Today we start on a trip that we planned for a few times but always were unable to somehow slot into our plans for that year. The main attraction is Scotland with the castles and the highlands that always attracted us as well as the wildlife and of course Edinburgh. The Orkney chain of islands to the north is also part of plan however we cannot make a visit to the Shetlands even farther north work so we leave that for another time. However for the start we plan on visiting two small islands, Guernsey and Jersey, that have a complicated status - they are not part of the UK but a British Crown Dependency, having the international status of "territories for which the United Kingdom is responsible" rather than sovereign states.
We leave late in the evening from Phoenix arriving in London in the afternoon. The flight is uneventful, no delays or anything which lately seems a bit of a rarity. The food on the BA plane however seems to have gone downhill they are missing options and the ones that they have are not good.
Sunset in the Phoenix airport
Everyone is ready to leave
Airplane dinner
And the breakfast
To fly to Guernsey the first of the Channel Islands that we are planning to visit we have to change airports in London and we decide to sleep a night in London near Gatwick from where we will take an early flight to Guernsey. Finding where the connection buses leave is easy if you have the information but quite obtuse otherwise but with luck we find a bus earlier than the time we intended to leave and we are on our way for the one hour drive from Heathrow to Gatwick.
Passing Heathrow on the way to Gatwick
View from the bus
At Gatwick we check in and afterwards we go visiting the terminal to find something to eat and finally decide to try the Cornish pastries which are our dinner for the day. Soon we fall asleep still tired after the flight and impacted by the time zone change.
The flight to Guernsey is uneventful even though we feel we enter a different country with its own money (and stamps for that matter). Renting the car goes quite easy and soon we are on our way to the first attraction the Little Chapel or so we think. Because of a detour we are forced in a different direction but with the GPS working full time and ourselves driving as defensively as possible given the narrowness of the streets we finally make it to a parking spot nearby where we see our first bird, a carrion crow (is that auspicious or not?) and beautiful fuchsia along the road to the chapel.
First bird - a carrion crow :)
Beautiful fuchsia
The Little Chapel was built starting in 1914 (three times as the initial two versions were too small) and are supposed to be a miniature version of the basilica at Lourdes (the Rosary Basilica). It is according to some sources the smallest functioning chapel in Europe if not the world which makes it an attraction on the relatively small island of Guernsey. We are quite surprised at how beautiful it is - it is covered in broken china and shells which makes it look quite different from anything we have seen. Inside it is very narrow but luckily with few tourists this early in the morning we have the opportunity to explore (it must be horrible if a tour bus arrives).
The Little Chapel
View from the front
Inside the chapel
Interesting building material
Continuing on the road we arrive at the official parking spot and a small shop which has a feeding area outside, seemingly for rats ;)). After using the facilities at the shop we return back to the car watching carefully the gulls that eat on the nearby field - nothing special though.
Fearless brown rat
Herring gull meeting (with an outside observer)
Our next stop is very close, probably five minutes drive if you can find the right streets which we do with the help of the GPS of course. It is the German Military Hospital which has a good size (for Guernsey) parking area nearby where we leave the car for the short walk to the entrance. On the way we are suprised to see Monterey Pine, native in California, growing more or less wildly but we shouldn't have been as it was introduced around the globe because of its lumber qualities.
Monterey Pine - far away from its native lands
Flowers near the entrance
The German Military Underground Hospital is one of those attractions that we had no idea it existed but when we found out about it we had to see it. It is the largest construction in the Channel Islands at 7,000 square metres and it was excavated out of solid rock by prisoners captured by German forces during World War Two. It was built underground because it was also used as an ammunition store. After paying the entrance fee we pass through a small museum area with some interesting objects and newspapers. We are fascinated a bit with the newspapers reading the headlines and looking at the dates making it clear that many of them were really only propaganda for the Channel Islands population.
German Military Hospital - dug into the hillside
Artifacts from the German occupation
Quite prepared to announce the arrival of the British
The headlines can be quite interesting to read in context
Entering the tunnels can feel like you entered a video game. Endless tunnels with few features and no one else around makes them quite a bit spooky. Did we get lost? Will anyone ever find us if we get lost? Those are thoughts that creep into our mind especially after we see the movie graffiti from a movie which was filmed here which was exactly about this topic - a group of people closed in in a German bunker never to be found (the movie was called "The Blockhouse" and is from 1973).
Tunnels can feel unending
There are a few exhibits
A movie was filmed here - this is what remains
Plants grow even here
Another long endless tunnel
Escape hatch (not sure how it worked for patients)
Of course not all the rooms are empty some have dioramas showing how people would have lived here during the war - not well but better than outside under possible falling bombs.There is also some war equipment here mostly field telephone equipment - always surprised to see how much the technology changed in a few decades.
Kitchen...
...and bedroom
Enjoying lunch
That is one huge phone :)
Being quite hungry we now drive to another attraction which also has a dining room attached, the Guernsey Pearl. We start first by exploring the grounds, there are a few antique cars but the major attraction is the Asterix wreck found near Guernsey and protected here. The Asterix was a Roman vessel from around the third century that sunk close by and the surviving timbers from the bottom of the ship are exhibited here - quite interesting. Before entering the dining room we have one more thing planned - to get a free gift from the Pearl Shop, a pearl earring which would be a pair with one we received with their brochure from the car rental agency. Surprisingly we get it easy with no upsell and after exploring the rest of the shop and the dining room we decide to eat the local specialties, the gammon steak and the Guernsey stew, both are interesting but not something that we would eat every day.
Vintage auto in front of the Guernsey Pearl
Asterix Wreck - sunken Roman ship
Free pearls...yay
Restaurant is quite popular
Gammon steak - local speciality
Guernsey stew
Right across the Pearl is another attraction Fort Grey. It has an interesting history with the rock on which it is built being supposedly the site of the local witches Sabbath in the 16th century leading to at least a few being burned at the stake. The fort was built much later during the Napoleonic Wars and was used by the Germans during the occupation as a fortification to protect against the expected assault by the Allied forces. It is now a museum that we have no time to visit but the fort is interesting enough from the outside with some nice views over the ocean and it also leads to the first sighting of a wood pigeon in Guernsey for us ;).
Fort Grey - right next to the Guernsey Pearl
Low tide at Fort Grey
Close to the fort
Common wood pigeon developing an invasion plan
Our next stop is the Pleinmont area to visit the various fortifications remaining from the German occupation. The Channel islands were the only British Islands that were occupied by the Germans and they were quite proud of this and tried to ensure that any effort to recapture them would be very costly for the Allies. Funnily enough the Allies simply bypassed the islands and got them back when the Germans completely surrendered on the 9th of May - so all the building effort was in vain more or less. In any case our first stop is at the Naval Range-finding Tower MP3 which is quite impressive from the outside - with five visible observation levels. We decide to walk a bit more through the area looking at butterflies and flowers along the way but ultimately hoping to get a clear view of the ocean.
Road/trail in the Pleinmont area
Going to this observation tower
Gatekeeper butterfly
Common Honeysuckle
Soon we find a few good viewpoints allowing us to see the coastline and they are quite beautiful, we enjoy walking from one to the other to suddenly see this small lighttower or Fort Grey in the distance or simply beaches after beaches.
Ocean view from the headland
Trail following the headland
Looking towards Fort Gray
Quite beautiful
While exploring we discover a few more hidden fortifications and even find the Table des Pions which is one of those attractions that has colorful legends attached to it (fairies, witches, elves and so on) while the actual explanation is quite prosaic, it was a dugout picnic bench for islands officials when they were inspecting roads and coastal defences in the area.
German installations are scattered throughout
Some with a good view to the beaches as expected
Prepared for the English (that never came as they expected)
Table des Pions or the Fairy Ring - a mystery
Returning to our car we decide to make one more stop on the Pleinmont headland close by where we notice a big parking lot with a few more cars parked. As we start exploring the area to find the reason for the parking lot we almost fall into some hidden trenches - wow, those were hidden quite realistically. Soon we discover mini turrets and maxi guns and we decide to explore even a bit further as the area seems quite full of German fortifications also.
I wonder what the attractions nearby are?
How about trenchlines with miniturrets?
That you can go into
Or even fall into if you do not pay attention
Rooms to explore
And guns to fire (not really)
And so we discover one more of the observation towers, MP4 or L'Angle, which can be entered freely so we decide to explore as much as we can in safety. It is quite cool to observe it from all directions and climb to see the view from a few different levels, we feel like in a WW2 movie.
View from the coastal trail
Observation tower MP4 L'Angle
This is what invaders would see
Inside the tower
We walk a bit more exploring the coast which is quite scenic and watching for birds and butterflies. But soon we have to return to the car as we have a few more things planned and we want to be able to do at least a few of them.
Watching from the inside
And from the outside
Beautiful
Trail continues forever
Our next stop the L'Eree headland which is the site of two attractions the L'Eree Gun Battery and the "Le Creux es Faies" megalithic passage tomb. The battery is easy to find with two guns still protecting the bay from any Napoleonic invasion ;). The tomb is a bit more difficult as we have to walk on the road back a bit and then through the vegetation to find the entrance but it is worth it as it is the first one that we can enter freely and explore. It is not really deep or large but just seeing how the stones fit is impressive.
L'Eree Gun Battery
Found the megalithic tomb we were looking for
You can enter it
Inside - admiring the precision
Before going to the hotel we have one more stop planned, the Colin Best Nature Reserve which is nearby. Supposedly there are trails in it and possibly a lake but no matter how hard we search we cannot find either so in the end we give up and after taking a photo of a Stonechat watching us from a distance we decide that it is time to drive towards the capital of St Peter Port to find our hotel.
Nearby Colin Best Nature Reserve access road
European Stonechat - quite colorful
Sea fig
And a garden snail
Finding a hotel with parking close to the city center was quite difficult so we are happy that the parking is abundant and soon after checking in we decide to rest a bit before exploring the town. The hotel itself is quite nice with the reception very helpfully being able to sell us stamps for our collection :).
Part of our hotel (restaurant side)
Need to climb upstairs
Bed (in a really hot room)
Our bath
After resting for a while our plan is to walk down towards the harbor and to find an restaurant along the way so we can eat dinner. And the walk is down as we are on a hill and so we descend towards the downtown area on the narrow sidewalk passing churches and townhouses.
Saint Stephen's Church in Saint Peter
Townhouses in the capital of Guernsey, Saint Peter
Narrow sidewalk
Maidenhair Spleenwort with a tenuous grip on the wall
Soon we pass the colleges for boys and girls, supposedly here it is still relatively common for boys and girls to be separated in school. Victoria tower, a monument raised to commemorate the first royal visit, is also visible in the distance - no time today to get close to it.
Looks like a castle (it is a college for boys)
Victoria tower
Brick building along the way
Lions are guarding the entrances of some buildings
Soon we are in the downtown area and to our dismay nothing is opened at 8PM in the evening, it is like a ghost town. No restaurants, no shops, no anything and we are the only people passing, quite spooky.
Walking through downtown..
...is downright eerie
The gates were here in medieval times
Guernsey hero - saved Canada from the US
At least we can see a few birds so not everything alive disappeared :).
A blackbird (European one)
Eurasian Oystercatcher
In the harbor area we admire the huge number of yachts and the sunset over the city before returning to our futile effort to find a place to eat dinner.
Castle Cornet in the distance
City with docks
Harborside of St. Peter
Everyone likely has a boat
Finally we see something open in the distance and we enter and they say that the kitchen has closed already (!) and they can offer only drinks and desserts. And so our dinner for today is a couple crepes - a weird end to a beautiful day. We then walk back to the hotel consuming all the calories from the crepes on the climb and soon fall asleep - tomorrow is a different day and a different island.
In the morning we have time for a good breakfast before we have to drive to the airport for our flight to Jersey the second of the Channel Islands that we are visiting.
Breakfast room
Order from menu (for free)
Eggs Benedict
Sunny side up eggs with everything
The flight is very short and very empty - we are surprised at the size of the aircraft for just 3 passengers but we are happy that it is flying today. On the other side we pick up our luggage (yes we did check in our luggage) wonder at the dino containment unit and then try to find our rental car. Finally we find the shuttle which takes us to the off airport location to pick up the car which takes a bit longer as expected as they do not want to confirm an rebate that they offered until a manager comes in and sorts it all out.
All travelers on the plane (we + 1 more!!)
