leonberger

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I keep editing, but I?m already leaving out various stops, many meals, and some of the really fun stories?I guess I?m not good at condensing the experience!

This is a late trip report on my visit to Scotland (and a touch of England) in September of this year. Participants: me, my husband (Dan), my Dad, and my Mom.


Some brief trip info:

Trip Dates: September 1-19, 2004

Flight ? Virgin Atlantic, direct from Boston to London ? tickets $481 each (purchased 6 months ahead?turns out I could have gotten that same price throughout the 6 month period, but that is not usually the case, so I grabbed them as soon as they appeared)

Rental Car ? Baldocks (of Windsor) ? Ford Galaxy Van ? 780 GBP for the full 19 days, including an extra driver and a mobile phone

Places we stayed:

London, Comfort Inn, Buckingham Palace, 90 GBP per night for one room with 4 twin beds ? great shower, OK size, decent continental breakfast, friendly people, very close to Victoria Station

Peffermill House, just outside Edinburgh, 450 GBP for a week ? two bedrooms, two full baths, living room/dining room, kitchen, foyer ? ground floor of 17th fortified house ? wonderful and charming, could not have asked for a more wonderful place

B&B?s scattered in my report, mostly one night stays, chosen because we were in the area?not a bad one in the bunch.

Great Britain Heritage Passes (GBHP) purchased in advance through BritRail for $52 each (including shipping) ? the bargain of the century! Buy these and use them!


The Report:

Flew into Heathrow, arriving early AM. Ian (from Baldocks) met us outside the terminal, with our van. Drove 15-20 minutes to Windsor to complete paperwork and drop off Ian, then returned to London and the Comfort Inn Buckinham Palace. (Driving in London is NOT recommended, but we were only staying for one day and didn?t want to have to head out to Windsor the next day.) Naps for all, followed by a forgettable lunch nearby. Taxi to Westminster Abbey for Evensong (our reason for stopping in London on this trip), always a beautiful service.

Asked a taxi driver after the service for a recommendation for dinner, somewhere near the London Eye. He dropped us close to the Eye, and we chose ?The Slug and The Lettuce? ? very upscale yuppie-oriented bar/restaurant w/ good food and friendly waitress. (Of course, we took pictures of Mom and Dad under the restaurant sign ? Mom immediately said ?I?ll be lettuce??) While we waited for food, Dan and Dad walked to the Eye and got timed tickets for an hour later ? exactly at dusk. Rode the Eye without having to wait in line ? a wonderful experience, especially as darkness fell over the city. Back to the hotel and to bed.

9/3. Out of London, to Bourton-on-the-Water (Cotswolds, England). Had read about the 1/9th scale replica of the village and it was fantastic. There is also a 1/9th scale version of that, and a 1/9th version of that?gets pretty small back there! Unique!

Headed north. Stopped for the night at ?Middle Holly House? in Forton (nr. Preston), just south of England?s Lakes District ? 45 GBP per room w/ ensuite facilities. New owners (the Spearmans) really nice and welcoming. Mom and Dad were in what looked like a chicken coop (remodeled, obviously) and Dan and I were upstairs, looking out over a gorgeous front garden. Great breakfast the next morning.

9/4. Misty rain this morning (bright sunshine previously). Followed signs for ?The Scenic Route to Edinburgh? ? and it really was? Cloudy but no rain for most of the day.

Stopped at Traquair House (the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland), and used our Great Britain Heritage Passes for the first time. Lots of family artifacts on display. One favorite was the ?mote spoon?, a spoon with a really long, thin, tapered handle and tiny holes in the bowl. The holes were used to sift the dust from tea leaves before putting them in to steep and the skinny handle is used to push leaves out of the spout on the teapot.

A nice lunch in the 1745 Cottage on the grounds of Traquair House ? we especially enjoyed watching two ladies ?of a certain age? who chose to eat outside. The wasps wanted their drinks, the cat tried to steal their sandwiches, and the peacocks wanted anything they could reach ? it was like watching a comedy show to see them try to graciously eat their lunch without surrendering it to the critters!

Next stop ? Roslyn Chapel (on our list long before ?The DaVinci Code?). Under restoration, so scaffolding everywhere?.literally couldn?t see the outside of the Chapel. Inside very dim, so picture taking was hard and it was very crowded. Enough?we left.

