Bye-bye Scotland

Leaving Scotland for a week of R & R in Portugal was kind of an anticlimax--we had to return to Edinburgh get the plane to MSP. And we departed flying steerage, aka Ryanair. Ryanair is a Dublin-based low-cost airline. They keep costs down by skimping on a few triffles, such as jetways, free sodas, and desk staff at checkin, which, consequently, takes about 1.5 hours just to get a boarding pass. And then there's the mess at the Dublin airport, which was not built to handle the volume of people now passing through. And, Ryanair forces you to go through Dublin customs in order to get a second boarding pass for the next leg of your trip--you cannot do through bookings. In other words, do not take Ryanair unless you're really desperate. And they make Northwest/KLM seem almost luxurious by comparison.

Evensong at St. Mary's Cathedral

We went to sung evensong at St. Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh. They sing evensong every day, which is pretty amazing. St. Mary's is a typical 19th century pile with an endowment that allows it to provide choral scholarships to the choir school, and they allow girls to sing, which apparently is a big deal. Anyway, evensong on the day we went was pretty much plainsong with a very short choral anthem and the Magnificat song chorally. The congregation consisted of six people. I saw only one girl in the choir.

Rosslyn Chapel

On a rainy day, OLGS, Joe High School, and I took the bus to Rosslyn Chapel. Now famous as the one of the many locations in the Dan Brown book, The Da Vinci Code, the chapel is also noted for its exuberant decoration. And it is amazing. Most European churches, abbeys, etc., have some decoration. At Rosslyn, every available space is decorated. And since Oliver Cromwell didn't make it to Rosslyn, the stuff is all there.

As a site for visitors, it's too small a space to allow for careful inspection of the carvings that made it famous. And currently, the chapel has a metal canopy over it to dry it out--500 years of Scottish weather have left their mark. It kind of lessens the exterior impact of the place, which has a car park, a gift shop, and two pubs less than 100 metres from the chapel.

A local farmer has set up an honor shop right outside the property where he peddles his notion of the Da Vinci Code--50p for Da Vinci Bullshit--bags of cow manure. And I may agree with him, but it won't stop me from seeing the movie.

A grand day out

On a sunny and warm day, the three faculty spouses took a little jaunt to Crieff and points north in the Highlands. Although it was all quite lovely, the Scots drive very fast on B roads. which are the equivalent of a county road in Minnesota--and B roads are not straight, unlike county roads in Minnesota. Concentrating on scenery becomes secondary when you are contemplating your imminent death off a cliff.

The highlight of the day for me was a visit to the first lending library in Scotland, housed in an 18th century structure perched very close to the riverbank. The library was closed, but the setting was beautiful. There was a chapel on the site, stripped to the rafters, but with the remains of frescoes on the ceiling. You reach the site down a dirt road, past an abandoned chicken farm, suddenly coming upon huge yew trees surrounding the chapel and its graveyard. It was all quite magical--must have been the shock of the sunlight. And, when we returned to Dalkeith somewhat later than we thought, the students were all buzzing that we were MIA. In a small community, anything is grist for the mill.

Farewell to the sheep

The sheep, whose numbers grew after lambing season, were transfered to another pasture. Sheep are hard on grass, and need to be moved periodically to allow the grass to recover. I was relieved, as they all disappeared shortly before Easter; I thought they had a date with mint jelly and potatoes and was glad to find the mystery of their absence was easily solved.

They were replaced, a few weeks later, by two huge, retired, Edinburgh police horses. We named them Ed I and Ed II, and OLGS fed them apples every morning. They were clearly a pair. One day, when Ed I was removed from the pasture, Ed II went beserk. Normally very quiet and slow moving, Ed II galloped around the pasture at top speed, neighing loudly. This was an impressive performance, as Ed II was the bigger of the two, and at full speed rather scary. He went back to his regular placid behavior when Ed I returned. We never figured out whether Ed II was afraid that his pal had been taken from him, or irritated that he didn't get to leave, too.

Bluebells of Scotland

On the first warm and sunny day in May, I went for a walk in the woods around the 3000 acre Buccleuch estate (the Duke is allegedly the largest landowner in Scotland). Used by the Wisconsin in Scotland program for 20 years, the estate is full of lovely paths, trails, and lush countryside. Even though there's little sun in Scotland, the constant drizzle makes up for this, at least horticulturally. For example, the current five day forecast for Edinburgh indicates a significant chance of rain four out of five days, with the fifth being cloudly. And, believe it or not, this makes it bearable. Otherwise Scotland would be grey, cold, and barren. But a walk in the woods on a warm and sunny May day is proof that the weather gods can be kind occasionally.

More Scottish Museums

Museums in Scotland are usually well done, and quite often free. For example, the National Portrait Gallery has a well selected collection of portraits of Scots through the ages. The National Gallery is a collection of European high-spot paintings, with Titians, Tintorettos, Van Dykes, Rubens, Reynolds, Gainsboroughs, etc., dripping from the walls. In both cases the museums are accessible, with well-written labels and interesting display techniques. If they seem a bit shabby around the edges, put that down to the high levels of visitation and their status as free attractions. A good value.

Bowes Castle

Bowes Castle is a low-key attraction, not to be confused with the Bowes Museum, a huge, chateau-like structure intended to bring European high-spot painting to the masses of County Durham. We prefer the low-key stuff, and walked to the unattended castle in the dusk, with clouds of rooks circling overhead. The path takes you through the church yard, over (or around) a fence, and there you are. The castle is really just a keep, according to Joe High School. But you can enter the main courtyard, which wasn't all that big, and imagine 30 soldiers guarding or keeping tabs on the surrounding hills. There are signs requesting visitors to not climb the walls, and Joe reluctantly obliged. Then we strolled back to the Ancient Unicorn for dinner. My kind of outing--no crowds, picturesque scenery, and a good pub within easy walking distance.

