Mini-break Blog Post Extravaganza

Days 21-25:

Scotland Minibreak:

I headed off on my mini-break adventure on Thursday morning.  A fire in Edinburgh delayed my departure a bit because it backed up traffic so much that our taxi couldn’t make it through the middle of town to get to the train station and the rental car office.  Finally, I arrived at the rental car office and began the driving portion of my trip…on the “wrong” side of the road!  I had ordered a GPS for the car and bought an atlas, so I was doubly covered in case I got lost!! 

Driving on the opposite side of the road really wasn’t as unnerving as I expected it to be.  I upgraded to the automatic transmission (even though I can drive a manual transmission), so I didn’t have to deal with shifting gears with my left hand.  I made a few stops on the way across the country for food and to take pictures.

Once I got to Arisaig/Morar, I had to stop and ask for directions because my GPS said I had arrived, but I couldn’t find the bed and breakfast.  Eventually, I did find it, got checked in, and had a cup of tea and some shortbread.  I got settled in and took a brief nap before I headed out to Mallaig (a nearby town) for dinner.   My eyes were much larger than my stomach when I saw all the delicious options on the menu!  I ordered mussels, a tomato and mozzarella salad, and Cullen skink (smoked fish, potato, and leek) stew.  All of it was absolutely delicious, but it made me glad that I hadn’t really had much lunch!  

Mussels (top) and Cullen Skink Stew (bottom)

On the way back to my B&B, I decided to make an impromptu stop at the beach I had passed on the way in.  I couldn’t pass up a chance to put my toes in the sand!  It was only 18*C (64.4*F), so the sand was pretty cold.  The cold didn’t deter me from even testing out the water in the loch (which was even colder!). 

Nothing better than my toes in the sand!!

Loch Morar beach

*   *   *

The next day I headed off to the Isle of Skye, which meant another ferry ride.  I decided to drive for a while before I went to the Clan Donald Skye Center, so I headed up the coast toward Broadmoor and back.   During part of my drive, you could actually see the fog rolling in over the mountain.  It was really beautiful!  

View from ferry, looking back at Mallaig

Statue on the dock at Mallaig

While on this little journey, I realized that I should probably get gas if I was going to drive around since gas stations aren’t as prevalent in the UK as they are in the US.  I found one and pulled in, at which point I realized that I didn’t know which side the tank was on.  Thank goodness for a random conversation I had at the beach this year with my parents and my sister-in-law’s parents about most cars having an indicator on the dashboard that tells you where to find the gas tank.  I looked, and there it was a little triangle on the left side of the tank symbol!  Eureka! 

The Clan Donald Skye Center has a museum, library, gardens, castle, gift shops, and a restaurant.  There is also an area where you can participate in Highland games, but that part was closed the day I was there (too bad, I was really hoping to see how I did on some of those activities!!).  The museum has exhibits about clan and local history.  Although most of the items are specifically related to the family history of the McDonalds, there are some things that are more general in nature and would apply to general life in Scotland or the Isle of Skye at particular times in history.  The library has 7,000 books, mostly about history:  family, clan, local, naval, military, biography; although there are other books about geography and other subjects, too.  They also have maps, clan lists, genealogies, etc.  They have not digitized much, if any, of their collection; but they have some items on microfilm/microfiche.  

My dining companion for lunch

The center includes ruins of a laundry building and the Armadale castle, which is where the McDonald clan lived long ago.  Neither building currently has a roof, but the walls are still standing and the buildings are still beautiful.  I spent a little time wandering around the outside of the castle and taking pictures.  

Front of Armadale Castle (former home of Clan Donald)

It's tall!!

View through the ruin of Armadale Castle

View from Armadale Castle (basically the front yard)

Back of Armadale Castle

The gardens are tranquil and full of ponds and flowers.  They are a perfect place to sit and ponder the meaning of life or just sit and daydream for a while. 

Pond at Clan Donald Skye Gardens

At the end of my time on Skye, I took the ferry back to the mainland and wondered once again why ferries are always cold…no matter what the weather is on land!  I browsed through a shop or two in Mallaig before heading to a local inn for dinner.  

Driving is becoming easier and easier.  Parking…not so much!  For some reason, I am having difficulty parking from the opposite direction (which is strange, since I pull into parking spots on both sides in the US).  Who knew that parallel parking would ever be easier than parking in a traditional parking space?!

 *   *   *

The next day, I decided to explore the mainland a bit.  I drove and drove and drove.  I found beaches and lochs and coves and bays.  I made friends with sheep and lovely old Scottish gentlemen who talked my ears off about fishing and family and golf and Virginia.  I was being attacked by midgies (black flies), so he rooted around in his tackle box and gave me his extra bottle of “midgie cream” that he swore by…it was Avon Skin-So-Soft!  I’m not sure it really worked, because I still have bites but maybe they came from before.  He was such a sweet man, and I enjoyed talking with him.  Though, I did have some trouble understanding some of what he was saying, and I felt awful whenever I had to ask him to repeat himself.

Loch Morar

I couldn't resist wading in a bit

I continued driving around and finally got the picture of the waterfall that I had been seeing each time I went into Mallaig.  Then I headed into Mallaig for lunch and to look at some of the shops that had been closed when I had stopped in before.  