Our "private" plane
Jersey airport
With dino containment unit
Finally with the rebate applied and the car rented we are on our way to Noirmont headland the closest point of interest to the airport. The plant life and butterflies are unsurprisingly similar to Guernsey but still we enjoy the great weather and decide to walk around and examine the German fortifications in the area.
Noirmont Point view
The capital in the distance
Ragwort near the trail
Wall Brown butterfly
The fortifications here have a slightly different character with huge guns and low lying bunkers ensuring that they are hard to hit from the ocean while being able to hit back hard.
Defensive position in the distance
Next to the impressive gun
Looks so peaceful....
...under you see all the guns
Small lighthouse on the shore
You cannot enter the bunkers here
Along the way we do our best to avoid entering the gorse habitat with their spines looking quite painful however we certainly enjoy the heather in color, it is quite beautiful and really is everywhere on the islands it seems.
Bell heather is everywhere
Gatekeeper relaxing
Flowering gorse
Field full of flowers
We try to enter some of the fortifications but most are closed so we succeed to peek inside only one of them (nothing interesting though).
Biggest remaining gun in the coastal gallery
This looks new
Closed again
Finally you can enter this area
Before leaving we take one more look at the coastline from the different overlooks to try to get our bearings. We can see beaches and coastline in both directions with the capital city of St Helier in one of the directions laid out along a huge bay - that is where we were go for the night but not yet.
View of the fortifications
Beautiful rocky beach
One of the many impressive beaches
Another small lighthouse
In fact we start in the other direction on what could be called a megalithic monument tour of a few of the monuments found on Jersey. The first stop is at the La Sergente tomb which is quite a pain to find even with GPS however it is worth it once we get to it. It is a 6500 years old tomb, possibly the oldest on the island and also one of the tombs were no human remains were found only pottery vessels.
La Sergente Tomb
Inside the megalithic tomb
The next stop is also a bit different from what we usually see when looking for Neolithic monuments. It is a large flat slab of granite which doesn't look that remarkable however when examined it was found that it was part of a structure and that it is supported at each end by pillars of stones and earth. The archaeologists are still unsure what kind of structure it was as they have found only pottery, burnt stones and broken stone axes nearby - how about a food preparing table;)?
Red Hot Poker flowers - quite weird looking
La Table des Marthes - part of a Neolithic monument
From the Table des Marthes we continue north along the coast towards the Blanque Banques where we plan to hike for a while and search a few scattered menhirs that we have little information about. We find a parking lot with a few trails entering into the dune habitat and we start exploring finding more wildlife than menhirs at least initially. In fact as we eat a few snacks we notice a wood pigeon looking at us from his nest in the tree - quite fun for us and not so much for him. There is also Marsh Harrier that patrols the area and does his best to avoid our attempts to take a photo of him but we succeed in the end.
Dune habitat
Western Marsh Harrier inspecting the area
Wood Pigeon Nest
Burnet Rose
And then from the top of a small hill we notice the menhirs and walk to two of them the Broken and the Little Menhir. They are both quite interesting and different from the usual ones as the size is more ...manageable, these ones you can see people bringing to the site and raising them on location.
Broken Menhir
Little Menhir - name is appropriate:)
A small tomb
This looks more modern
Nearby is our next stop - the Wetland Centre at St. Ouen's Pond. It is a surprising high tech center (most digital we have seen) with a camera close to where the birds sit that can be controlled remotely using a joystick (which includes zooming in and out). The exhibits are also quite interesting and we spend some time just reading through the information.
Entrance to Wetland Centre at St Ouen's Pond
Bigger on the inside ;)
Joystick to move camera to view birds - very high tech
Info on what can be seen
What about the birds? Well unfortunately it is the middle of summer so no migration which is when the peak of species is happening. Still we see a few ducks and a grey heron and overall the view is nice so it is worth the stop for us.
Photo ID
View over the marsh
Those are not birds...
but this one is - a Grey Heron
Continuing north in search of another megalithic grave we pass fields and more fields with magpies, pigeons and even our first stock dove that we identify only later at home with certainty (thank God for digital cameras :)).
Magpie on hay bales
Eurasian collared dove
Our next stop is the Les Monts Grantez megalithic passage grave. Getting there is quite interesting on an one lane road that has no room to pass. And the parking is a bit iffy also as it means just pulling off as much as we can on a side of field and hoping other cars can pass (we hope there are no other cars here :). However all of this is worth it as the grave is spectacular with even some of the capstones preserved and you can enter it and explore the passages. It is about 6000 years old and is one of the graves were skeletons were found, nine in fact. Beads, pottery, flint pick, hammers and other objects were also found making it one of the better preserved graves on Jersey that were excavated.
Entrance to the megalithic grave and dolmen
Les Monts Grantez - looks impressive
You can go down...
....and enter the passages
Our last stop of the day is Piemont where we want to explore a few more ruins both ancient and contemporary. Starting from the parking lot we are enchanted by the fields of heather that seem to extend as far as the eye can see and take photo after photo. It almost makes us miss the first site, Le Pinacle, at the base of what else, a pinnacle:). It is such a spectacular location that signs of occupation were found starting from the Neolithic age through the Bronze and Iron Age up to the Roman times when a temple was built at the site.
Piemont field of....
....bell heather (what else?)
Down in the valley you can barely see...
....Le Pinacle, a complex archaeological site
Nature wise the attraction here is the marsh which is actually closed off for walking except for the main trail that we are using. It seems like a very popular area for birds with stonechats, pipits and hawks seemingly everywhere so we stop and watch them for a while as they sing and flit all around us.
Crossing the marsh
Stonechat watching us
Fighting in the air
Meadow pipit
Our turnaround point is the German Naval tower which is located in a scenic spot keeping an eye on the ocean while we enjoy the views of the Grosnez castle in the distance and the coastline close up.
Grosnez castle in the distance
Another one of the ubiquitous German Naval towers
Impressive coastline
The natural Pinnacle
And then it is of to the hotel. Similarly to Guernsey we had some trouble finding a hotel that has parking and is close to the capital city and even so we are lucky to find a parking spot as we arrive as the parking spots are limited. It is quite luxurious though, mostly in the common areas of course as the room is similar to other hotel rooms we have stayed it. It also has the annoying toilet similarly to Guernsey were you have to pump the water for some time before it actually works which is a bit weird. Also the sinks with the separate spouts for hot and cold water are unusable for us - as the hot water is scalding but we cannot mix it with the cold one while flowing so we have to use only cold water when hand washing and so on.
Hotel room
Nice bath
For dinner we decide to find a restaurant outside of the hotel and settle on a small restaurant nearby. Luckily here the restaurants are open in fact they are full and we barely get a place at our chosen restaurant but the food is good and we enjoy it before returning to the hotel for the night.
Today is our last day in the Channel Islands with a late afternoon flight back to the UK mainland where we will meet with the rest of our party in Liverpool to start the Scottish part of our tour. With that in mind we still have half a day to explore in Jersey and we plan to spend the majority of that time in the capital, St Helier. But before any exploration it is time to eat the hearthy hotel breakfast to accumulate some energy for all the walking we are planning to do.
Hotel entrance
Long corridors
Choice of breads
Typical breakfast with all toppings
We do not plan to take the rental car out because it is unlikely we will find a parking spot in the city or when we return to the hotel (we cannot believe how small the hotel parking is) and also the distances should be walkable.
Parking space - not that impressive
Our hotel from the outside
The first point of interest is right next to us - Elizabeth Castle - which is accessible by foot during low tide. The only way to get there during high tide is by the boatmobile that works overtime even now taking tourist to the castle as a more conventional minibus. As our luck will have it it is low tide but we do not plan to actually enter it so we just use the causeway to get closer to the castle and examine the sealife stranded by the low tide - lots of kelp it seems.
Going down to the shore
Elizabeth Castle - accesible by foot...now
Lazy way to get there
Or the harder way
Holding back the sea
Spiral wrack
We are not the only ones searching for stranded sea creatures - gulls are also out in force looking likely for lugworms and other delicacies so we watch them as they search diligently through the kelp or sift through the sand for a while before returning back to the shore.
Lugworms and algae
Lugworms signs
Black headed gull searching for food
Wood pigeon
Slowly we make our way towards Liberation Square from where we plan to make our climb towards Fort Regent the newest and probably the weirdest of the fortifications in the city. Liberation Square itself is one of the newest squares in the city with the Liberation sculpture (changed radically after fierce criticism) being unveiled in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the eliberation from German occupation.
Interesting building
Tourist train through St Helier
Liberation sculpture in Liberation square
Building in Liberation square
The climb to the castle takes some time - there are quite a few stairs through gardens with some nice views that allow us to catch our breath while we get closer and closer to the top.
Mural in St Helier
View over the warehouses
Red valerian
Butterfly bush
View over the docks
Climbing to Fort Regent
What is different from many other forts that we have visited and make this quite unique is that the fort has been repurpossed and not for the usual (jail, government and so on) but for a leisure centre. In fact it looks so modern that sometimes it is difficult to believe it was a fort at some time. We buy ourselves some local soda from the vending machine and walk through the centre before exiting on the other end on the ramparts which still hold some cannons.
Inside Fort Regent - now a leisure centre
You can walk through it but most is modern
Outside it looks quite modern
But at least it has a few cannons :)
Outside it looks deserted as we walk along the ramparts admiring the views of the city below from the different viewpoints from where the guns could rain fire on any invading army.
End of the new roof
Continuing over the sport fields
View from the top
Actually a 360 degree view
Besides us we see only gulls and butterflies outside while inside it is a hive of activity with people trying out yoga, gymnastics and so on as we pass through the classes trying to find the way out....ooops.
Painted lady
Lesser black backed gull
Passing through the children area
Interesting chimney
We descend on a slightly different way and arrive in the downtown area near the parish church of St Helier which seems like a major attraction with many tourists milling about. We are suprised by the garden nearby however which has vegetables and fruits free for picking (we do not see anything interesting to eat until our airplane flight :)). Right next to the church is the royal square, the center of Jersey life for centuries with the courthouse and the church anchoring it on two sides and with the major commercial street, King Street, passing close to the other side of the square.
Parish church of St Helier
Interesting free garden
Royal Square
Royal Court
From here we walk back towards the hotel on King Street the main commercial and pedestrian street - it seems everyone is out here walking today making it a great place for people watching and also of course window shopping.
King Street - main pedestrian street
It is quite popular
From the hotel we pick up our car and start towards the airport but we still have one more stop planned along the way, the Ville es Nouaux megalithic tomb. This tomb is housed in a park which has no parking area but we find an entrance that leads to a church parking lot inside the park which we hope is open to the public. The tomb is surprisingly well preserved but unfortunately we cannot go and explore as it is cordoned off so we have to view it from a distance before returning to the car.
Ville-ès-Nouaux "cist in circle"
And a long chamber
The car return is uneventful and we take the shuttle back to the airport. Here we have a lengthy discussion at check in on whether we have baid for check-in baggage or not until they finally agreed that we did and we are on our way to Liverpool. As this is a meeting point for people coming from different directions we decided to stay near the airport - in fact the hotel is right across the street from the terminal. It has a nice view though and we can even see a small yellow submarine from the window that we decide we have to take a picture off the next day.
Leaving for Liverpool
Leaving the smaller islands behind
Liverpool airport - we are there
Even with a small Yellow Submarine in front :)
The hotel room is nothing special but the window is sound proof which is a nice touch so close to the airport. So after settling in we get in touch with the rest of our party and decide to go out for dinner.
Our hotel room
Quite ordinary
Out means out of the room not out of the hotel given that we do not have a car and we do not know the neighborhood at all and are also a bit tired from taking so many planes in just 4 days. The food here is bar food but filling (and of course they also have beer and so on) and soon after we are back in our room for the night.
Today our plan is to reach the Scottish border while stopping at a few World Heritage sites along the way. But first we have to pick up our rental car by foot so we have the opportunity to pass by the submarine humming the tune of "Yellow Submarine" before picking up the car and starting on our way.
Our hotel
Yellow submarine
The traffic as we start driving northeast is unexpectedly backed up before we discover the reason - an accident is blocking a couple lanes, quite a weird one too.
On a major highway
Reason for the slowdown
Saltaire, our first stop, was founded by Sir Titus Salt in 1853 and is a good example of a planned industrial village. Salt built neat stone houses for his workers, wash-houses with running water, bath-houses, a hospital, as well as an Institute for recreation and education, with a library, a reading room, a concert hall, billiard room, science laboratory and gymnasium. The village also provided a school for the children of the workers, almshouses, allotments, a park and a boathouse with many of these surviving to present times. The first building that catches our eye is the Salts Millwhich is an imposing well preserved building but seems to be mostly closed off. The nearby church is also well preserved and you can enter it and admire its interior.
