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.

Sectarian Scotland

A visit to the Duke's former chapel on the grounds of Dalkeith House simply reinforces my impression that Scotland is a major hotbed of sectarianism. While the population is not particularly religious (maybe 4%-6% admit attending services regularly), even nominal religious affiliation is a highly charged matter. Whether it's football, or church-supported religious schools, or links to English religious roots, religion in Scotland is not something to be dismissed.

At the chapel of St. Mary the Virgin, a Scottish Episcopal Church, the pamphlet on the history of the church makes it very clear that this church, and the larger denomination, have nothing to do with the Anglican Church in that not-to-be- named country to the south. Rather, the Episcopal Church in Scotland is derived from the early Irish church. And the unknowing who refer to it as the English church, or the Anglican church, are gently but firmly corrected.

And, much more interestingly, this church boasts a water-powered organ, one of two remaining in Scotland. I didn't hear it, as it appears to be tempermental--so much so that the congregation has invested in a digital keyboard.

Friends and family

Other families living here in Dalkeith House have had friends and family visit for five days or a week. We have been lucky--Joe College Grad visited, with his girlfriend, for two days before jetting off to Paris and Barcelona. My great school friend, who lives in the UK, visited for a day and a half, and some of that time she was conducting business--meeting clients, etc. Since Dalkeith House has a little restaurant on site in a converted stables, she had an ideal location.

The point being--it's great to have visitors who leave you wishing they had stayed just a little longer, rather than the other way around. Now we're on our own again with happy memories.

St. Giles

Easter at St. Giles Cathedral. Actually it's not a cathedral, and the Church of Scotland officially does not admit that such a thing properly exists. But, before the 16th century, it was a cathedral, and old habits die hard. A lovely, very simple service, with an excellent performance of Britten's Te Deum, and some big pipes on the organ vibrating the primarily 14th century structure. The semon decried religion that was only "morality with organ music", but that sounds pretty good to me.

Scottish Museums

Even though Scotland can sometimes seem like a third world country (only occasionally, mind you), the production values in every museum we've visited are pretty remarkable. One recent visit was to the Royal Musuem of Scotland, which employs an older approach to museum collections which was nevertheless pretty amazing. Another was to the Scottish Mining Museum where a retired miner takes you through. Our guide went down the mine when he was fifteen, was made redundant at age 50, and carried the tale of mining and miners with great pride. Mining was awful work, and Joe High School was suitably impressed with the old view that that had kids working on the coal face rather than studying trigonometry or AP physics.

Quiz night at Sam's

Many UK pubs have Quiz Night--usually on Tuesday or Wednesday when things are otherwise slow in the beer business. Many Wisconsin in Scotland students and faculty participate in quiz night at Sam's, the pub nearest the castle. Our teams of six, mixed students and faculty, usually get slaughtered by the University of Edinburgh medical students' team. Our weakness is UK sporting events, along with Brit TV shows. The Quizmaster at Sam's is very nice to the Yank visitors, and throws in questions about the CIA, the oldest university in the US, and the 17th president of the US. But we still struggle--who knows who won the Grand National in 1973? Sometimes a Wisconsin team will try to get a local ringer on the team in order to compensate for this weakness. Buying beer is a cheap price for arcane knowledge.

The winners of Quiz Night receive T-shirts, shirts usually having nothing to do with Sam's, Soctland, or Quiz Night. Rather, I suspect they fell off a truck somewhere and Sam (or his personal representative) scooped them up.

Quiz Night is a nice little business. Organizations sell questions and answers to pubs and fund-raising groups for a sum. People hire out as Quizmasters. The Quizmaster at Sam's is an English lad from Newcastle, who drives to Dalkeith twice a week to conduct Quiz Night and other events. And now that Scotland has banned smoking in all enclosed places, Quiz Night doesn't mean that you immediately need to send all your clothes to the cleaners after once again failing to know the 1983 World Cup winner's manager's name.

Unitarians in Edinburgh

A Sunday trip to St. Mark's, home of the Edinburgh Unitarians. A small group, maybe 35-40, in a little church (actually named a chapel when constructed, according to the stone sign) off the main tourist drag in Edinburgh. It's one of four Unitarian churches in Scotland, although there may be fellowships that don't get listed. The minister is English, has been in place for 31 years, and will probably be awarded a plaque on retirement--several others hang in the sanctuary memorializing ministers past with tenures of 35 years, 51 years, etc. I suspect once they find someone who is willing to come, they keep him, no matter his nationality.

The church was designed by David Bryce, a local boy. This puts it on an architecture tour, but the inside is prettier than the outside. Check it out.

The sermon was about Elizabeth Blackwell, pioneering woman physician, and apparently a closet Unitarian. A welcoming group at coffee hour. No children in sight, and a pretty old congregation. Is this last is true in any Socttish church, regardless of denomination?