Once again, I headed to Mallaig to get food.  Before lunch, though, I decided to check out the Mallaig Heritage Center, which is a museum and archive about the history of the town.  It only took about fifteen or twenty minutes to look through, but it was interesting to see what they felt represented their town’s history.

After lunch, I went to Fort William (which is about an hour away) by way of Glenfinnan so I could try to see the viaduct made famous by the Harry Potter Hogwart’s Express movie scenes.  Unfortunately, there really isn’t a good view from the road, but I got the best picture that I could anyway.

Glenfinnan Viaduct

Another viaduct at the Prince's Cairn, but a better picture

I spent a little time in Fort William before heading back to the coast.  I decided to stop in Arisaig for dinner on the way and then headed back to the B&B for the night. 

*   *   *

On Sunday, I decided to relax and watch movies and read all day.  It was glorious!  I hadn’t had one of these days in weeks, so I enjoyed every bit of it!  I finally headed out into public for dinner and ended my Scotland trip with fish and chips.  Because it was National Ice Cream Day in the US, I also grabbed a Magnum bar at the Co-operative Grocery Store and ate it while sitting on the rocks near the shore listening to the waves hit the rocks below.  All in all, it was a wonderful end to my relaxing mini-break.

*   *   *

Monday morning, I woke up bright and early to get an early start on my trip so I could easily catch my 2:30 train back to London.   The trip from Morar to Edinburgh is only supposed to take 3 hours and 45 minutes, but I didn’t want to take any chances with traffic or getting lost.  I dropped off my rental car and got a cab to the train station to await my train back to the city.  My days of driving on the wrong side of the road are all over for now!  

The train trip back to London has been full of excitement over the Royal Baby’s impending arrival, excitement over my first class seat which gives me extra leg room and  other perks, and time and space to work on my blog!  I used the free wi-fi to blog and to watch Netflix, while enjoying my reclining seat and the complimentary orange and chocolate biscuits (or cookies)!

The baby boy was born just before 4:30pm today, and he weighed in at 8 lb. 6 oz.  Tonight was spent listening to the cheering and rejoicing in the streets and watching the BBC coverage on the television.  My vote for a name is Alexander, but I might be a little biased since that is my nephew's name!!

 

What Is a Hairy Coo, Anyway?!

Day 18:

This morning I got up a little ahead of schedule and ate a banana for breakfast while enjoying the view outside the house here at Dalkeith.  Then another student and I decided to walk across the bridge in search of the Hairy Coo and just to see what else we could discover.  Last night we had explored the house and found secret passage doors and rooms downstairs, so who knew what kinds of things we might find today!

Montagu Bridge

View from Montagu Bridge

Montagu Bridge from Below

As we headed into Dalkeith to the bus stop to start our day in Edinburgh, I decided to be adventurous and try a cheese and onion pasty for breakfast.  It was quite delicious...it tasted almost like a pierogi.  I think it must have had mashed potatoes in it.  I was careful to pay close attention to road signs on our way into Edinburgh since I'll be driving later this week.  I need to know what they all mean, so I don't end up in a ditch!

Our bus ride took just over a half hour, and then we did a little shopping before we headed to the National Library of Scotland  for a self-guided tour of their exhibits.  The first one I went through was the Jane Austen exhibit.  It contained a first edition (in three volumes) of Pride and Prejudice from 1813, a dress, gloves, and other books and films that have modified the story in some way.    There was also an area where visitors could leave their own comments and thoughts about the novel and the display.

Just beyond the Jane Austen exhibit, was the Picturing Africa display which had letters, journals, maps, paintings and drawings, and glass lantern slides from and relating to David Livingstone's time in Africa.  This exhibit was of particular interest to me since I had just seen Livingstone's actual artifacts at the Royal Geographic Society last week.  I enjoyed seeing his maps and trying to locate the different areas using the large magnifying glasses.

After looking around the National Library of Scotland, we passed by Greyfriars Bobby and learned the story of the pub and the statue.  Apparently, there was a police constable who had a dog named Bobby.  Bobby was a very loyal and protective dog, and he went everywhere with the police constable.  The constable died one day, and the dog mourned his owner's death for fourteen years until his own death.  There is now a statue and a pub named for Bobby.

 

 After seeing Greyfriars Bobby, we headed out to see the Elephant House pub, which is where J.K. Rowling wrote much of the Harry Potter series.  We took photos outside and then went to another nearby pub for lunch.

Where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter

The Elephant House window

Following lunch on our own, we met up at the Duke of Wellington statue just outside of the National Records of Scotland building for our appointment there.  On our way there, we saw Edinburgh Castle in the distance!

Duke of Wellington...with a bird on his head...

Our appointment with the National Records of Scotland was really interesting.  We learned that the building was built in the late 1780s for the express purpose of housing records.  It's known for its dome (the Adam Dome).  This building is one of three buildings that house Scotland's records and is the only one available to the public.  The other two buildings are only open to staff.  One of the more modern buildings is Thomas Thomson House, which was constructed in 1995 for record storage.  It is climate-controlled and has a conservation center and a box-making facility on site.  