Saltaire Salts Mill - quite interesting
Impressive entrance
Another view of the Mills
Saltaire United Reformed Church
Inside the church
Side of church
We return from the church to explore the Mill further and discover that part of it is open but not as a museum, there are a few shops and a cafe which we explore before returning outside.
The other side of the Mill
Inside the Mill
Inside the shop - interesting but expensive things
A museum/bookstore
The flowers here are not that different from the Channel Islands, except Fireweed which supposedly populated the majority of Britain following the train lines.
Ragwort
Fireweed
Next we explore the other side of the Aire river with the park surviving from the creation of Saltaire. The park is quite popular with birds with a few Canada Goose being mixed with the Greylag Goose to our surprise.
Crossing the river
Barges on the river
Greylag Goose trying to take the barge
Canada Goose
Mallard
Blackbird
Returning on the initial side of the Aire river we continue our exploration on the way back to the car. We pass a few more impressive buildings, Victoria Hall (which was the Saltaire Club and Institute and functioned as an educational institute), the School (opposite Victoria Hall) as well as the hospital (now private apartments) and the almshouses (which are still being used for housing and are much sought after).
Victoria Hall
The School
Hospital Building
Almshouses
The second World Heritage Site that we plan to visit today is Fountains Abbey, one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It was built in the 12th century and was ruined after the seizure in 1539 under the "Dissolution of Monasteries" act of Henry VIII. It is set in the middle of an 800 acre estate and it takes a bit for us to find the right entrance but after paying the entrance fee at the modern looking entrance station we are in. However where is the abbey? It takes us a bit to notice it in the distance as it is set in a valley and we still have an unexpectedly long hike to reach it.
Entrance to Fountains Abbey WHS
Visitor Center Courtyard
Is that the abbey?
Looks like it
On the way however we pass a bird hide with some bird feeders which provides us with a good rest stop and a few of some interesting birds including pheasants and dunnocks. And of course we also admire the sheep as we pass through the middle of their meadow approaching the descent to the abbey.
Bird feeding station
Dunnock
Ring necked pheasant
Chaffinch
Sheeps on the way
Wood Pigeon
The ruins are certainly very scenic and worth the visit on par with what we have seen in France and Ireland. Before entering it we explore it from all directions to take in the size (huge) and the lay of the monastery. We especially liked the area where an old bridge was crossing the river to enter the monastery and used that to cross and start our visit proper.
Fountains Abbey ruins
Quite extensive
A lot to explore
Creek flowing through the ruined Abbey
Bridge over the creek
Beautiful natural landscaping
There isn't a lot preserved inside but what is is impressive. We especially liked the reflectory with the arches being awe inspiring and we spend quite a bit to explore the area and even find a few pigeon nests.
Lay Brothers Reflectory
Quite interesting architecturally
Abbey Church
Looking up into the tower
The gardens are quite extensive and also part of the World Heritage site but we do not have that much time left till closing so we explore only a short area to catch a glimpse of the waterpark which seems like it would have been a nice place to walk through...maybe another time.
Trail through the park
Not historic but interesting
Water Garden
Garden is landscaped and a great walk
Squirrel watching us
Hens are also kept
Last stop of the day is Durham where, while we do not expect anything to be open, we want to explore the cathedral and the nearby castle. Prepared in advance we know parking is limited near the cathedral so we park a bit further off in a public car park from where we start the climb towards the cathedral. Given that it is a major touristic attraction we are surprised that there aren't that many tourists( or people in general) around. Maybe everyone is coming during the day when everything is open...which is smart I guess.
Exiting the carpark
Looks deserted
Climbing towards the Durham cathedral
Difficult to pass the construction area
Arriving at the top of the hill we catch a glimpse of the cathedral and it's size is quite impressive. Especially given that we know that the construction began in 1093 so it is almost a millenium old being one of the finest examples of Norman architecture.
Cathedral in the distance
Museum of Archaeology
We are not in Kansas anymore ;)
Passing through the graves
As we approach it we are surprised to notice that the side door appears to be open and we are gestured in - somehow we lucked out and it was open late today. The first room, like a vestibule is small and more intimate but from there we step into the cathedral which is jaw droppingly huge. And given that we are almost alone in the huge quiet building it is also quite serene vs others cathedrals we have been in.
Quite impressive close up
Vestibule
Entrance to the main area
It is huge
We explore for some time looking into the different nooks and crannies, exploring the altar or just simply sitting down and taking in all the decoration details and stained glass windows.
It is a hike inside
Burial in the cathedral
Beautiful stained glass window
Quite a few of them in fact
The major point of attractions for pilgrims is the tomb of St Cuthbert and we discover it after some searching, it is quite simple looking now even though back in the days it was covered with offerings and jewels. St Cuthbert, the patron saint of Northern England, was a Bishop in the seventh century and died on the Farne Islands which we plan on visiting the next day after living a long and pious live.
One of the pulpits
Looks like the main one
Tomb of Saint Cuthbert
Closer view
Before living we discover also the internal courtyard and explore it for a while before exiting and starting our search for the Durham Castle.
Interior courtyard
Quite empty this late
The castle is not hard to find given that it is on the other side of the plaza and to our surprise the door is also open and we can enter it up to a velvet rope to take photos of the interior - quite nice.
Durham castle in the distance
The entrance
Interior courtyard view
Cannot be visited this late - still interesting
Before returning to the car and driving to the accomodation we decide to search for a grocery shop to buy some provisions for the next days. With a bit of searching we find an open Tesco where we buy a lot of necessities and then it is back to the car for the short drive to the accomodation.
Going down on abandoned streets
Interesting old house
Central square is more lively
Statue in the middle of the central square
Today we stay at a B&B located in an old building, a post office actually, in the countryside close to Durham. The whole B&B continues the post theme with stamps on the pillows and it is quite cozy with a very friendly host and we enjoy a great night sleep after eating dinner from the provisions we just bought in Durham.
In the morning we are served a locally sourced breakfast from a menu we go with fish (have to try it, right?) and eggs benedict that are from their own hens. Both are quite good and filling and start us on our day where we have quite a few things planned.
Going down to breakfast
Breakfast room
Fish...
and eggs are sourced locally
Looking for the source of the eggs
Here they are
Before leaving we take one more look at the building we stayed for the night and try to understand how the post office worked but we still aren't sure - was the bottom the post office with the postmaster living on the upper floors?
The B&B
This one in front is still working
We have only a short drive to the border, the ancient border that is. This would be the Hadrian Wall which was built by the Roman emperor Hadrian to keep the Picts further up north away from the Roman conquered lands to the south. It has never been the English/Scottish border which is further up north but in our minds as we arrive here searching for remnants of the wall it feels as we have entered a different country. The only stop we have planned at the Hadrian Wall is at Brocolitia Roman Temple - there are multiple other stops possible as well as a walk along the remnants of the wall. However Brocolitia is on our way and it is free except for a small parking fee so Brocolitia it is.
First stop - Brocolitia Roman Temple
You can see the remains of the Hadrian Wall here
The temple in the distance
Trail becomes less defined afterwards
After a short walk we arrive at the temple ruin which is small but quite neat. It was dedicated to Mithras - a popular religion that vied for popularity with Christianity before being supressed and eradicated when Christianity gained the upper hand in the Roman empire. The altar was also discovered when the temple was excavated but is now in a museum and only a copy is left at the ruin site.
Mithras Temple Ruin
The altar (replicas)
Sheep are quite common
And bull thistle
Next we drive towards Seahouses where we plan to take a boat to an outlying island group called the Farne Islands which is quite famous for its birds especially the puffins which we really want to see (again). The coastal road however is quite busy and two lane only which we didn't expect and the going is quite slow and we arrive after midday in Seahouses where even finding parking is unexpectedly difficult.
Road north is busy and two lane only
Arriving at Seahouses to find a boat tour
We find a kiosk selling tickets next to the car park and we are quite lucky that they have tickets for the next boat which leaves in about 15 minutes - they have exactly that many tickets left as we needed afterwards we would have had to wait for the boat to return. Before boarding we also have to buy tickets to land on the Farne Islands themselves which is separate and we are stressed out until we find the office and pay and we still have five minutes left to find where the boat leaves. The boat is quite full so we certainly believe we were the last people to get a ticket and the tour starts slowly as the boat leaves the harbor towards the islands far in the distance.
Incoming boat
Captain's cabin
Black backed gull
Leaving the harbor towards the Farne Islands
On the open sea we have some great views of both the coastline back and the islands forward as we try to guess to which ones we are going and which is the one that we can land onto.
Castle in the distance
Is this where we are going?
But soon we are fascinated by another sight, seals swimming next to us and watching us as we approach a small island where a lot more grey seals are relaxing and watching us lazily. They are quite cute and the boat waits for a while so we can watch them before moving on.
One seal looking at us
Then two
Then a lot of grey seals
Finally bored
In fact we are now going from island to island the watch the birdlife on the cliffs with kittiwakes being the most common with a few shags and murres sprinkled in. And then on another cliff we here the familiar logging noises and we look up to see the puffins, our first look which holds a promise to see a lot more when we land onshore.
Taking flight
European shag
Black legged kittiwakes - lots of them
Two adults kittiwakes
Common murre
And the first Atlantic puffins
We continue to weave between small islands only fit to hold seals including a baby one waiting for his mother while watching for eider ducks which are quite common but we never are able to see from up close - this time it is different as they allow us to get really close before swimming away.
View of the islands - quite close to them
Eider ducks are also here
Quite surprised that we can get so close to them
Baby grey seal
From here the boat goes more directly towards one of the larger islands with a few buildings and we guess that it is our landing spot and we are right - we wait for the previous boat to leave before docking for our one hour island walk.
Each island seems to have their own building
Most are almost castle like
Our first stop is at the visitor center showing the birds we might hope to see during the tour of the island. There is a loop trail that we plan to do which seems to be doable in the time until the boat leaves. There is also a nice old chapel nearby that we visit before starting our birding tour with a wagtail that is surveying the area from the top of a stone.
Visitor Center on the island
Old church
Inside the church
White wagtail surveying the area
Almost immediately our eyes are drawn to the multitude of terns, most of the Arctic terns that can be quite aggressive towards intruders (us). Not today though, most of them seem quite content to let us pass by their chicks. However while watching the terns we notice that some of them seem different and after a close up we confirm they are Sandwich terns (a lifer for us). Black headed gulls also sneak around through the vegetation looking for something to eat (eggs?).
Sandwich terns on the ground...
...and in flight
Arctic terns can be quite aggresive
Black headed gull
Of course the major attraction for us are the puffins or the "clowns of the sea" as they are also known. They seem quite relaxed here as we walk through their colony, probably the major danger for them is the lesser black backed gull that is looking for eggs/chicks to eat and is eyed warily by the puffins nearby.
Island view with lots of puffins
Danger - a huge lesser black backed gull among puffins
Row of puffins
On the edge
Which one is mine?
Good place to rest
We cannot resist taking a few videos of the puffins waddling about or just relaxing on the island - enjoy :).
Of course puffins and terns are not the only birds on the island. Shags have colonized their own area with one extremely unfearful shag even putting the nest right next to the trail and enduring stoically the photos taken by all the tourists of him and his chick. Mallards are also here to our surprise as well as of course Black legged kittiwakes.
Shags relaxing
Even mallards are here
Black legged kittiwake juvenile in "nest"
Shag nest near the trail
Returning towards the dock we also notice a rare razorbill in the water and while waiting for the boat we enjoy the terns on the beach as well as the seal pups waiting for their parents.
Razorbill in the water
Grey seal pup
Tern making himself known
Sea Campion
Back on the mainland we walk a bit around Seahouses which seems to be a major tourist town and are happy to learn that a really advanced Coast Guard vessel was ready to save us if anything would have happened :).
Back to the starting point
Coast Guard ready vessel
From here we continue north but mainly west passing Bamburgh castle on the way. It looks impressive and worth a visit but we have no time as we have to arrive at our next destination before closing time.