Barnard Castle

An afternoon visit to Barnard Castle--a bustling market town with impressive castle ruins. The stones in the structure were carted off to build nearby Raby Castle, also open to the public. We did not attend, having overdosed on stately homes at Alnwick. OLGS, Joe High School and I had a picnic of sorts (primarily cream cakes, a rather strange Brit construct) on the grounds of the castle and then Joe High School literally climbed the walls while his parents took advantage of the sun. I tried not to watch, and it was probably not something encouraged by English Heritage. But he had lots of fun, and then went shopping on the high for gifts for his Minnesota pals. OLGS and I had tea in a tea shop that was standing room only. I do like these small market towns with all their retail therapy and their one historic attraction. It made a lovely outing, even if the camera batteries died without recording Joe's castle climbing activities.

Durham Cathedral

Durham Cathedral is billed as the best example of Norman architecture in the world--and it is indeed pretty cool. There are massive pillars--6.5 metres--to hold up the vaulted ceiling, with each pair of pillars in the nave having a differet type of decoration. St. Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede are entombed here. There is a tower that the intrepid can climb for a small fee. Parts of Harry Potter were filmed here (although Durham does not show up on the film locations map--see link). And, despite the many visitors on a Bank Holiday Saturday, the place retains the feeling of a place of worhip, no small trick given the size of the place and the hordes of tourists.

The city center is impossible to navigate by car, and the city fathers have prescribed a car park on the edge of town with a shuttle bus that takes you right to the cathedral (as well as Durham University and Durham Castle). In addition to being a cathedral town, and a university town, Durham is a market town, and there are interesting-looking shops and pubs, as well as an open-air market, in the area surrounding the cathedral. It's nice and low-key.

Hexham Abbey

A lovely surprise en route to Hadrian's Wall--the market town of Hexham with prosperous shops, terrible traffic, a very helpful tourist info. office, and the 7th century abbey. While most of the structure is 13th century, the crypt is indeed 7th century. There are some cool features--the monks stairs, a number of Saxon carvings, tombs with ancient knights atop, and a general air of recycling. For example, the baptismal font is probably Roman, with a cover made in the 18th century from 15th century wood. The monks stairs are now used by the choir to process for services. In short, nothing goes to waste at Hexham. And they have choral evensong on Sundays during term time.

Chester's Fort on Hadrian's Wall

A cold visit to Hadrian's Wall. I got the feeling I was at this same site 20 years ago. It's certainly possible. The Romans knew how to pick 'em--Chester's Fort is on a high bluff overlooking the North Tyne and the bridge they built to cross it. Anyone know why the Romans abandoned Hadrian's Wall, and, ultimately, Britain, leaving the remaining soldiers to melt into the surrounding countryside and become Brits? Or why they thought Britain was worth conquering in the first place? It was a long way from home, the resources were not obvious, and the tribute extracted from the subject population probably did not equal the cost of maintaining garrisons across the island. But maybe the Romans, like the rest of us, were seduced by England's green and pleasant land.

Alnwick Castle

Harry Potter (the first two movies) was partially filmed here. St. Cloud State University students study here. There are beautiful gardens, Titians and Van Dykes hanging on the walls, amazing public rest rooms, and helpful and knowledgeable staff. Joe High School was impressed and felt that the Duke of Buccleugh could learn from Alnwick (although the Buccleugh residence is not the home of Wisconsin in Scotland, Dalkeith House--unlike St. Cloud State and Alnwick). The Duke of Northumberland uses Alnwick as his northern family home. Not surprisingly, the Percy family (Northumberland) and the Douglass-Scott family (Buccleugh) are related by marriage. Don't be put off by the steep admission fee--it's quite worth it.

And, it's pronounced "Annick".

North of England pubs with rooms

If you're journeying in the north of the UK, check out pubs as a place to stay. Three that are worth trying (each for different reasons), are the Railway Hotel, in Rothbury, Alston House, in Alston, and the Ancient Unicorn, in Bowes. These are within 100 miles of each other, and well positioned for touring, hiking, and other English holiday pursuits.

Briefly, the Railway Hotel is relatively inexpensive, on the banks of the Tyne, with clean en-suite rooms, and no frills. They also have an extensive DVD collection and DVD players in every room. They serve real ale only in the summer, which was a disapointment.

Alston House (actually on the edge of Cumbria) has very comfortable beds and an odd decorating style featuring Myan suns and huge empty pots. They offer an exceptional breakfast, real ale, and home cooked meals. Joe High School preferred this place because of the quality of the breakfast and evening meal.

The Ancient Unicorn, in the little village of Bowes (which has its own castle keep which you can enter), has real ale, rooms in a converted stables, upscale evening meals, and a coal fire. The pub and restaurant are very popular with locals and visitors.

For those who don't know what constitutes an English breakfast: eggs, toast, sausages (those at the Alston House are local and particularly good), bacon (Canadian bacon, for you Yankees), baked beans, fried tomatoes, and fried mushrooms. Most places provide cold cereal and juice. Some pubs will add local delicacies, such as fried bread, black pudding (don't ask), fried potatoes, and other stuff. I estimate I took at least three years off my life eating a full English breakfast three days in a row. But you save on lunch....

North of England

A flying trip to the north of England. Durham and Northumberland are places where folks speak in a charming James Herriot-like burr, where there are zillions of sheep, high moors where little grows, and castles, keeps, moats, walls, and fortifications everywhere to fend off the marrauding Scots. There are lovely, bustling, and prosperous market and cathedral towns with no big box stores in sight. There are lead mines, hiking trails galore, amazing vistas, and real ale. It is strikingly beautiful.