While we were wrapping up time in Cambridge, Betsy and Jim struck off on their own to Yorkshire and Scotland, the North Country for nine days, September 16-25, 2023.

York Day 1

Saturday morning Jim and I left Cambridge and started out on our own to York. 2 1/2 hours later and only one train change, we arrived in York just as the rain stopped. We walked 45 minutes through town to our Holiday Inn Express and settled into a lovely room to catch our breaths.

After a bit of rest we began exploring York. First stop was to purchase lunch at a nearby Sainsbury’s supermarket, The day was perfect for people watching so we took our sandwiches to King’s Square to eat and people watch. We were entertained for almost an hour by a street busker who calls himself “the man with big balls”. Next we strolled through the many wonders of The Shambles ( “the best large open market in England” as it calls itself) and the charming side streets of York. Needing coffee we stopped at Caffe Nero for a delicious Americano and needed rest.

With recharged batteries we proceeded to York Minster for Evensong. Eight new Canons were being inaugurated so it was a very special service led by the Archbishop of York. Also in attendance were the Archbishops of Canterbury and Jerusalem. After a lengthy ceremony for the new canons the Archbishop of York gave a warm and inspiring sermon. He seems to be a very approachable and humorous man. Of course, all of this was accompanied by the amazing choir composed of 12 adults, 16 girls and 16 boys (ages 7 and up) and beautiful organ music. It was a wonderful experience!

We strolled home on the bustling streets where every restaurant and pub was filled. Exhausted we crashed at our hotel with wine and pizza from the restaurant downstairs.

York Day 2

After a good night’s rest we embarked upon Rick Steve’s’ walking tour of York. Luckily it was another perfect day. First stop was the ruins of St. Mary’s Abbey first built in 1088 by William the Conqueror and destroyed by Henry VIII during his reformation of the church. The Yorkshire Museum was built on top of the Abbey’s ruins. Unbelievable care was used during this construction carefully preserving all the ruins in place in the lowest floor of the museum. The museums rooms on that level are built around the remaining columns and walls. Even an original mosaic floor from the Abbey is there. There are also extensive museum displays of the Roman period of York’s history and prehistoric times, but it was the Medieval Wing that enthralled us.

We continued on our walking tour by climbing the stairs at the Bootham Bar to the top of York’s 13th century wall. After about an hour of walking along the wall top we returned to City Centre and the Shambles for lunch.

After eating and resting we walked back along the wall top towards the train station in an attempt to join a tour of the wall. Sadly, they were not open. So instead we stopped at the York Tap where Jim enjoyed a pint of bitters and I a lager.

Now it was time to return home after a wonderful day of exploration in this remarkable city.

York Day 3

Rain was forecast for today so since we got off to a late start this morning we decided to head directly to Micklegate Bar and try to secure a tour of the city walls. We arrived just as the morning tour was starting and spent the next 90 minutes with a wonderful guide walking along the wall and learning it’s history. Afterwards, we toured the small City Walls museum within Micklegate Bar where a docent was thrilled to have two patrons and held us captive with tales of the wall for 30 more minutes.

As we left, it began to rain quite hard. As we stood in the outside queue to purchase tickets for York Minster, we rued the fact that we had not purchased them online. As luck would have it just as we entered the nave a tour was beginning. We spent the next 1 1/2 hours being taught many of the wonders of this beautiful cathedral.

We left York Minster to sunshine and sought out coffee and a snack since we had missed lunch. As Jim ordered, I realized that I had lost my phone. To say panic ensued is a vast understatement! We gulped down our coffee and ran back to York Minster to where I thought I might have lost it and wondrously they had indeed found it. A charming young lady took us to the Cathedral’s in-house police department where I retrieved it. (That is a part of the cathedral that is not generally seen by the public!) I truly believe the many saints of York Minster were looking out for me.

We had hoped to go to the York Castle Museum today, but our side trip to the police station made that impossible. Instead we opted for more coffee and cake eaten in a much calmer manner.

We returned to our hotel briefly and then ventured out to the Church of St. Denys which was just around the corner. It had caught our attention each day and we decided to investigate it since it was so close. The doors were locked, but as we poked about the church’s cemetery a lovely gentleman asked if we had arrived early for the talk. We said no, but he said he would unlock the church and let us peek in as the talk was not to begin for 30 minutes or so. His name was Charles and he has been the church’s warden for 32 years. He told us all about the history of this small church, which dates back to the 12th century, and that we were welcome to stay for the presentation by Gillian Waters on the Siege of York. She is a professor of Continuing Learning at York University among other things.