Bamburgh Castle in the distance
Impressive from below
Our destination are the four major Scotland Abbeys in the Scottish borderlands (yes we finally enter Scotland proper!!). While we wanted to visit the more famous Melrose Abbey it is actually closing earlier than the other ones so in the end we settle on Jedburgh Abbey which is on our way and is also very impressive. Finding the parking place is unexpectedly difficult likely because we are not able to read correctly but finally we find the entrance and enter the ground through the museum - the ruins are really quite spectacular and worth a visit and we are also the only people visiting which is a bonus.
Searching for the entrance to Jedburgh Abbey
View from outside
Quite impressive even ruined
Three different styles of window making
Jedburgh Abbey was built by the Scottish kings in the 1100s as part of the four great abbeys in the Borders partly to taunt the English (or maybe just to tempt them?). And tempted they were burning and looting it repeatedly during the wars with the Scottish kings. The ruins today give a good indication of how magnificent it must have been during its heyday. It is quite surprising how much of the church is still standing and we can explore the different nooks and crannies as well as climb steep spiral stairs that go to some great overlooks of the church for a higher level.
Different point of view
Close up
Inside - no roof no problem (as long as it does not rain)
View from above
Stairs - glad they are dry
Main entrance
Majority of objects found at the site are kept in the museum but there are still a few tombs and tombstones on the grounds proper. Also the excavations uncovered the different annex buildings around the church like the kitchen as well as drains and other ancient plumbing - quite interesting for us.
Only very important people were buried here
Some of the stone work that escaped the destruction
Outer area of the abbey
Drains were built in
From here it is time to drive to Edinburgh. Unfortunately here the apartment building we found has no dedicated parking so we have to park at a parking garage about ten minutes walk away. This gives us an opportunity however to get something to eat from a carry out place along the way which is quite good actually.
Our parking place in Edinburgh
Dinner place
The apartment is quite nice and it is interesting to stay in a typical Scottish apartments. The windows have a good view and we even have a full size kitchen that we decide to use in the next days as we are going to stay two more nights here.
We have set aside today to visit Edinburgh, probably the most famous and arguably the most beautiful of the Scottish cities. Starting from our apartment in New Town we plan to walk to the Old Town to see the Royal Mile and the Castle and then return on a different way while sightseeing along the way. The area that we stay in is already historical being part of New Town, one of the masterpieces of city planning. It was build in the late 18th and early 19th century as overcrowding in the Old Town was leading wealthy citizens to leave for London. As the New Town was developed the rich moved from the cramped tenements in the Old Town to mansions in New Town while the poor remained stuck in the Old Town area.
View from the apartment
Edinburgh apartments
Searching for a parking spot
Apartment building from the front
Right across our apartment building is the Scottish National Portrait Gallery housed in a beautiful late 19th century red sandstone building. As we admire it a friendly Scot stops to point the different poets and authors on the outside of the building and we decide to enter it for a short visit (as it is free to enter).
Scottish National Portrait Gallery front
Statue at the entrance
Famous Scottish poets/writers
Quite a beautiful interior
Obviously the focus is on portraits of Scots but the building itself is quite interesting and we like the temporary exhibits focused on how Ediburgh looked at the beginning of the 20th century.
Zodiac on the ceiling
Stained glass window
Photo exhibit
These would be interesting to watch
From the gallery we continue our walk towards Princes Street passing the Melville Monument and the Bank of Scotland building on our way while stopping quite often just to admire the buildings along the way.
Buildings can be quite impressive
Bank of Scotland building
Melville monument
Traditional phone booth and mail drop
Princes Street is the most famous of the New Town streets with the south side having virtually no buildings allowing great views of the Old Town. It also has some of the more impressive buildings in the New Town including The Balmoral Hotel, originally a railway hotel and now a luxury five star one.
Even stores look impressive
One of the more expensive hotels
General Register House
View over old town Edinburgh
Continuing east we pass the Regents Bridge (we almost miss it) and then climb towards St Andrew's House, the headquarter building of the Scottish government, which looks quite austere to us compared to the other buildings on the street. Close by is what it seems to be an abandoned grand building which we learn was supposed to be the home of the Scottish parliament in 1979 but when the devolution referendum failed it remained unused. In 1997 after a follow up successful referendum the decision was to built a new building in Holyrood and as such the building is still empty looking for a purpose.
Regents bridge - doesn't look like a bridge
And a fast food joint - doesn't look like one either
Scottish government - St Andrews House
New Parliament House
From here we continue to the Burns Monument from where a pedestrian trail complete with stairs descends towards the Old Town close to the bottom of the trail we enter the New Calton Burial Ground only to look at the panel with the most famous people buried here - we really liked William MacGillivray who trained a rock dove to follow him to school and after whom one of the warblers in the USA was named (by his friend Audubon).
Holyrood Park in the distance
Burns Monument
New Calton Burial Ground
Lots of interesting people are buried here
And then we are at the Palace of Holyroodhouse who anchors one end of the Royal Mile. The Palace is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland and it can be visited however given the limited time we have and given that it is expensive and not part of the Scottish Heritage Pass that we bought earlier we decide to skip it and focus on attractions that are included in the pass.
Palace of Holyroodhouse entrance
Close up of palace
We enter however the New Scottish Parliament Building - it is easy enough and we even get to see the Assembly Hall on our short self guided tour through the building.
Scottish Parliament Building
Assembly Hall
Inscriptions from all over Scottland
Those windows are interesting
The Royal Mile got its name from the fact that it unites the Palace of Holyrood on one end to the Castle of Edinburgh on the other end, both significant places in the royal history of Scotland. It is also the heart of the Old Town and we enjoy the beautiful buildings along the way as we climb slowly but surely towards the castle passing the original tolbooth on the way (no tolls charged today).
Royal Mile - Parliament End
Canongate Tolbooth
Typical impressive building
The World's End - hopefully not literally
Up and up we go
Street is quite popular
We have a short stop to caffeinate ourselves at a cafe before entering the Museum of Childhood. It is more like a spur of the moment decision as we notice it along the way and it is free to enter but it is fun to see how the toys changed across the centuries so we explore it for some minutes before continuing towards the castle.
Inside the Museum of Childhood - doll collection
War was always a popular game
Trains - fascinating also for adults
More modern section
Along the way we enter the Tron Kirk, a former principal parish church built in the 17th century and closed as a church in 1952, which now functions as tourist information center and principally as the site of the Edinburgh World Heritage Exhibition. Close by the Royal Mile becomes pedestrian only with some subway style gates blocking the cars from entering the area around the cathedral.
Tron Kirk stained glass
Used today as info center/place of World Heritage exhibition
Interesting way to enter the pedestrian area
Almost like in a medieval movie
Soon we are at the St Giles Cathedral, a cathedral in name only as it isn't the seat of bishops (and it wasn't really for most of it's history). It is dedicated to St Giles the patron saint of Edinburgh as we as cripples and lepers. We take a look inside but it doesn't seem so impressive to warrant the high cost to enter it (compared to Durham Cathedral which was free and a lot more impressive). Quite surprising to us in the front of the cathedral in a prominent place is a monument dedicated to Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, not something what we would expect near a cathedral.
Adam Smith Monument and St Giles Cathedral
Cathedral from front
Inside the cathedral
Stained glass windows
From the cathedral the number of people increases visibly as we approach the castle becoming a river of people moving seemingly in one direction only, towards the castle.
In front of the cathedral
Continuing towards the castle
The closer we get the more the crowds congregate
Stadium like seating in front of castle
Entering the castle we are lucky having the Heritage Pass that allows us to avoid the longer lines and soon we are in. We are quite surprised at the number of people in the castle (which we should expected given the masses of people walking towards it). Being set at the highest point around it has some great views over the surrounding city however it is a fight to get to the overlooks as they are full of people taking selfies seemingly for hours.
Narrow entrance
Finally inside
What a view!
City continues on and on
Famous Forth bridges in the distance
We are quite high inside the castle
There are a few museums and exhibits inside the castle and we visit most of them with one of the more interesting ones showing the dungeons and the conditions that the prisoners lived in.
Inside St Margaret Chapel
War Museum
Prisoners were held here
The worst thrown in the hole
Inside the castle lies the Royal Palace which has a few exhibit rooms reconstructed to show how they must have been decorated during royal times.
Royal Palace
Fortress inside the fortress
Details on the palace
Lions were quite popular
Inside the palace - renovated
With a few portraits
Leaving the throngs of people we decide to descend towards the National Gallery and to walk home to refresh ourselves before another visit to the city. This way we get a chance to pass through the Princes Street Gardens a green belt that separates the Old from the New Town and which is full of people enjoying the sun.
Passing the National Gallery
Everyone is outside on this day
Scott Monument
Back at the Portrait Gallery
After resting a bit it is time to explore the New town more extensively so we walk parallel with Princes and Queen Street taking in the townhouses and architecture along the way.
New Town typical house row
Houses are a bit grey and austere
Georgian House
Another row of impressive houses
While exploring we notice a plaque on a building and reading it we are surprised to find out that Graham Bell the inventor of the telephone was born here in the middle of New Town.
Looks unimpressive
But it has some history attached to it
Wonder if that is the patron saint or what you eat inside?
Detail on the street
From time to time we catch glimpses of the castle through the buildings and we decide to see if we can get a better view and walk towards the gardens from where the view is quite spectacular - it is a bit funny that the best and most impressive view is from here rather than from inside.
Edinburgh Castle from Ross Fountain
Castle looks much more impressive from here
Starting on our way back to pass by the parish church of St Cuthbert, the oldest Edinburgh building by foundation (850AD). We enter it for a short respite from the bustle of the main streets and to enjoy the beautiful interior before continuing on our way.
Parish Church of St Cuthbert
Trying to find the entrance - not here
Inside the church
Stained glass details
We return to our accomodation via George Street running on the ridge between Queen and Princes Street respectively. It feels like we have been teleported back to the Victorian era with grandiose buildings on both sides including the Church of England Office and the Royal Society of Edinburgh and we enjoy looking at the buildings as we slowly make our way back.
George Street
Buildings here are quite interesting
Church of Scotland office
Former British Linen (!) Bank
Royal Society of Edinburgh
Just a few restaurant(s) inside....
In the evening we decide to celebrate our day in Edinburgh with a dinner at a nearby pub. The food including venison is quite delicious and satiated we are ready to return to the apartment for the night.
The second full day in Edinburgh is dedicated to the castles in its surroundings starting with Craigmillar castle - Edinburgh's other castle which stood a mile outside of the old city walls. It is a relatively small walk from the parking lot to the castle however we are concerned a bit as the clouds seem ready to pour any second now. The castle is quite impressive and well preserved and we are offered a plethora of choices of entrances from the inner courtyard.
Craigmillar Castle
Impressive entrance
Entrances from the inner courtyard
Not a large courtyard
We choose one at random as it starts to pour outside and explore the interconnected passages and rooms carefully trying to avoid anything that is connected to the outside. A few staircases have small rivers coming down the stairs which make any footing tenous so we decide to avoid them until the rain ends.
Hiding in the castle from the rain
Climbing inner stairs
Inner major hall
One of the towers
Between breaks in the rain we make dashes outside to take in the great views from the battlements and the top of the tower - you can see Edinburgh and Holyrood in the distance and the whole area surrounding the castle.
The battlements - are they really safe when wet :)?
Our car is sooo far away in the rain
On top of the world/castle
Edinburgh in the distance
Looking down from our perch
Not a lot of roofs left...
Our next stop is Crichton Castle southeast of Edinburgh. Just finding it is an adventure as we drive on a few one lane roads trying to find the right road towards the castle. After finding it we discover that from the parking lot it is a hike to the castle however the walk is through beautiful meadows with some nice views of both the surrounding valleys and the castle as we are getting close to it.
Landscape near Crichton Castle
Scottish cows
Crichton Castle far in the distance
Getting closer
Crichton Catle is one of the oldest built in Scotland with both historical importance (James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell and third husband of Mary Queen of Scots lived here) as well as architectural importance (the diamond-faceted façade added by Francis Stewart around 1580 is unique in Scotland).
It is not a large castle which makes it a bit difficult to find a place to hide from the rain when it starts pouring again luckily only for a few minutes. During the break in the rain we explore the different rooms and viewpoints that can be accessed thoroughly and then decide to press our luck and return to the car.
Unexpected decor inside
Must have been something special
Climbing up
Fireplace
Wall detail
Even here they were thinking of ships
Before returning we also visit the nearby stables to take in another view of the castles and then it is back to the car where we arrive before the rain picks up again.