Followed directions and found our rented ?home,? Peffermill House without any trouble. Built in 1636, this house is a gem ? and Paul and Juliet Cheetham are everything you?d want from hosts (they live upstairs). Elegant gardens (4 acres of them), a sweet little cat (?Black?), huge stone spiral staircase, and the whole ground floor to ourselves. They could not have done anything to make it more welcoming and perfect!

9/5. Up early to attend worship at St. Giles in Edinburgh, then had lunch in the basement coffee house there ? I highly recommend it for lunch or tea or a snack if you?re in Edinburgh! Took a few minutes to find John Knox?s gravesite (under parking spot number 23, behind the church!), then headed north to the Blairgowrie games. Stopped at the Meikleour Beech Hedge (120 feet tall and 580 yards long!) on the way. Lots of fun at the Games ? thanks, Sheila and Janis for suggesting them!

9/6. Driving tour of the ?East Neuk? (northern coast of the Firth of Forth). Some drizzle in AM, but turned into a nice day by early PM. Stopped at ?The Secret Bunker? (WWII), but it seemed underwhelming (and fairly expensive, at 7.50 GBP, no GBHP accepted), so we left without actually going in. Continued to Crail and watched the North Sea and the tide for a while. Dinner at Anstruther Fish Restaurant (in Anstruther) ? excellent! Reported to be Prince William?s favorite ?chippie.?

9/7. Guide Friday bus tour of Edinburgh ? great intro to the city (8.50 GBP, less for Mom and Dad ? they?re ?old?!) ? we liked the ?Guide Friday? tour, since it was the only one with a live guide. Our guide explained the historic nature of the day ? the first time the Scottish Parliament would be using their new building. (We later learned that they had to close down early?the sound system didn?t work!).

Went to the Camera Obscura (5.75 GBP) on this bright, sunny day ? very interesting!

Some walking & shopping around Victoria Street, and then we headed back to Peffermill. (Mom?s knees make distance walking, especially steps, really difficult, so we don?t always cover a lot of ground in a day.)

9/8. Visited Falkland Palace ? the highlight was the Royal Tennis Court (1539). We learned a lot about the history of tennis (the term ?serve? comes from servants originally picking up the balls and putting them into play ? clothes of the day were too restrictive to allow the nobility to do this for themselves). The Palace includes a gorgeous bed made for James I/VI, a ?punishment? chair used for the royal children (so the servants didn?t have to physically discipline a future king), and a giant checker board in the garden.

Ate at ?the Hayloft Tearoom? in Falkland. Upstairs, just 8 or 9 tiny tables. Food prepared below (waitress ?yelled? our order down the dumbwaiter) and then sent up via the dumbwaiter.

Continued to Scone Palace. Particularly like the history of ?the Stone of Scone? and the mystery surrounding whether or not the one that is so designated at Edinburgh Castle is the ?real stone.? Butterfly garden was beautiful.

9/9. Edinburgh Castle ? today is the day! More bright sunshine. GBHP for admission, including guided tour. Stone of Scone, Scottish Crown Jewels, & St. Margaret?s Chapel were all highlights. There is so much to see and do here, and no way to do it justice.

Walked down the Royal Mile (lunch at St. Giles again), and got tickets for Mary King?s Close. The best tour of the trip?.do not skip this tour! I had no idea how big (tall and long) a close was, or the social structure of the close, or that someone lived in the Close until 1902! The tour was given by ?Agnes,? a serving girl from 500 years ago.

Had drinks and snacks w/ our Peffermill hosts ? charming and extremely interesting people. They have traveled extensively and have lots of stories to share.

Went into Edinburgh for dinner and got completely lost ? drove around and around for 45 minutes or so, laughing like nuts the whole time!

9/10. Another beautiful day. Wanted to stay south of Edinburgh, so we wouldn?t have to deal with the Forth Bridge backup that evening, so chose Dryburgh Abbey. Stopped in Lauder at The Flat Cat Gallery on the way ? gorgeous, unique works of art, sculpture, etc. Stopped at ?Scott?s View? just before Dryburgh?a spectacular view over the countryside!

Loved Dryburgh, but ruined abbeys are, generally speaking, my favorite sites all around Great Britain. (GBHP accepted.) Only 2 or 3 other people there while we were, so very atmospheric?a bus tour arrived just as we left (good timing!).

Drove east toward Berwick-on-Tweed, then turned north along the coast, past the spectacular St. Abb?s Head ? rugged coastline and cliffs, and tiny ?single track? roads, including one place where we had to drive through a stream to continue along the road.