It was a fascinating talk and slide presentation for about 40 people. As an interesting aside, this small church is the only church in York to provide signers for the deaf for their services and programs. We did not stay for the wine and cheese post talk party, but instead ran in the rain to Tesco for a late dinner snack and garbage bags to protect our suitcases from the heavy rain that is forecasted for our trip to Edinburgh tomorrow.

Edinburgh Day 1

After an easy 2 1/2 train ride from York we arrived at Waverly Station in Edinburgh. It is quite a bustling place and it took us a bit to get orientated, but then we set out for our hotel in a light drizzle. Unfortunately, it is a good 30 minute hike from City Center. However, The Brooks Hotel is a charming small quaint boutique hotel with a lovely room so we are happy here.

 

After dropping off our luggage we ventured back into the heart of the city. We decided to go directly to the National Museum of Scotland and spend the afternoon there as it was raining pretty hard by now. It is a huge museum with thousands of interesting objects, Our hope was to learn a lot about Scotland’s history which the museum holds but we found it a bit difficult to navigate. It is not arranged in a fashion easy to follow which is frustrating but still a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon.

The museum closed at 5:00 so next we went to St. Giles’ Cathedral. Likely founded in the 12th century this medieval parish ministered to the area’s lepers. (St. Giles’ is the patron saint of lepers.)

The current building was begun in the 14th century. In 1559 it became a Protestant church and is considered today to be “the Mother church of World Presbyterianism”. John Knox was the minister there from 1559-1572. Understandably, it is one of Scotland’s most revered cathedrals.

Not wanting to trek all the way back to our hotel we strolled down the Royal Mile in the rain for an hour or so people watching and window shopping. Finally hungry, we headed back and stopped at the Doctor’s Pub for pints and burgers. This building was created to mark the opening of the Royal Infirmary in 1874. Relics of that time are all around the pub serving as a macabre reminder of its place in Edinburgh’s gothic history. It also initially housed a cabinet and coffin maker for the then nearby mortuary. The place was a mad house of soccer enthusiasts watching a big game, but we were lucky to snag a table and thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the people there. All in all it was a very enjoyable day in a very busy city!

Edinburgh Day 2

We opted for a late breakfast in our lovely hotel and set off to the Royal Mile heading towards the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

This is the official residence of the King in Edinburgh and the home of Scottish royal history. The Abbey was founded in 1128 and the palace itself was begun in 1528. Our tickets came with a wonderful audio tour and we spent two hours enjoying the palace and the adjacent grounds, 10 acres of beautiful landscaping.

We left the palace and headed back up the Royal Mile stopping part way at the Edinburgh bus station to get information for our travel plans the next day. Happily, the intermittent rain showers let up for a while for this part of our walk. We have learned never to leave our hotel without raincoats and umbrellas!

We had purchased online tickets for a 2:00 entry to the castle and arrived just in time. We opted to get an audio tour there, as well. These tours are incredibly informative and we appreciate being able to go at our own pace.

The Edinburgh Castle stands on Castle Rock which has been inhabited by humans since the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on this site since at least the 12th century. The castle itself is made up of numerous buildings built over the centuries: the actual palace for royalty, many dungeons, a chapel, armory, etc. Over the years it has been a royal residence, a military barracks with a large garrison and now is host to important state events and many museums honoring the military history of Scotland.

Sadly, we did not get to see the Scottish Crown Jewels. The line to see them was far too long for our sore feet. The view of the entire city is incredible from the castle, but the wind is fierce!! It was often hard to keep upright when walking between buildings. We spent the rest of our day there and returned to our hotel (in the rain again) really tired!

Edinburgh Day 3

After an early breakfast we started out on a day trip to St. Andrews. Jim had figured out which bus we had to take and when and where to get it perfectly. We were onboard by 9:30 on a route that took us along the coast. There were many, many stops at quaint villages along the way which made it really fun.

Jim planned for us to stop part way in the tiny fishing village of Anstruther. The tide was out and the mud flats were amazing. The village was centered around the harbor which was filled with boats of every sort. There is a fairly large maritime museum there, but we only had time for a cup of tea in a small tea shop. The locals there were so nice and we had several fun conversations with them.

After about an hour there we caught another bus to St. Andrews which was only about 45 minutes away. The streets were jam packed with students ranging from primary school all the way to college. They were everywhere! We opted for joining university students at one of their lunch spots for a quick bite.

Next we walked to The Old Course St. Andrews. This was a must on Jim’s trip to Scotland agenda. It was a perfect day to stroll all over the course which is allowed—even though it was filled with players. You just have to keep out of their way as they hit, and of course stay off their putting greens.