The stables
Castle is impressive from all sides
Continuing on our tour we then stop at Rosslyn Chapel, famous for its appearance in the Dan Brown book "The Da Vinci Code". The book presented it as having a strong connection with the Knights Templars, Holy Grail, and Freemasonry and made it a magnet for visitors as we discover today. This of course also means that the entrance price charged is quite high, supply and demand and all that. With that being said it is worth a visit when in the neighborhood given its really interesting decoration - you receive a pamphlet with them and then you are on your own to discover them both inside and outside the church.
Rosslyn Chapel - modern entrance
We can see it - barely
One of the entrances
Detail on the entrance
The outside is quite beautiful especially from the side that is away from the entrance which is also less popular with tourists who mostly just run inside to solve the Da Vinci mystery :).
From the side - beautiful
Window niche
Gargoyle defending the entrance
Detail on the window
Of course we also spend quite some time inside looking at all the whimsical details that were added to the chapel and that make it such an attractions even now with both tourists and film crews.
More typical ornament
Uhm...this is something else
Inside view - very decorated
Stained glass windows
Continuing we stop at Linlithgow Castle, one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries, where Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the palace was little used, and was burned out in 1746. Even so it is quite impressive from outside even though likely it is more austere than during its heyday.
Linlithgow Castle - birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots
Not the entrance anymore
Church near castle
Getting close to the walls
Right inside the castle is the magnificent inner courtyard with the elaborate fountain as a centerpiece.
We take our time looking around and admiring the castle and trying to decide where to start with our visit. We also take another look at the famous fountain from which supposedly during a vist by Bonnie Prince Charlie wine was made to flow in his honour.
Interior courtyard
Main entrance
Takes some time to climb to the top
Fountain in the middle of the courtyard
We start exploring the castle interior which is quite barren of any objects. You can climb in a few towers and mostly explore the rooms and read their history and examine the few features remaining mostly fireplaces and benches that could not be taken and sold.
Inside the walls
On top of the walls
Lots of fireplaces were needed
Many had sitting areas next to them
Even so there are quite a few interesting details that we discover, corridors, alien figures and the everyday live objects that were excavated in and around the castle. However we are in a hurry to get to the final castle of the day which we have to visit as it is the most important one so soon we have to leave to be on our way.
Beautiful hallway
Alien figure
Pottery fragments found here
And a lot of other things
Before leaving we take one more look at the nearby lake with swans and ducks and then continue on our way towards Stirling Castle our final castle for the day. On the way we pass a huge horse statue which seems to be in the process to jump over the highway, it is quite unexpected and interesting. And then we see Stirling Castle in the distance and after finding the right way to the hilltop parking space we are ready to visit the famous castle.
Mute swans on the nearby lake
An Eurasian Jackdaw watching us intently
This is something else...
Stirling castle in the distance
Stirling Castle was a must see castle for us given both its history and how many times we have seen it referenced in movies and books. It is arguably the second most famous castle in Scotland second only to Edinburgh Castle and its importance peaked during the battles with England with some of the most famous battles being waged nearby including Wallace's great victory over English forces at Stirling Bridge. With all this expectation the initial entrance is a let-down however the secondary entrance is more worthy of such a historical fortress. As it was the preferred residence of most of Scotland’s later medieval monarchs and each added something to it's already impressive architecture we really enjoy the start of the visit with some great views of the keep from the gardens continuing through narrow passageways to a great view of the surrounding area which of course was also an excellent place to place the cannons.
This entrance is not that impressive
This is a real castle entrance
View from garden
Important bridge (to avoid the cold :))
Beautiful view
Defended by a cannon
Some rooms inside the palace are decorated in the style common during Medieval times and it is still quite surprising to us how colorful this was with bright colors everywhere.
Inside the Palace
Reconstruction of a bedroom
looking up
Ceiling was quite colorful
We continue to walk around the castle visiting the different exhibits and entering all open buildings. One of the more interesting ones is the Chapel Royal built in just seven months on the orders of James VI who wanted somewhere suitable for the baptism of his son and heir Prince Henry. Dating from 1593-4 it was one of the first Protestant kirks in Scotland and also the last royal building at the castle.
Some walls are quite decorated
Some aren't (but maybe because they have been rebuilt)
One of the wood carvings
Kings were also quite common
The Chapel Royal
Still working on the walls
There is one more major historical building left that we discover right before we have to leave, the Great Hall. This magnificent banqueting hall is the largest of its kind ever built in Scotland and was used for feasts, dances and pageants. It was completed for James IV in 1503 it has four pairs of tall windows at the dais end, where the king and queen sat, and was heated by five large fireplaces.
View from the castle back
Wallace monument in the distance
Great Hall
This is where the King and Queen sat
We are the last people to exit the castle (literally they closed the doors behind us) however we are happy that we were able to visit this location that we enjoyed more than Edinburgh Castle as it was less choked by other tourists. Returning home we are a bit tired so we decide to eat from our provisions also in order to use the kitchen a bit more. And then it is time to retire for the night as tomorrow we are leaving north into the highlands.
Leaving Edinburgh towards the north we are planning to cross the Firth of Forth using the automobile bridge while catching glimpses of the rail only Forth Bridge which is a Unesco World Heritage Site given the fact that it was an important milestone in bridge design and construction. And then soon we enter the highlands stopping only at a roadside shop to buy some strawberries before entering the "wilderness".
Closing on the Forth Bridges
This is the car one
Stopping to investigate a roadside store
Our haul
We enjoy the drive through the highlands with flowers everywhere and glimpses of hills and mountains in the distance through the fog and rain. And yes it did start to rain not torrentially but steadily making each stop we make to take a photo of the flowers a bit of a chore to ensure we do not get too wet.
The highlands - yes it is raining
And foggy - what did we expect?
Shrubby cinquefoil
Bell heathers are everywhere
And then we arrive at the first stop of the day Braenmar castle one of the more famous castles in the highlands. When seeing it we understand why it is like a fairytale castle forbodding but still somehow whimsical. It was built in 1628 and was the stronghold of the Earls of Mar built to counter the power of the Farquharsons. That we assume didn't work out so well in the end as it is now the possession of the chief of the Clan Farquharson :).
Braemar castle hidden among trees
Highland meadow
Quite impressive
Looks like from a fairytale
It is a short walk to the castle but through a nice area with lots of fireweed and even a few sheep and we enjoy the fact that the rain stopped for a few minutes and take pictures of the beautiful landscape.
Famous Scottish sheep
Field of fireweed
Ragwort - beautiful colors
Close up of fireweed
The castle itself has rooms on multiple floors and all of them are furnished and you can walk through them and examine the objects up close which is unusual but quite interesting for us.
Castle sitting room
Dining room
Lounge area
Accessories
Some of the objects are more interesting than others, the heating pan for example is something that we can completely understand was needed in this area as we are freezing now in the middle of summer :).
Heating pan - just in case you were cold (and you were)
Graffiti before renovation
Kitchen
Butter churn - or something similar:)
Our next stop is nearby and is likely the most famous castle in the Highlands, Balmoral Castle, the Scottish home of the Royal Family since it was purchased for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852.
Walking to Balmoral in the drizzle
River Dee
Before entering we take a look at the feeders near the visitor center, safely from the inside of the visitor center as it is raining lightly outside (again). The feeders are quite popular both for squirrels and birds including our first Great Tit.
Balmoral feeders - with a Great Tit
Chaffinch waiting for the rain to end
Red squirrel raiding the bird feeders
No matter where they are
There is a bus going from the visitor center to the castle but because there is a break in the rain we decide to walk through the old growth forest and arrive first at the Land Rover museum where they keey the Royal Land Rover collection (or at least that is how we call it).
Inside the castle grounds - walking to the castle
We even find a few "scenic" mushrooms
Dissected Land Rover
The Royal collection
The castle is quite large however you cannot really enter it except one room is open for tourists so we mostly just wander around it taking photos before moving on to explore the grounds.
First view of Balmoral
Side view with the garden
View from a distance
Peek inside the castle
The close by garden cottage is completely closed but you can satisfy any voyeuristic instincts by glancing inside through the windows as everyone (including us) seems to be doing. We continue through the gardens however it starts to rain again so we hurry back to the car and are soon on our way.
Garden cottage
You can see right through it but not enter
Walking to the conservatory
View inside
Beautiful flowers
And some hens
Our last castle of the day is Corgarff Castle which sits impressively on a small hill. It was built in the mid 16th century by the Forbes of Towie and then burned in 1571 by their enemy, Adam Gordon of Auchindoun, resulting in the deaths of Lady Forbes, her children, and numerous others, and giving rise to the ballad Edom o Gordon (Scotland is full of these types of gory stories ;)).
One road....
...in the highlands...
Leading to a castle on a hill....
...Corgarff Castle
Before entering we take a look at the surrounding meadows finding a few interesting flowers (at least the names like Devil's bit Scabious) and birds like House Martins which are very fond of the castles it seems.
View from castle
Devil's bit Scabious - what a name
House Martins are very common
And we also see a Meadow Pipit
In the 18th century it was rebuilt as a barracks and a detachment of government troops were stationed there and military use continued as late as 1831, after which the tower served as a distillery and housed local workers. As such the interior is renovated to bring this to life with a room built as a barrack and another as a whiskey distillery. They even have some redcoats to try on - they are unexpectedly heavy but warm which likely was quite important.
Some rooms are more empty
Barrack room is furnished
You can play dress up..
And visit the whiskey distillery
Arriving at the historic hotel we have to take an early dinner as we have one more activity planned for the day which starts at 9PM so we cannot eat dinner afterwards. As the restaurant is not open yet we get some bar food which is acceptable and filling.
Hotel room
With a nice bath
Our dinner - trying out the local specialties
This was quite interesting
On the way to the starting point for the activity we stop to explore a few trailheads, they look quite enticing but we have not enough time to explore them thoroughly.
Trailhead - no time to explore today
But looks like a nice trail
When researching our trip we noticed that this area is famous for badger tours and we decided to take a chance with one (viewing them of course is not guaranteed) - we are the only people who take the tour today which is quite cool. It is a short walk from the road to the hide however you have to be able to jump a few fences to get there. On the way and while waiting for badgers to appear we talk with our guide which is unexpectedly famous, knowing Prince Charles, being the former chairman of the Scottish Wildlife Trust and in general having been part of many activities related to wildlife.
Walking to the badgers - some tough obstacles
Wandering the fields
A badger's den or sett
Inside the hide
And soon the first badger is out - and our camera are out also as we try to capture him in the distance - we shouldn't have worried.
First badger
Close up of badger
After the first one suddenly there are four of them all searching and enjoying the nice evening (no rain!).
They are quite cute as they explore the area and discover the different treats that our guide has left them - we learn that they do not like apples as they purposely avoid all locations with apples and focus on peanuts.
Now there are two of them
Ok - we are officially losing track of how many there are
Really close to us
The famous badger conjoined twins :)
Two badgers are the highlight of the viewing as they somehow decide that the best way to search for food is to be joined in the hip one with the other.
As a bonus as darkness sets in a pine marten also arrives to a nearby tree with the badgers actually starting to take an interest in the poor pine marten until he gets chased up the tree. As it gets dark it is time for us to return the hotel after a great viewing - we didn't expect to see that many badgers and from so close up.
Today our plan is to continue the drive north to the end of the Scotland mainland and then take a ferry to Orkney Mainland (the major island in the Orkney archipelago) stopping along the way at different attractions with the major one being Loch Ness where we hope to be able to see Nessie :). But first we have to fortify ourselves with a hearthy breakfast and explore the old hotel a bit, no ghosts but some really narrow corridors.
Breakfast table
Quite a few options
Hotel lounge area
Narrow corridor
There is a small park in front of the hotel and we do a post breakfast short walk through it before starting on our way.
Hotel from outside
Horse in meadow near hotel
Next stop is Loch Ness as we pass through Inverness and continue south along the Loch Ness lakeshore towards Urquhart Castle where we plan to stop at the famous castle.
Nice road
Nessie exhibit - we assume
Finding a parking place at the Castle is quite different with us having to make multiple drive bys until we find an open spot. There are parking attendants but they are supremely useless just sitting around and not announcing if a parking spot is empty. After finally parking we make our way through the visitor center to a lookout over the castle which is below us on the shore of the lake.