9/11. Left Peffermill (sadly, but it was time to move on). Stirling Castle (GBHP again) was our first stop. On our trip two years ago, we were fascinated by the work there on a series of 7 tapestries and we wanted to see the progress. Two tapestries are completely finished and they?re working on a third. Unfortunately for us, the work-in-process is now in a new studio at the lowest and farthest point of the castle and the finished tapestries are in the Chapel Royal, at the highest point in the castle. It was a slow walk between the two and Mom?s knees were really hurting, but we made it ? and it was worth it.

North toward Braemar, stopping at small Braemar Castle (GBHP) ? we just got in before closing. It was OK ? most interesting were the turrets turned into makeup areas or reading nooks.

Found two B&B?s in Braemar ? Dan and I stayed at ?Roxburgh? w/ Kay Bennett, Mom and Dad were across the street. (20 GBP pp.) Very homey and welcoming rooms, and the landladies were everything you?ve ever imagined they should be.

That?s enough for now.

Part Two coming soon.

Gayle

leonberger

I apologize for the rotten punctuation in my post above. I used Word, and then copied onto the Fodors site.

Sigh...

Gayle

m_kingdom2

Slug and Lettuce, and upscale in the same sentence?

I'm staggered.

leonberger

I'm going to try to finish the report directly on Fodors, to avoid the annoying punctuation thing.

9/12. Stopped at the "Linn of Dee" - a beautiful small gorge. Windy and sunny - a perfect fall day in Scotland!

Attended church at Crathie, and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were there! About 100 people total, so we were able to see her come in and throughout the service. Very nice service, and the pastor was extremely welcoming to all of us visitors. The Queen looked very dignified and participated in the service exactly as the rest of us did (except she didn't sing along on "God Save the Queen&quot.

Headed to Crathes Castle and a concert by the Gordon Highlanders and a visit to the splendid gardens there. The Gardens were truly spectacular. I cannot even imagine what they would be like during the spring and summer. Flowers and trees and tiny shrubs. Winding paths and benches. Acres and acres of plants and trees and grasses. This place deserves its excellent reputation!

Headed all the way to the east coast to Dunnotar Castle. I had seen a picture of it in a book and really just wanted to see the location. We didn't go into the castle, but admired the way it sits on a small headland that is all but surrounded by the North Sea. Spectacular cliffs, and a gorgeous sunset completed the picture.

Found a B&B on the way back toward Braemar. Ambleside, in Netherly. A newly built home, spotless, and with very interesting yard and garden.

9/13. Another windy & chilly day, but more bright sun. (Everywhere we went on this part of the trip, people said, "Oh, it's good that you weren't here yesterday when it rained so much!" We were very fortunate with the weather we had.)

Dad was feeling unwell today, so we just took a drive and he slept in the back of van. Stopped at a Craft Village on the way back toward Crathie/Braemar. It had great Scottish crafts, but I can't remember the name! (On the main road between Crathes and Crathie.)

Took the back road to Tomintoul and on to Grantown-on-Spey. This is a great drive - narrow, twisty road and excellent views. Steep grades, and one bridge that is so "pointy" that busses can't use the road!

Lunch in Tomintoul, at the Clock House restaurant which was restored by the "infamous Laird of Tomintoul" - another interesting story.

Stopped early, so Dad could rest, in Grantown-on-Spey at "Strathallan" a gorgeous Victorian B&B. 25-30 GBP per person. Very friendly and helpful hosts. Decided to stay 2 nights here, so Dad could rest if he still felt unwell the next day.

9/14. Dad felt much better, and it was yet another beautiful day. Visited the Speyside Heather Center. The museum was not as interesting as we expected, but the gift shop and garden shop were incredible.

Stopped in Carrbridge to take pictures of the old "Packhorse" bridge, then continued on to ancient site of Clava Cairns (near Culloden). Clava Cairns was fascinating, and very few people were around.

Some good shopping at "Made in Scotland" in Beauly on the way back to Grantown-on-Spey.

9/15. Left Strathallen. Destination the towns of Insh and Kincraig, to visit a tiny church that dates from the 6th century. After a few difficulties we found the right church and a friendly church lady who was there to change the flowers. (The church is really in Kincraig, but is called the Insh Church.)

Down the main road we continued - trying to get to Leault Farm in time for Neal Ross to demonstrate his sheepdogs. (Another repeat from our previous trip.) This man is incredible at working with sheepdogs. He runs 10-12 at a time and has them perform intricate maneuvers with the sheep. I think the charge was 4GBP per person.

