering cottage, please leave the cottage as you found it".  Well, that didn't set too well.  Cleaning the fire place and toilets?  Don't think so...
We checked at the Visitor Centre and it just means don't leave a mess.  Our options were a light clean 15 gbp or 30 for a full clean.  We opted for neither and left the place as we would leave any other.
It was quite an experience to stay there.  The son of the Laird told us how hard it was to keep things going.  How 200 year old cottages have quirks and kinks and need tlc.  True, but they have 15 cottages in Avimore (Scottish highlands), a flat in Edinburgh near Holyrood Palace and 3 flats in Cypress.  They had a family holiday skiing at Whistler, etc.  Not so sure about the hard life!
Anyway, I left them a note suggesting they get a new mattress as the one we slept on must have been there since farm staff lived in it 30 years ago.  It did have everything we needed and we slept fine.  Never had pheasants in my front yard before or deer grazing next to my garden. (Nor Stags making mating sounds at 6:00am.  It was fun and too bad it was so muddy and wet or we could have explored some of the walks on the estate.
Off to Glasgow.  Andromeda gave a very confusing sounding route.  I tried to make sense of it as it is much easier if I can see where she is taking us on the map before we start out.  Couldn't but off we went.  She did a wonderful job and we enjoyed the stunning scenery on the way.
Found the Ramada with no problem at all ... it was just when we got inside.  No, they had no reservation for us.  I had written the number down in our book.  They did find it but no credit card transaction had gone through.  We were a little frazzled by it all but they did have a room available for the same price and we are in it!  Returned the car, and went into the airport to see where to go Wednesday when we leave.  It is lunch time by now so we had something to eat and planned our afternoon.  Roy looked as wiped out as I felt - we went back to the hotel had vegged for the afternoon.  It  is 6:00 and we are in the lounge using the wi/fi. Think we will eat here though it is a trifle pricey.

One more day and we are homeward bound!  Can't wait to be there.  It seems like it has been a long time away and we miss everyone.  We made a mistake not making firm plans for the last few days and so felt like a boat with no rudder.  Edinburgh was great as was Lanark but the high winds and rain did put a damper on the walking we might have done in better conditions.
On the whole it has been a marvelous trip filled with lots of great memories, which I won't list right now.