Urquhart Castle view
Loch Ness - no Nessie
Prepared to attack
Getting closer
The moat
Visitor center on the hill
The castle is located in a very picturesque spot on the shore of Loch Ness. It dates from the 13th century built on the site of an early medieval fortification. It was held as a royal castle, and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross, being strengthened subsequently only to be largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces, and subsequently decayed before being stabilized and reopened for visiting in the 20th century. Not a lot is left to visit but still you can guess how the fortress looked, surrounded by a moat and protected by the Loch on one side.
Fortress from the inside
Mostly ruins are left
Quite popular
Best preserved tower
The walls are mostly destroyed but climbing on one of the former towers you can easily see the overall outline of the fortifications, must have been quite impressive. We gaze from both the top and the lakeshore over the water trying to find any sign of Nessie however no luck today;) so disappointed we make our way back to the car.
Highest point
This is what remains of the wall
Loch from the castle
At the edge of Loch Ness
Returning to our northward route we next stop at Carn Liath broch. This is a stop that we are really interested in as it would be the first Iron Age broch that we have ever seen. So what is a broch? It is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland and are considered the most spectacular of a complex class of roundhouse buildings found throughout Atlantic Scotland. Who built them and the reason for which they were built are still some of the mysteries that Scottish historians are grappling with with multiple theories being proposed and discarded. What is clear is that the majority of broches are centered in northeastern Scotland and Orkney and Shetland and we have just entered this area.
Carn Liath specifically is quite impressive with an external diameter of around 19m and an internal diameter of around 10m making the The broch wall particularly thick. The entrance passage is on the east side and is over 4 metres long with elaborate door checks and a bar-hole to control access to the interior.
First view of Carn Liath
Impressive entrance
Entering the ruined tower
Inside the tower
Sitting in the middle of the ruin we are quite impressed when we consider how big it must have been - it should have been quite a sight when outsiders were approaching during its heyday.
View towards the sea
Close up of entrance
To us it seems like a guard tower protecting from attack from the water with the shore being clearly visible for quite some distance. After exploring we return to the car park which is a short distance away on the other side of the main road and have time to examine to numerous fireweeds and brambles along the way and even eat a few ripe berries.
Fireweeds are everywhere
Bramble
Coastal view
You can see islands in the distance
Close by is our next stop, the Hill o' Many Stanes, one of the less popular Bronze Age tourist sites in the area whose rationale for being built is still a mystery even now. It consists of about 200 upright stones, none more than a metre high, set out in rows running approximately north and south with the incline creating a fan-shaped pattern. It is quite an interesting site and we can imagine how historians would argue about who and why would built something like this (as usual astronomy related theories are the front runner).
Hill o' Many Stanes
Arranged in rows
Rows and rows of them
Close up of stones and heather
Close up of heather
Hogweed also is common
We have time for one last stop before the ferry departure and we decide to stop and try to see the Cairn o'Get. Our planning is deficient this time however as we missed the fact that it is a one mile hike there and then back so we explore the trail only partly before retreating back towards the car.
Looking for Cairn o' Get
Finding only ruins
Some sheep
And even more ruins
Before leaving however we drive to the end of the road where a more secluded Loch sits, Loch Watenan. We relax here for a bit looking for birds and flowers until it is time to hit the road again.
Beautiful Loch Watenan
Sitka Spruce nearby
Meadowsweet
House sparrow - not something we expected to find
We arrive with time to spare at the ferry terminal (which is better than being late of course) and spend the majority of the time in the waiting hall drinking hot cofee and eating some snacks. Even so we see some unexpected wildlife, a seal just playing around in the water near the jetty and some oystercatchers far in the distance.
Bonus while waiting for the ferry
And oystercatchers
The cafe in the waiting room
Our haul
This is the first time we take a car ferry so be are not as prepared as we should be. For example we forget to turn off the alarm which means that whenever there is a wave our car starts honking wildly so one of us is relegated to outside alarm duty to stop the alarm whenever it starts. That means about five minutes of quiet then pressing the key button and so on.
Cars entering one by one
Almost ready
There was still place for a....bus
Not many people inside
The ferry to Mainland Orkney passes by many of the smaller islands were we can see farms and churches along the shore with many of them appearing to be abandoned at least from a distance.
Passing villages on outlying islands
Imposing cliffs
Lighthouses are important in this area
Lots of ruins also
However being out in the air to stop the alarm is not all bad as it allows us to view the varied wildlife all around us. In fact we are surprised to see everything from fulmars to gannets up to puffins and guillemots fishing around the boat which makes for a fun passage
Northern Fulmar in flight
And a Northern Gannet in water
We saw puffins even here
Black Guillemot
After unloading it is time to find our hotel - the reception is closed however we get the key from the restaurant. The room is spread across two levels with the bedroom at the second level and the living room, kitchen and bathroom at the first level - it is quite a large room/apartment.
Our room - interesting slanted roof
Downstairs
As it is late and we are some distance away from the main town we decide to eat at the hotel restaurant and the food is good albeit slightly expensive but not unreasonably so given where we are. Full we retire for the day as the next day we have one more ferry trip planned.
Early in the morning we wake up and we eat a fast breakfast in our room provided by the hotel the day earlier (as the restaurant was closed this early in the morning) and start on our way to Kirkwall, the capital and most populous city in Orkney. From here we intend to take another, smaller ferry to a different island, Westray that we want to visit today.
Morning on Orkney Mainland
Lots of boats
Waiting for our ferry
Loading after a truck
The crossing is uneventful and with the car alarm successfully silenced there is no need to stay the whole time on the deck. Even so it is fun to stay outside in the wind and birdwatch and we see some gannets and shags during the crossing whenever we braved the cold outside.
On the way
On the ferry
Gannet in flight
Likely shag flying next to the ferry
After disembarking from the ferry we paln to stop first at the Castle of Burrian a rock outcrop in the sea full of puffins. However first we have to find the correct way and even after finding the parking spot it is not exactly clear where the trail goes but after some investigative work we figure out it is following the shore and not going through the fields as we initially assumed.
We assume it says Castle of Burrian
Passing on abandoned mill
Uhm...where is the trail?
First view of water
Of course puffins are not the only birds you can see on the island or even on the trail. Fulmars are quite common along the trail while wrens and sparrows flitter all around us. In the water we can see guillemots and in a small depression right next to the trail we even see our first puffin quite close up.
House sparrows are surviving even here
Eurasian wren - very active
Fulmar feeding chick
Another one all alone
Black guillemot on water
Our first puffin here
The trail becomes more defined a bit further away from the parking lot with well maintained bridges passing through meadows where red campion and angelica as well as thistles grow in abundance.
Red campion - not really red here :)
Wild Angelica
Beautiful trail
Traps on the side of the trail
This early in the morning with the sun shining it seems that the entire island birdlife is concentrated on the trail with the insects also out in force, easily seen when we examine the trailside flowers.
Rock pipit
Sitting next to each other
Red clover
Insects are out in force
And quite soon we arrive at Burrian's Castle sitting out in the sea and using our cameras we can examine the many puffins that decided that the top of the rock is the place to be and to create a nest.
Burrian's castle
Coastline continues seemingly forever
Let there be puffins
Quite a few of them
Exiting the burrow
I am coming with gifts
They are quite active already with the more active parents bringing in food from the sea while the lazy ones are just sitting there and sunning themselves or flapping the wings (of course likely one parent is on the sea while the other one is waiting on the rock but it is more fun to think of them as lazy vs. active parents :)).
Returning to the car we eat the other part of the breakfast that we had taken with us (orange juice and sandwich) before continuing on towards a nearby beach that a brown sign is enticing us with. On the way we stop at a small lake full of geese and even a lonely solitary lost looking gull between them.
Greylag Goose
Gull lost between the goose
The beach is surprisingly attractive and wind and we explore it for seashells for a while. In the water we can see seals swimming lazily, wagtails are walking around the seashore and with all this peaceful scenery we miss the big dog running from the road towards us, passing millimeters from us and then jumping in the water with a big splash which is the sign that we should maybe leave before he returns and gives us an involuntary bath.
Beautiful beach
We are being watched
Looking for seashells
Looks like a human - maybe it is only in our mind
Wagtail
Some of the seashells
From here we continue on the main road towards Pierowall, the capital and only major (=600 people) settlement on the island. We stop and walk around a bit examining the museum (which we hoped is free but given that it costs some money we decide to skip it) and information center, seeing the famous white skeleton and some things that drifted from the sea and were grouped in the middle of the city - whale bones seem to be quite common on the island based on the displays.
Only (main) road
Descending towards the biggest city, Pierowall
Beachside in Pierowall
Is this the "Lost & Found"?
Lots of bones
Famous whale skeleton
We also take a look at the hotel where we are hoping to eat lunch if we have enough time and then continue on our way.
The only hotel and a good place for coffee
These flowers look beautiful
Like any self respecting Scottish Isle Westray has one castle and is quite proud of it. It is called Noltland castle and it is quite well preserved. It was built in the 16th century by the master of the Royal Household to Mary Queen of Scots. It was captured and burned in 1650 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms after which it sat ruined for hundred of years before being stabilized and opened to the public.
Noltland Castle
Gate and wall with some nice views
Trying to find the entrance
Impressive from close up
Parts of the wall and archways are well preserved as can be seen from the courtyard and then to our surprise we notice we can enter the castle so inside we go.
Inside we explore the dark rooms and steep staircases climbing up to get some good views of the surrounding area, sit on the stone benches and overall being the only ones here feel like first time explorers of a long lost castle.
Inside the castle - a bit spooky
Not the right way up
A more sunlit room
Sitting area
One last climb
View from the castle
From here we return to Pierowall for a short coffee break at the hotel and to explore the Lady Kirk Ruin. The church was built in 1674 on the foundation of the 13th century church and is mostly complete if you exclude the roof which is missing. There are many old tombstones here some protected inside the church including the one of Michael Balbour the builder of the Noltland Castle.
Lady Kirk Ruin in the distance
Getting closer
Inside with a few old tombstones
Was the person a pirate?
Continuing our exploration of the country side we stop at Grobust Bay. It is known for the beautiful beach, fossils and excavations and we hope we can see them all before having to return to the ferry.
Old stone wall near Grobust Bay
Pied wagtail watching us
Grobust Bay in the distance
Where are the Links of Noltland ruins?
We explore the beach for some time especially where the fossils are supposed to be with no luck until some locals take pity on us and show us the best preserved ones. If you know about them then you can see them but other wise we wouldn't have seen them as they are not that fish like as we expected.
On the beach
Wild cove
Can you see the fossil fish?
How about here?
Returning to the car we do our best to find the Links of Noltland excavation and noticing an area covered by black plastic covered with tires we decide to explore it a bit closer and there it is - the tires are used to keep the plastic down so the wind doesn't uncover the site.
Common Yarrow
Bird's foot trefoil
Is this the archaeological site?
Finally found it
We explore the excavation for some time peeking at everything that is exposed and we can see how the houses were built where the fireplaces were and overall it is quite different to be in the middle of an active excavation.
You can see the building outlines
Building corner
More impressive walls
Fire pit?
On the way back we pass a few more lakes and similar to the ones in the morning they are full of geese this time more on the shore than in the lake.
Lake with lots of geese
Cows are also quite common
The return trip is uneventful and we are quite happy that at least for today the rain has stayed away.
Not our ferry
Truck is coming back with us
We decide to eat in the downtown area of Kirkwall but with limited parking this is a bit of a nightmare as one person has to run circles with the car while the rest are buying food from a Chinese/Greek (that is a mix we have not seen before) fast food restaurant. We take it home and it is quite good and full and tired after the early start it is time to retire for the night.
Today our plan is to spend the day on Orkney Mainland and then leave with an overnight ferry towards Aberdeen that we booked far in advance. In the morning before leaving we enjoy the weather with a short walk around our accomodation before packing the car and starting on our way.
Our hotel
View from the hotel
As we are driving towards Kirkwall we stop at a few attractions that we saw the previous day but didn't have time to stop. First we take a look at the Churchill Barriers, a series of four causeways, that we pass towards Mainland. They were built in the 1940s (hence the name) primarily as naval defences to protect the anchorage at Scapa Flow but are now used as road links that we are quite grateful for. Before reaching Mainland we make one more short stop at the Italian Chapel built in World War II by Italian prisoners of war who constructed the Churchill Barriers.
Churchill Barriers
Seems it can be dangerous?