Then took a long, fast drive down to Oban, hoping to take the ferries to Iona and Staffa tomorrow.

Found a B&B "Cardentrive" for 25 GBP pp, with two rooms available. Ate dinner at Ee-usk, right on the water - great food, but fairly expensive. Great atmosphere, too.

9/16. Uh oh. One day of real downpours, and it's today. Mom really wanted to go to Iona (as did I) and "didn't care" what the weather was like. The rest of us really didn't want to ride the ferry in the pouring rain and explore Iona in the same. (Normally we go ahead with our vacation plans, no matter what the weather is like, but this whole day was either on the boat or outdoors - yuck!) We finally agreed to drive south (starting the trek back to London), but Mom was clearly a little unhappy. Fortunately, Dan checked later that day and discovered that the ferries cancelled the trip to Staffa and that it had poured all day on Iona...Mom felt a little better then.

Drove to Easdale and looked at "The Bridge over the Atlantic." They need more information and better postcards!

Driving on the narrow backroads of Argyll and Bute, we came around a sharp curve and met a huge public works truck coming the other way. Following instinct, Dan pulled off the side of the road and promptly sunk into mud too deep to plow through. We were completely stuck. Neither the truck nor our van could move, since we were partially blocking the road. Fortunately, the gentlemen in the truck were friendly and they eventually figured out they could tow us with a rope in their truck and got us out without any damage to the van. We then backed up to the nearest "passing place" and they went on past us.

Made the mistake of stopping in Inverary for lunch at the Woolen Mill. Way to crowded (bus tours everywhere!) and a very "institutional" lunch.

Found a quiet B&B ("Country House B&B," Carleton, Carlisle, Cumbria) for 22 GBP pp. Recommended "The Auctioneer" in Carlisle for dinner - excellent meal! Reputedly the "best roast beef in England" and we think they're correct! And only 46 GBP for all four us, including dessert (and one glass of wine for Dad...the rest of us are boring water/soda drinkers).

9/17. Another beautiful day. We took a leisurely drive across tiny roads through the Lakes Region, and then across the Yorkshire Dales. We saw brown "Belties" (Belted Galloway cattle - a first for us).

We were close to Fountains Abbey, so hurried to get there before closing. Turns out that they're open late on Fridays, so we stayed for several hours at this most beautiful of abbeys. Watched as dusk settled in and the Abbey was lighted by floodlight. (The next night there was also an evening concert in the Abbey - alas, we had to continue on to southern England that day.)

Pheasants and grouse by the thousands at the Abbey.

There were several events in the area, so we had a hard time finding a place to stay. Finally stumbled upon "1 Selby Road," not the finest home, but it was late by then (10:00 PM!) and we weren't picky. 40 GBP per room per night, w/ shared bath and shower. We hadn't eaten yet, so ended up with takeout pizza in our rooms. A spectacular small garden out back, lighted nicely so we could see it from our rooms.

9/18. Our last day of vacation. Took the expressway south, then wandered throught the Cotswolds on the way back toward Heathrow. Lots of driving on tiny roads - thatched cottages, pretty rivers, the Uffington Chalk Horse. Some shopping and leisurely "taking tea" in Burford.

Time to look for a B&B, fairly close to Reading, so we can return the van tomorrow morning in Windsor. Decided to stay at the Kingswell Hotel in Harwell - first floor rooms allowed us to easily bring in all of our luggage and large rooms made it simple to spread everything out, list our purchases (for Customs Declaration) and then re-pack everything. A good restaurant right in the Hotel.

9/19. Met Ian at Baldocks, and he drove us to the airport. Another vacation over.

A very belated thanks to all of you whose posts and private emails helped me plan this trip. I'm especially grateful to Sheila and Janis for going "above and beyond" in their assistance and encouragement.

It was a wonderful trip! I wouldn't change a thing except for Dad being sick and the rain on our Iona day (but, we would have missed Fountains Abbey if we'd done the Ferry trip, so everything worked out fine).

I'll be happy to answer any questions or provide more info on details, if that would be of help to anyone else.

Gayle

leonberger

Yes, M-Kingdom, I was staggered, too. The name is certainly strange, isn't it?

Gayle

ms_go

I enjoyed your trip report, Gayle. Thanks for posting. I think it's hard not to have a great time in Scotland! Sounds like you enjoyed some of the same things we did (Scone Palace, Mary King's Close, etc.). We didn't make it to Iona either -- just one of many reasons to go back!

JJBhoy

Gayle,

As a Scot I'm very glad you enjoyed your visit.