Though we did not play a full round of golf there, they have an 18-hole putting green called  “The Himalayans”. It is a crazy little course filled with all sorts of mounds and curves made for pure entertainment. We, of course, played a round and despite a roaring wind coming off the North Sea, did very well! I even got a hole in one, though Jim squeaked out a victory over me.To celebrate our “round” at St. Andrews we went to Molly Malones, a very old pub, and had beers.

Jim being in a very celebratory mood after our terrific day in St. Andrews, also enjoyed a 12 year old scotch!  We planned the day perfectly to catch the 4:30 bus back to Edinburgh. This time we took a route that went through the countryside which was totally different than the coastal trip.

We finished a perfect day with a splurge meal at a wonderful Italian restaurant called L’Artigiano. We tried to eat there last night, but it is by reservation only. They felt sorry for us today (we think) and squeezed us in. The food & wine were superb and they even treated us to limoncellos to end a perfect supper. What a nice way to end our stay in Edinburgh.

Stirling Castleand Glasgow Day 1

Grabbing a quick cup of coffee and roll for breakfast, we set out early to catch a bus to take us to our train. We cannot face 30-minute morning walks with luggage anymore! Jim has figured out the bus system well, so we grabbed a local bus and arrived quickly. We executed that part or our journey so well that we were able to catch an earlier train to Stirling. We have learned that our Eurail passes give us great flexibility on choosing what times to depart as long as seat reservations aren’t required.

Since our plan was to tour Stirling Castle, we had to stow our luggage at a hotel about a 15-minute walk from the station. Off we went. Sadly, all the lifts were out of order at the station and poor Jim lugged our suitcases up and down approximately 50 stairs several times.  Finally arriving we were asked if we had a luggage reservation. Of course, we did not. The nice young man suggested we make a donation to a children’s hospital canister in the lobby and then he would gladly keep our luggage for us. Sounded like a wonderful plan to us. Free of baggage we began the arduous trek up to Stirling Castle. Whew! What a climb.

The castle was fascinating. It was the favorite home of Scottish kings and queens since the 1100’s. It was also the most besieged castle in all of the country and the scene of some of the most important battles in Scottish history. The audio tour enhanced the experience once again. Admission gives you a free tour with a guide, but the groups were huge, and we prefer going at our own pace. Once again, we were blessed with a beautiful day and the views of the city and ancient battlefields were spectacular. We left the castle and stopped for a sandwich and coffee in the town center.

Then we trudged back to pick up suitcases and back again to the train station. At this point Jim is REALLY tired! A train to Glasgow was just about to depart so we jumped on it for a leisurely ride to our next stop in Glasgow. We walked about 15 minutes to our hotel in where we collapsed! A restaurant, Little Vietnam was two doors down from our hotel. We figured we could just about walk that far, and we are so glad we did. We had fresh spring rolls and pho. We were chilly and tired, and it was the perfect meal to end our first day here.

Glasgow Day 2

We must have really been tired last night since we did not wake up until after 10:00 this morning! I must admit we felt much better today though. Our Maldron hotel only offers full English breakfasts which are way too heavy for us. We headed to the bus station for coffee and a roll. Our bus tour leaves from there tomorrow and we wanted to make sure we knew where to meet since it has an early departure time.

Next up was finding a bus stop where we could board a hop on hop off sightseeing bus. After a relatively short walk and 15-minute wait we “hopped” on board and were lucky to get seats on the top open-air deck. The morning was cool but sunny, and it was a very pleasant 90 minutes. The bus took us all over the city and it was great to see parts of Glasgow that we never would have been able to reach on foot. The only disappointment was that our lovely tour guide had a very heavy Scottish accent and we really understood very little of what she said.

The city as a whole isn’t nearly as old as Edinburgh, but it is filled with lots of interesting architecture, mural, three colleges, four cathedrals and a very bustling and eclectic air. We got off the bus midway at Glasgow University which is composed of very dour Victorian Buildings. This is home to the Hunterian Art Gallery which has a charming collection of paintings, drawings and prints by such artists as Pissarro, Corot, Rembrandt and Whistler.

Their galleries are set up in very unique ways. For example one gallery has empty frames encouraging the viewer to consider what is missing from the presentation. Another gallery was composed of works by couples or partners and the viewer was asked to compare and contrast their styles.

Also very interesting to us were the many displays of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

He was a renowned architect, designer, water colorist and artist. Working alongside his wife, Margaret Macdonald, they influenced European design movements and were praised by great modernists of the times. The museum houses many of their design pieces, furniture, drawings and photographs of their work and homes. It really is a gem of a museum.

Leaving there we lunched on an amazing Bombay bagel sandwich and made our way to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This is a vast sandstone structure built in 1901.