Italian Chapel - built by POWs
Ocean is not far at any point on Orkney
We know how difficult it is to find parking in Kirkwall so we are overjoyed to find an open spot right in the middle of the attractions we intend to visit. Of course that comes with a drawback - it is restricted to one hour only so on we go on a whirlwind tour of the attractions. We start with the Bishop's Palace built in the early 12th century and while ruined is still quite large as befits a Bishop. Its importance is underlined by the fact that the Norwegian king Hakon IV (Orkney was Norwegian till 1469) who died close by was brought here so everyone could come and pay their respects.
Bishop's Palace
Ruins are impressive
The Earl's Palace across the street however is much more magnificent. It was built around 1606 by Patrick, Earl of Orkney who ruled the Northern Isles with an iron fist from 1592 until his execution 23 years later. It was declared at his trial that he used slave labour to build his residences and as such it is not surprising that he set his own apartment beyond the top end of the great hall, well away from those occupied by his household officials and guests - just in case.
Earl's Palace over the road
Must have been something back in the day
Surprisingly many visitors
Big fireplaces were important this far north ;)
View from the window - what is that used for?
The well
Last but not least is St Magnus Cathedral also close by. Construction began in 1137 and continued for 300 years and it is a fine example of Romanesque architecture and was the northernmost cathedral in the British isles. We explore it from the outside while trying to find the entrance quickly as we notice we have only 15 minutes left of parking.
Old mode of transportation
St Magnus Cathedral
Cemetery near the cathedral
Close up view
Inside the cathedral is quite impressive with huge pillars supporting the high ceiling. We also notice the Norwegian flag next to the UK one - it is a reminder of the fact that Norwegians ruled over the island for quite a few centuries.
Looks impressive for a relatively small island
There is even another floor..
Norway flag near the UK one
Stained glass windows
Leaving the downtown area with 3 minutes to spare we drive to the Grain Earth House on the outskirts of Kirkwall. While we find the earth house ok we do not find the shop that is supposed to give us the key to enter so we give up and take photos only from the outside before continuing on our way.
Grain Earth House is next...
..but it cannot be entered
Continuing to the next attraction we know that there is a cairn near the top of Wideford Hill. But after driving to the top of the highest hill on Mainland we strike out again as we cannot find the entrance. At least the beautiful views make up for our failure and then it is time to drive directly to the next attraction as we have made an online reservation that we do not want to miss.
To the top of Wideford Hill
Some great views
There is a cruise ship in town
Heathers are everywhere really
Entrance to a cairn?
View from the top
Maeshow Chambered Tomb has a very strict limit on the number of visitors allowed on a tour so we decided to book it in advance to ensure we can visit it. In fact we reserved it the entrance is paid as part of the Scottish Heritage Pass that we use at most attractions. The tour starts at the visitor center from where a bus takes you and the guide to a different smaller parking area from where you have to walk to the tomb.
Time for the Neolithic attractions
Bus towards Maeshowe Chambered Tomb
Following signs
This is our goal
The walk is quite nice through fields ready to be harvested (in our uninformed opinion) arriving at the closed entrance where the guide tells us the story of the area before opening the gate and letting us in.
Trail is going through the fields
Ears of grain along the way
That is our goal for later
Waiting for the door to open
Maeshowe is one of the largest tombs in Orkney; the mound encasing the tomb is 35m in diameter and rises to a height of 7m and hides a complex of passages and chambers built of carefully crafted slabs of flagstone weighing up to 30 tons. Surrounding the mound is a ditch up to 14 m wide so it should have been quite a sight in the olden days. The entrance passage is 11m long and less than 1m high but then in the main chamber where we spend the next half hour you can stand up and look around as the guide points out the different points of interest like the famous runic inscriptions on the walls.
Inside - the roof is new(ish)
The entrance passage
After returning to the car it is a short hop to the next major attraction, Skara Brae a stone-built Neolithic settlement. We have heard that it is called the Scottish Pompeii due to its excellent preservation even though it is older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids and are looking forward to seeing it in person. The first house that we enter though we discover is a reconstruction built to show how the houses must have looked like 5,000 years ago when they were inhabited.
Skara Brae entrance - very popular
Reconstruction of a Skara Brae house
Fireplace inside
The furniture
It is a surprisingly long walk to the excavation along a trail that uses plaques to show us going back in time as we approach the site just to give an idea of how old the site is.
Start of trail
Distance correlates with years in the past
Not the ruins
Outside of the main area
And then we arrive and the excavation is quite impressive as you see the outlines of the houses surrounded by grass in a pictoresque setting.
Finally arriving
Looks a bit like hobbit houses?!
Not so impressive
This one has a fireplace
The best preserved houses are really spectacular you can see where the people slept where they kept their items, where the fire was and imagine how live was so many millenia ago.
Well preserved
Most preserved - you can imagine people living here
Streets now tunnels between houses
Looks very scenic
Part of the site is also Skaill House where the person who uncovered Skara Brae lived. You can visit the manor and as we have time we decide to do that also as part of a loop and then return the visitor center. On the way we admire the fields full of flowers - it seems that wherever we go the flowers are in full bloom.
Skaill House in the distance
Common Yarrow
Ragwort?
At the entrance
The house is unexpectedly interesting as it is fully furnished and we are attracted especially to all the hiding spots including a fun one behind a bookcase. It even has a tiger pelt - god knows from where - in the middle of the sitting area.
Dining table
Secret hiding place
Last Scottish Tiger :)
Bedroom
Our next planned stop, the Borch of Gurness, is the last one having a closing hour all the other ones are open 24h. In fact we weren't sure we would be able to make it but as it seems we will have one hour at the site we make to relatively long drive (for the island) to the site. We have to stop right before the parking lot to take a few photos of a curlew on a wild beach and decide to also stop when returning as it seems like a nice place for birds. We start our visit at the Broch with the small museum which has an interesting peeping hole into the life of an ancient family.
Along the way to our next objective
Eurasian Curlew
How the Broch of Gurness looked
And how the people lived
The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village that once housed a substantial community all centered on the broch that was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.
This is how it looks now
Outside building
Looking for the entrance
There it is
Wonder what we will find inside?
Entrance - impressive even now
The broch/stone tower, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres is divided into sections by upright slabs. It features two layers of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between which can be accessed by steps that you can climb onto. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor with the roof likely being thatched.
We focus our exploration on the central tower and then while returning to the car we also stop at all the other excavated houses along the way and exit the area at exactly closing time - we are the last car in the parking lot.
Inside the tower - fireplace in the middle
With some stairs and deposit areas
Outside homes had fireplaces too
Wonder what that was, grave, deposit area?
We still have a lot of time to burn so we stop along the way at a seashore that promises free toilets (and they really are there). Exploring a bit we find an old abandoned barn complete with barn swallows - how cute. Continuing we stop at the Birsay Moors Hide however unfortunately for us there are only some geese and gulls on the lake.
Abandoned barn
But not by barn swallows
Birsay Moors Hide
Only some geese and gulls
Birsay village is next where we want to visit another Earl Palace. This one was built by Robert Stewart, half-brother of Mary Queen of Scots, who became Earl of Orkney in the late 1500s. He was a notoriously harsh earl, and the gun holes at ground level in every wall of the palace may suggest that he expected trouble. However not long after he passed away neglect set in and by 1700 it was already roofless and decaying. Still what is left is impressive, it is surprising to us how this seemingly huge castles were built with the limited manpower available on the islands.
Birsay downtown
Birsay's Earl Palace
Inside the palace
Lonely tower
Stairs going nowhere
Kitchen window
Returning to the heart of Neolithic Orkney we stop at the Ring of Brodgar - at this point the drizzle is on and off but it is still ok so we walk round this huge stone circle. It is 104m in diameter and the third largest in the British Isles making it quite impossible to take it in one photo. The original ring erected about 4,000 years ago comprised of up to 60 stones but only 27 are still standing, but even so it is quite impressive
Ring of Brodgar
European Stonechat on the way
Getting close
Almost impossible to catch it all in one photo
The size of the stones is impressive
Trying to capture all of them in one photo
The last stop of the day is really close, the Standing Stones of Stenness, considered to be the oldest henge site in the British Isles being contemporary with Skara Brae about 5,000 years ago. The stone circle was much smaller than Brodgar with only about 12 original stones with only four surviving to the present age. They are protected by sheep today that we have to scare away (not easy) so we can approach the stones. Close by in walking distance is the Barnhouse Settlement from the same period which is surprisingly well preserved also and where you can enter into the ruins of the homes and explore them. But we do not have as much time as we would have liked as it starts to rain more seriously so it is time to retreat to the car and drive towards Kirkwall.
Standing Stones of Stenness
Guardian of the Stones
Barnhouse Settlement
Quite impressive really
Today we are more prepared and know where to park in order to access a Chinese restaurant where we spend a couple of hours eating good food and discussing everything that we have seen before driving to the ferry location.
Chinese soup
And some appetizers
As the ferry leaves around midnight we have time to kill while waiting for the ferry. Unexpectedly there is no waiting room so we sit in the car for some time until we are let in. The ferry is much larger than the previous ones and it even has a restaurant and a cinema which are of course closed. But we are quite tired already anyway so we enter our minuscule cabin and soon fall asleep.
We arrive at Aberdeen early in the morning after a fitful sleep even though the sailing is smooth, it is after all the first time we sleep on a ship. We are one of the first cars to leave the ship however then we have to decide what to do, in the end we decide to go to the seashore and find an open place (difficult this early in the morning) to eat breakfast.
Exiting the ferry
Row of cars exiting
The cafe we find is opening in 15 minutes according to the sign so we have to to enjoy the beach and the beautiful sunrise over the water before noticing that the door opened - we are the first people in (and only for a while) - yay!!
Sunrise in Aberdeen
Birds waking up
Windmills on the sea
Finally open
This is the last "Scottish breakfast" we eat on this trip and it is quite filling and lasts us for the day so certainly waiting to eat here was worth it :).
Last "Scottish" breakfast
Egg croissant
One of our party is actually leaving from the Aberdeen airport and we have some time to spend before the plane leaves so we make a short detour at a tourist attraction near the airport, the Dyce Symbol Stones that are on display in an enclosure at the ruined kirk of St Fergus in Dyce relatively close to the Aberdeen airport. The older of the two, probably dating from about AD 600, is a granite symbol stone depicting a swimming beast above a cluster of symbols. The later of the two, probably from some time after AD 700, is a cross-slab which shows a cross filled with interlace carvings, surrounded by four symbols.
Looking for the Dyce Symbol Stones
Here they are
This one we understand - a cross
Swimming beast
What makes one of these stones quite special is that one of them has an ogham inscription - an early medieval alphabet used to write early Irish language. However its meaning remains a mystery. After exploring and also taking in the views in the surroundings we return on the one car lane back to the main road and then to the airport where we say our goodbyes and then we are on the way again.
Ogham inscription
Church cemetery
River near the stones
One lane road back to civilization
Going south now our next stop is Dunnottar Castle from the 15th century- one of the most famous castles in Scotland. Luckily we are here early and nab the last parking spot before taking a short, easy hike to the castle overlook. It looks quite impressive and we understand why it is so famous besides the fact that it also played an important role in Scottish history by hiding the Scottish crown jewels from Oliver Cromwell's invading army.
Dunnottar Castle in the distance
View through a chasm
Quite impressive - still no match for cannons
Coastline looks quite wild
Fireweed
Lots of marmalade hoverflies
Our next stop brings us back to the theme of the day Pictish stones. In fact Aberlemno has not one, not two, not even three but four Pictish stones, together called Aberlemno Sculptured Stones, and we look forward to seeing them all. The parking lot is clearly advertised however to view the stones you have to walk back on the side of the busy road - actually these is for only three of the stones as the fourth is a bit farther away.
Aberlemno Sculptured Stones Parking
Stone 1
Stone 2 - well preserved
Stone 3 - with a snake
To reach the fourth one we actually have to take a side road to the Aberlemno church where the stone is located. It is a short walk but still we get to see our first zebra:) in Scotland. The small church graveyard is also quite interesting with some beautiful old graves to be found when we explored it a bit.
Looking for the fourth stone
Supposedly it is somewhere near the church
That is plain weird
Found it
Old tombstone
They can be quite interesting
Restenneth Priory is quite old being founded by Jedburgh Abbey in 1153. There is even some speculation that an earlier Pictish church built in 710 sat on this site. Given its location there were multiple battles fought close to it with Robert the Bruce burying the body of his infant son here in 1327. You can easily see the church from the parking lot and after finding the right trail to it we have the whole area to ourselves.