M_K2 is actually having a sly dig. Just ignore it.

Jim

Danna

Thanks for your great report! Your descriptions paint very nice visual images. Also, your specifics on B&B's and restaurants are great. We were in Scotland about 2 weeks later than you, and it was very windy then. I think it was left over hurricanes just circulating for another go at Florida. Thanks again.

caroline_edinburgh

Thanks for a very interesting report. You put me to shame - all these places I haven't been ! When you come back to Scotland, I highly recommend staying at least a couple of nights on Iona rather than just visiting for the day. It has a very special, spiritual atmosphere after all the daytrippers have gone. Thee's also a real sense of community.

leonberger

Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments about my trip report.

And, caroline_edinburgh, thanks much for the tip about staying on Iona - in spite of all the planning and research I've done, I never realized that was a possibility! Staying on the island will be tops on my list for the next trip to Scotland (and I'll be sure and take Mom, too!).

Gayle

janis

Great Report Gayle! Phew, you guys did manage to cover a lot of territory. Dryburgh, Scott's View, St Abb's Head, Dunnotar, AND the Queen all in a few days - how wonderful.

And driving from Windsor into Victoria deserves a special medal (That was a great rate for the van - I've only ever rented small cars from Baldock's but it is good to know they are good for large vehicles too.)

janis

Oh - I meant to ask -- Were you a little nervous when Ian drove you in to the Arches in Windsor? Not your typical modern rental office, huh?

leonberger

Hi, Janis.

No, Ian's place (Baldocks) isn't exactly ritzy, is it?

But, he was so friendly and helpful (and his price was right), so I'd choose him again in a heartbeat!

And, you're right, we did cover a lot of ground in our time in Scotland. But we really do love just driving around looking at the sheep and the curves of the landscape and the beautiful gardens everywhere and the signs that make us chuckle ("beware of children" we saw on the sign "welcoming" us to one small town....hmmm...).

And we did find time to sit still in quite a few places - on the coast at Crail, at Dunnotar Castle, in the tennis courts at Falkland, and at Dryburgh and Fountains Abbey all come to mind immediately. We like to just "hang out" and watch the people go by or gaze in wonder at the beauty surrounding us. (Or, sometimes, just sit there and laugh at ourselves...)

Oh, my, but it was a great trip...

Gayle

sheila

Gayle

That's a very lovely trip report and I'm so glad you enjoyed it. You did quite a lot off the standard tourist track, too.

I think the Craft village you mention will be Milton, at Crathes?

And the pointy bridge is Bridge of Brown (or Brig o' Broon as it's known to the locals)

Caroline, if my bit (the North East) is somewhere you haven't been, come and see us sometime and we'll show you round

leonberger

Yes, Sheila, the craft village was indeed Milton at Crathes! (Thanks for reminding me - I'll add it to my notes so I can remember next time.)

One of the "little things" that we loved on the trip happened at the Blairgowrie games. As I said in my report, we'd been to church in Edinburgh (St. Giles), had a quick bite in the St. Giles snack-room, then driven up to Blairgowrie - two quick stops at the Beech Hedge and for strawberries along the way. So, we didn't get to the games until 2:00 or 2:30. We were disappointed to have missed the pipe and drum band, but loved watching the games themselves (I never realized Tug of War was such as art form).

But the most fun part was the "dog show." We went over to watch, since we're dog lovers ourselves, but weren't sure what to expect. It was the cutest thing. Young children with the family pet, or Mom or Dad with the pet while the children watched and cheered. The dogs did simple things, like walking beside their owners, sitting, coming when called. All very friendly and the crowd was applauding loudly for the whole group. Then one little child (he could not have been more than two years old) went running into the ring and took the leash from his Mom. He proudly "showed" his dog from that point on - melted every heart in the crowd! (Of course, Mom was right there, holding onto another part of the leash, but it really was cute watching the young one working with his dog.)

Gayle

ggnga

Thank you so much for this wonderful trip report.

The first trip I took solo, I did a day trip to Bath and 3 nights in Edinburgh as side trips from London. I enjoyed to Guide Friday tours both places.

I tried driving on another trip, and it was too stressful for me. I admire all the territory you covered.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your information and experiences.

caroline_edinburgh

Hi Sheila. That's a kind thought, thanks - might take you up on it one day. My hubby worked in Aberdeen some years ago, before we met, but I've just had a couple of brief trips to Aberdeen for weddings; and not seen anything else in the area except the Bervie Chipper