The organization used to be known as the National Archives, but they just recently merged with the General Registrar and are now collectively known as the National records of Scotland.  Their website is a portal that can link users to all of their different services and describe the different functions of each of the departments.  Family history research is a huge part of their work, and researchers can do some of their searching from home by buying credits to gain access to the Scotland People website.  On this website, researchers can search birth, death, and marriage records, census records, church and parish records, wills and testaments, and other business and legal documents.  Since many of the documents are handwritten, there is even a website to help you read the Scottish handwriting, vocabulary, alphabet, etc.  Check out the handwriting tutorial website for more information!  If you still need more help and you're in the Edinburgh area, the NRS offers a night class about Scottish handwriting at Edinburgh University.

Tartans and plaids are a big deal in Scotland, and they are for sale in every shop on every street almost.  However, if your family has a particular plaid, you want to make sure that it is authentic.  The Scottish Register of Tartans will not only show you what tartans are available, but it will also allow you to register your own design if it meets the specifications. 

If you know that your family is from a particular area of Scotland or you plan on visiting Scotland and you want more information about that area, you might want to try checking out the Scotland Places website which gives local history about counties, or shires, in Scotland. 

The NRS maintains records that date from the 12th century, with the oldest item being a brieve from King David I from 1120s which grants land to build a church near Edinburgh Castle.  Users access electronic material instead of the original in most cases.  This means that they have had a huge push toward digitization in recent years, but even though much of their collection is digitized users can still only access the Virtual Volumes on site and not from home yet.  

Formal registration began in 1855, so government records after that are much more complete than the church or parish records that precede them.  Additionally, after 1855 the records would be kept in a standard format and not just in whatever way the church record-keepers felt like it.  They have wills dating from the 1530s to the present and census records from 1841-1911.  

Researchers coming in need a Reader's Ticket, which requires identification and two passport photographs.  They must also follow a certain set of guidelines for using the Search Rooms (no pens, no food or drink, no cell phones or cameras, etc.).  This ticket can be renewed every three years as needed.  If you need material, you contact the librarians in advance so that they can locate the material and bring it from the other sites if necessary.

We got to see some of their more interesting records, such as a book of letters from 1513 between King Louis XII and King James of Scotland detailing their cooperation against the British.  We also got to see a book of household accounts dating from 1673 that lists golf balls and golf clubs as some of the items the young master of the house needs to purchase along with wig powder and clothing.  Another interesting item were maps and plans to improve Callendar that showed how they would divide up the new fews (plots) and the old fews on the acreage.

One item was particularly interesting to me because it was a receipt for a person's arrival to Accomack, VA.  Apparently, people were sometimes sent to the United States not exactly by choice, but by "transportation" and upon arrival in the US, someone sent a letter (like the one we saw) back to Scotland noting their receipt. 

On my way out of the NRS, I double-checked the books they have available for sale to see if McDaniel was listed under any of the McDonald clans.  I had been unable to find it in any of the other books.  Finally, I found it!!!!!! Yay!  My father will be so excited!  In fact, I was so excited that I did a little dance...right there in the lobby of the National Records of Scotland!  After a little more shopping, my time in Edinburgh was complete for today and I headed back to Dalkeith for more adventures!

We stumbled upon the Dalkeith Library just as we got off the bus back in Dalkeith, so we decided to head in and see what it was like.  The librarian was particularly friendly and told us all about the different things we could find on our walks at Dalkeith Palace.  We grabbed another delicious dinner of minestrone soup and cheesy garlic bread (it was so yummy last night, I decided that I would do it again tonight!) and ate outside in the fresh air.  Once we were finished with dinner we went on a quest to find the Hairy Coo!  We passed fields and walked down paths and through brambles.  We passed stables and found an orangerie.  We crossed a bridge, and there it was--THE COO!!  It was quite a shy coo, though.  It kept turning away from us when we wanted to take his picture, but we found the hairy coo!  He's quite adorable :)  We stayed and watched the Hairy Coo for a while, and then we continued exploring.  We found an old amphitheater and a rabbit.  Here are some pictures from our adventure!

Orangerie

Hairy Coo!!!!!! (It's a Highland Cow, kind of like a Yak, I believe)

Goodbye, England! Hello, Scotland!

Day 17:

So we were on a bus for nine hours today.  I didn't have much to do except take pictures of the scenery going by, so here are some of those pictures.  Once we got here, we got our rooms at Dalkeith Palace (a old manor house that belonged to a Duke that sits on 800 acres of woods and fields), took a little walk to the bus stop, got dinner at a local pizza place (YUMMY minestrone soup and garlic cheese bread!!), and came back to explore the palace a bit.  We found a secret passage in our room and checked to see if it went to Narnia or to the Room of Requirement or anywhere else particularly exciting (it didn't...sadly).  Tomorrow, we'll venture into Edinburgh to start our library tours and other adventures!

Hay Bales in Northern England

View from the bus window

More sheep

Field and Sky

 

Hay Stacks

Windmills

Dalkeith Palace (my home for the next few days)

Secret Passage behind my bed!