Is this really the entrance?!?
The trail to the historic Restenneth Priory
Ruins are surprisingly well preserved
Surprisingly featureless
There is little left though inside the ruins with the most unusual thing being the smiley face tombstone on the ground in the middle of the building and soon we are on our way.
Inside the ruined chapel
Interesting niche
Likely a gravestone
This looks like a smiley
We have one more Sculptured Stone to stop to along our way, the Eassie Sculptured Stone. It takes a bit to find a good parking spot before walking up the hill to the church to find the stone which was created about 1,300 years ago to promote the growing Pictish church. After admiring it for a short while we take a look also at the small church cemetery and then walk a little on a short trail next to the church which likely was a railway right of way previously but now is a beautiful nature trail.
Looking for the Eassie Sculptured Stone
It has to be here
Found it
Old tombstones are also interesting
Trail nearby
View of ruined church
While the Hadrian Wall is quite famous the Antonine Wall further north is less known at least to us. It was built out of turf and wood and as such there are fewer visible remains than for the Hadrian Wall however we decide to stop at the best preserved ones that are along our route - the Rough Castle. However we encounter a problem parking as the parking lot is full so we have to drive some way back to find another parking spot where another car can overtake us (the curse of really narrow lanes). Starting from here is not a bad idea though as the wall outline and the moat especially is clearly visible for a distance.
The less famous Antonine Wall
You can see the wall and ditch outline from here
Interesting tree
Cows enjoying their dinner
The same really cannot be said about the Rough Castle. While there are signs pointing where the buildings stood you would be hard pressed to notice anything. And then it starts raining so we retreat to the car for the last leg of our journey to Glasgow.
Signs at Rough Castle
Not a lot left though
Multiple trails are leaving from here
No time to explore unfortunately
Finding parking in Glasgow near the university seems a lost cause however our host aligns with us to open his spot so we can park there when he leaves for his home. Here we stay in what could be called an AirBnB type of accomodation, a flat in an old building which for one night almost makes us feel Scottish. We have to go out one more time in the rain unfortunately to get some fast food to eat for the night and then it is time to retire for the night.
In the morning before leaving Glasgow we want to visit the University which is in walking distance nearby. We have about 1:30h before our parking money expires so we check out and bring our luggage to the car and then go in search of the university through the nice neighborhood.
View from accomodation window
Our door - beautiful
Walking towards the University
Typical building in the neighborhood
Soon the buildings become more impressive and we arrive at a castle like gate that looks like the right entrance even though almost everything seems to be a construction zone inside.
University is here somewhere
Entrance
Looks like a castle
Interesting balcony
Going around the construction zone we finally arrive at the main building proper even though from the back. It is still very impressive with a great view over the city and we also notice an entrance towards the interior - finally. There are a few mistaken turns first but then we finally enter the inner courtyard which makes us feel like we stepped back in time towards a medieval time university.
View from the back - impressive
Looking towards the city
Finally an entrance
Inside the University
Hallway towards the Inner Courtyard
The Chapel
We enter the chapel first even though to our surprise the first exhibit we see is of world war model airplanes which is something that we are interested in so we look at the carefully before entering the chapel proper. We are surprised to notice we are the only people inside and we explore the chapel for a while looking at the interesting details before moving on.
Not an exhibit you expect in a chapel
Quite beautiful
Altar
The stained glass windows
Next we stop for a short visit at the Hunterian Art Gallery which only has the sculpture garden open, take a look at the new library before noticing the actual front entrance of the University and heading towards it.
Hunterian Art Gallery
Only sculpture garden could be visited
Old building
And the new library
What we actually look for is the Hunterian Museum however it is not clear how to get there as signs lead to dead ends, stairs go seemingly nowhere (well nowhere for us as there are exams there) and many places are posted no entry.
This looks like a temple
Searching for the Hunterian Museum
Main entrance - there is a sign for the museum here
Is it here? No it is an exam
However finally we find the right way and enter the Hunterian Museum the most famous of the University's museums. It is not a large museum, just a few rooms which is good as we are really pressed for time with only 10 minutes left to get back to the car before our paid ticket expires.
Maybe here?
Found it
Rome exhibit
Skull used for scientific research
Craignethan Castle is our last castle in Scotland and it is a doozy. It was built in the first half of the 16th century and is recognised as an excellent early example of a sophisticated artillery fortification even though from our perspective the location below a hill doesn't seem so well chosen.
Craignethan Castle - maybe not in the ideal position
Climbing down to the entrance - unusual for a castle
Finally down - now on to the entrance
Guardian statues have seen better days
The first inner courtyard is not that spectacular however we are intrigued by all the badger info signs. Looking later online we learn that parts of Craignethan Castle have been abandoned earlier in the year due to an unexpected invader – a “very angry badger”. This is quite funny but we do not see the badger while visiting unfortunately.
Inside the courtyard
Ruined house
Only badgers here
Keep on the other side of a moat
Luckily there is a bridge
Fortifications in the ditch
What we enjoy most is the keep - you can enter it and explore and even from the lower floor it is quite interesting.
You can go up and down and after some exploring we even get so lost that we have to jump through a window to a side that we knew we have been before as we could not find the right way back - it is quite like a labyrinth.
No way to get there now
Sitting area
You can climb up
Scenic stairs
The bonus to us are the swallow nests complete with hungry chicks that we can easily see while the parents are flitting around us catching insects to take back to the nest.
Not a lot to see
Former tower
Mother watching us
And the chicks are expecting the food
From here we continue south soon entering England. We are quite hungry so we stop at a roadside rest area for some food but it is quite bad and we leave unsatisfied after buying some gas also.
Rest area food...
...not that good
We wanted to stop at Penrith Castle on the way but we cannot find a good parking spot and in the end one of us just runs up the trail to take a photo and on we go.
Where can we park for the castle??
Penrith Castle
Our next and last stop of the day has a different problem - we do find parking easily however....it starts to rain heavily. We wanted to stop here to see Arthur's Round Table qhich really has nothing to do with the legendary king but is a prehistoric circular earthwork and in the end we take out our umbrella and walk to a viewpoint so we can take photos and then retreat to the car continuing on our way to the hotel.
Arthur's Round Table - imagined...
...and reality
The rain stops on the way and the accomodation is quite good and quiet being located in the countryside close to the city of York which we plan to visit the next day. However before that we have one more stop today - we have to pick someone up from the nearby airport to join our party for the next couple days.
Our room
Even has a child bed?!
After the airport before returning to the hotel we celebrate the reunion at the only restaurant open on the road to the hotel, an Indian restaurant. The food is really good and with everyone satisfied and satiated we return to the hotel for the night.
The breakfast area at the accomodation is a bit different from the point of view that it is basically a kitchen and you take what you need from the refrigerator and shelves to create your breakfast and we do exactly that before checking out and starting our drive towards York.
Breakfast area
And the buffet
On the way we make a short stop at a memorial along the way that was raised in the memory of a high speed railway crash that happened nearby now known as the Great Heck rail crash. It is up till now the worst rail disaster of the 21st century in the United Kingdom killing 10 people when a passenger train hit a Land Rover crashed down on the track and was derailed in the path of an incoming freight train. The memorial is located in a small park with a description of the crash and the name of everyone killed - we may our respects and then we continue on our way.
A small park nearby commemorating a huge railway crash
Overview over the line where it happened
We have a parking area selected for York and then also a backup parking area which is good as our first choice is completely full so we have to fall back to the second parking area which is bit farther out from the downtown area. From here it is a short walk to the first attraction - Clifford's tower the keep of the medieval Norman castle built very scenically on the top of the hill to keep an eye on the formerly Viking town of York.
York - Clifford's Tower
Impressive from nearby
York Crown Court
Not for us anymore but fun nonetheless to see
From here we walk into the city with the goal being the York cathedral which is on the other side of the old town so we will have to opportunity to walk through one of the best preserved cities in the UK...twice.
Time to enter the city
Very popular
St Mary's Church
Gargoyles are very popular here
Interesting contrast
Looks like a famous house we saw in Strasbourg
The most attractive (and as such also full of tourists) area of York is the Shambles. The Shambles is an old street, with overhanging timber-framed buildings, some dating back as far as the fourteenth century. named after the word for the shelves that butchers used to display their meat. There are no butchers left but we find at least one bakery with British specialties and buy a few to eat as our lunch.
The Shambles
Did we mention how popular it is?
Looking up
Our lunch
Continuing on our walk we pass street performers and masses of people before finally seeing the impressive cathedral of York in fron of us - it is really huge, even from a distance it seemingly fills up all the sky in front of us.
Street performers are quite common
Our goal - the York Minster
Impressive from up close
And impossible to get in one frame
The York Minster (Cathedral) is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe and is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the third-highest office of the Church of England. The first recorded church on the site was a wooden structure built hurriedly in 627 to provide a place to baptise Edwin, King of Northumbria. The cathedral was then burnt, rebuilt, enlarged and finally declared complete and consecrated in 1472. It is a beautiful cathedral and you can probably spend days just looking at the embellishments on the outside but we are relatively on the clock (literally due to the parking) so after admiring the gargoyles for some time it is time to enter the building.
The detail is astounding
One of the many gargoyles
Looking up the central tower
Entrance detail
How many gargoyles can you see?
And here?
Inside there are far fewer people (probably due to the steep cost of visit) and it is of course a lot quieter. The cathedral is quite impressive on the inside similar to Durham with huge ceilings and beautiful stained windows.
Inside it is seemingly neverending
The ceiling is something else
All windows are stained glass
Quite beautiful
We continue exploring the cathedral and find interesting things almost at every steps from weird clocks to different objects found during excavations.
Dedicated to remembering different battles
Huge clock - we assume
Going down to see the foundation
Different finds when doing the excavation
In fact there is a small exhibit related to the excavations and repairs that were done following a 1967 survey that revealed the building, in particular the central tower, was close to collapse. During the work they found the foundations of the older churches, old wall paintings and even part of the headquarters of the Roman fort, Eboracum some of which you can visit now.
Old wall
And wall painting
Old Bible
And Wood Panels
Returning upstairs we admire the ceilings for a while which are quite beautiful and different depending on where you decide to stand when gazing at the ceiling ;).
Inside a chapel
The ceiling is Arabesque almost
As in many major cathedral there are lots of important people buried inside the cathedral or at least their burial sites are located in the cathedral. What is a bit unsual is how diffent the different burial sites are with some being quite ornate while others being quite simple.
Multiple important people are buried here
Interesting order
Earlier and less decorated tomb
This is quite decorated though
Exiting the cathedral we try to return on a different way back to the parking lot in order to add more time to the parking clock so we can explore a bit more of the city.
Trying to find the exit gates
Here is one
More modern bridge
Looks like a moat to us
In fact what we still want to see is the old walls of York which are according to our information still well preserved but a bit off from our previous walk. We find it interesting that we can climb on the walls and there are no railings to protect from the fall. We walk for some time along the walls stopping at the gates which interrupt the wall from time to time and reading the information about them before returning towards the downtown area.
Gate of York
You can climb the walls
And walk for quite a distance
We are going back to the center though
We do one more final walk along the castle to fully use our parking fees before returning to the car to continue on our way south.
York Castle Museum
One last look towards the tower
We have no more stops planned for today so we drive directly to our accomodations for the night, the King William Inn near Luton. The claim is that it is a historic pub and inn and we can believe it as the rooms are really small with no air conditioning and we can hear the music from the pub downstairs. Therefore we decide to take a walk outside and let the room cool down a bit until we return from our walk through the nearby fields.
Our inn - historic accomodations..
...soo it was small, loud and hot
Trail near inn
Fields as far as we can see
We walk for about a hour taking a circular loop through the fields and even see a few llamas along the way for fun. In the room we observe an interesting moth that we just read about, a Twenty-plume Moth so we take a few photos of it - instead of wings it has feathers or it looks that way which is fascinating.
The crop - barley?
One of the exits towards the village
Llamas - not what we expected
Twenty-plume Moth - a beautiful one
As it is still hot in the room and we are hungry we go downstairs to the pub to eat some grub - the food is quite good actually even though we are probably the only clients ordering food not drinks. Full and with the temperature at a reasonable level we return to the room for a good night sleep. The next day is a blur with part of our group leaving from Luton and us leaving from Heathrow after a great vacation with lots of castles, ancient monuments, medieval cities and of course nature.
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