It features 22 themed galleries and over 8,000 objects. It houses everything from Roman artifacts, arms and armor, treasured art works, collections of British and Continental paintings, a gallery of Scottish works—even an Asian elephant, lion, tigers and bears, oh my! We made a tiny dent in that before getting back on our hop on bus and heading to the People’s Palace.

Opened in 1898 the People’s Palace tells the story of Glasgow and its people from 1750 to the present. We only had an hour there before closing, but it was very eye opening.

Glasgow saw it’s heyday in the 1700’s as a major trading center, but later centuries brought difficult times to the city. In spite of Glasgow becoming a major trading and industrial center, extreme poverty and disease plagued Glasgow. Hundreds of drawings, letters and photographs showed how piteous the situation was for most of the townsfolk. According to data presented at the museum even as late as the 1990’s over 30% of the town’s population was living below the poverty level and more than 60% of its school children lacked adequate clothing and food.

The People’s Palace was closing so we walked back into town to visit the Glasgow Cathedral, which was unfortunately closed.

However, we did get to walk in the Glasgow Necropolis, a Victorian Cemetery established in 1832. It is on a prominent hill behind the cathedral and over 50,000 people are buried there. It is quite something!

Our day was drawing to a close, so we stopped at a local pub, The Atholl Arms, for haggis bites, burgers and pints. Haggis is the national food of Scotland, so of course we had to try it. It’s made of animal livers, lungs, hearts, oats, suet and spices. Sounds yummy doesn’t it? It was fine—actually pretty bland and a bit like pate. We are one and done with that.

The Glasgow town leaders have made huge efforts in the past couple of decades to improve living conditions in the city and improve its image to the world. I think their efforts are being rewarded. We certainly found it to be a lovely, fun city!

Glasgow and Tour to Oban Day 3

Today we had booked a tour of the Highlands. Boarding our brand-new minivan with three young women we began our 10-hour trip. Leaving the hustle and bustle of Glasgow we quickly began to see our first real views of the Scottish countryside. As we traveled north alongside the west side of Loch Lomond, our tour guide, Karen, pointed out all sorts of interesting things and told us wonderful stories. She was a fountain of information and we could understand every word she said this time!!

We took a short break to enjoy the stunning views at “Rest and Be Thankful”. The name comes from travelers of old who would stop, rest and be thankful for reaching the top of this steep climb.

A short hop later we arrived at the Highland town of Inveraray, established in 1745 by the 3rd Duke of Argyle. The castle there is beautiful and very homey, if a castle could ever be called that. The current 13th Duke of Argyle lives there part time with his family. He is said to be a charming man who often helps serve in the cafe or cashier in the gift shop.

The town of Inveraray is very tiny and strolling around it and the harbor there was great. This whole huge area is in the Argyle Forest and owned by the Duke. The land is used for farming, cattle, sheep grazing and timber. The weather was still fine. It was very gray and cloudy, but that seemed to add to the atmosphere of the highlands.

Our next full stop was at Oban, Scotland’s premier seacoast town. It has a flourishing fishing industry and the harbor is filled with boats and ferries taking riders to nearby islands just off the west coast of Scotland. Haddock, mussels, oysters, scallops and shrimp abound on the docks. We lunched outdoors on freshly caught fish and chips, which we watched cooked before our eyes on an open air grill.

We poked around a bit in Oban, a town of 8,000, but the forecast wind and rain had moved in, and we sought shelter until our van arrived to take us further on.  Back in the warm and dry bus we motored on beyond the beauty of Argyle’s many lochs and arrived in Glencoe, Scotland’s most famous glen. Know as the “Weeping Glen” this was the scene of a horrible massacre of the MacDonald clan in 1692.

After hearing the tragic history of this area, it was a nice to pass by the locations of many of the filming locations for the Harry Potter and James Bond movies.

This area also has lovely tiny villages with really beautiful homes along the roadsides. Shopping must be quite a challenge for these folks as there are no stores at all except in the very few towns located miles between one another.

The rain and wind were now torrential and made for interesting driving for Karen. How she managed to continue to tell us history, folk tales and play Scottish tunes while navigating the winding two lane roads was amazing. Our last stop was The Drover’s Inn founded over 300 years ago. It looks like it has not changed one bit in all that time. Cases of stuffed birds and a giant ferocious bear greet you as you enter the dim, low ceiled bar. Jim has been on a tasting tour of scotch whisky while in Scotland. He opted for a 21-year-old scotch, his oldest one yet. Imagine his surprise when the tab for the scotch was one British Pound per year! It was good, but not THAT good. His tour of scotch whisky has ended on that note! Dashing back onto the bus we enjoyed the hour drive back to Glasgow thinking about all we had seen and learned that day. It really gave us the view and understanding of Scotland that we had longed to see.