May 17 - Newcastle upon Tyne

Today we docked in the Port of Tyne near the city of Newcastle.  This is in the far northeast of England, not very far from the Scottish border.  I have an all-day tour to go to see  a castle and some gardens which are supposed to be very beautiful. I’m looking forward to seeing the places but I thoroughly dislike getting up early enough to be ready for the tour.  Oh, well. It’s the last one on this trip.

We drove through more lovely countryside with lush pastureland where there were some happy looking cows and sheep.  Along the way we passed through picturesque villages with old stone houses.  For us Americans used to seeing relatively modern buildings everywhere, it’s a treat to see whole towns of homes that look like they came out of a fairytale.

Our first stop was Bamburgh Castle on the northeast coast. The castle sits on a volcanic crag overlooking the North Sea.  The location is absolutely spectacular. Originally there was a Celtic fort on the site, but it was destroyed by the Vikings in the late 10th century. After the Norman conquest of Britain, they built a castle on the site. The owner of the castle, the Earl of Northumbria, revolted against  King William II, and after the revolt ended Bamburgh became the property of the Crown.  For the next several centuries it was leased  or owned (there is evidently confusion about which) to a series of governors by the king.  In the 18th century the owner/lessee was bankrupt and the castle was taken over by the Bishop of Durham.  In 1890 the castle was sold to an industrialist William Armstrong who undertook the restoration of the castle.  That family still owns it and has opened many of the rooms to the public.  It has been featured as the location and inspiration of a series of books by Bernard Cornwall and scenes of the castle have been in a number of movies.

Bamburgh is an impressive building looming above the wide beach and dunes way below.  We had an opportunity to walk through the public rooms, but I only went through a few because, as with many old buildings, the stairs are stone and uneven and mostly without handrails.  The last thing I want to do is slip and break something. I walked around the castle keep and on to the ramparts which had beautiful views of the North Sea on one side and the little village down below on the other.

This painting was in one of the rooms and it caught my eye.  Do you know who this guy is? Here's a clue - he had six wives.

The village below the castle

Our bus next took us through the countryside to the village of Alnwick. Some British pronunciation is really strange.  The name is pronounced Annick, no L and no W.  The river running through the place is the river Aln and that’s pronounced the was it’s spelled.  I wonder why.

Anyway, our destination here was not the castle but rather the gardens.  The castle is the home of the Duke of Northumberland, who is a close friend of the royal family.  Some of these British peers are very smart; they let their properties be used for filming.  In this case the castle has been featured in some of the Harry Potter movies and in some scenes in Downtown Abbey.  That helps to pay what must be massive upkeep expenses.

Before walking around the gardens, we had lunch in the treehouse restaurant.  It literally was built around trees and was all wood, inside and out.  My chair was next to the trunk of a tree growing up inside.  After lunch we headed to the nearby gardens.  There is a beautiful cascade as you enter and some serpentine mazes, but unfortunately it’s a little early here in northern England for lots of flowers to be in bloom. There is a garden which is very unique here.  It’s called the Poison Garden and was developed by the current Duchess of Northumberland. She became intrigued by the poison garden of the Medici and decided to plant one at Alnwick.  The garden is bounded by a black iron fence and visitors aren’t allowed to touch, smell or taste any of the approximately 100 toxic plants within.

Entrance to the Poison Garden

It was an interesting but long day made longer by the awful traffic we encountered on the way back to the ship. Once again we were the last group to return and I was actually passenger 00, meaning with my card being scanned everyone was aboard.

In the evening Loula, our cruise director, had a “Girl Power” dinner. She invited 13 of us “On My Own” (OMO, it sounds better than solo traveler we decided) to a special dinner. Our table had special decorations and we “girls” had a lot of laughs and wine as we shared our experiences.

Tomorrow is our last day so it will be busy with packing and saying good-byes so this may not be posted until I’m home.

May 16 - Edinburgh, Scotland

Today we docked in Rosyth, a port for Edinburgh on the Firth of Forth, the estuary of the river Forth. I must be one of the luckiest people on the planet because I had another marvelous day.

In the morning I went on a ship’s excursion to Rosslyn Chapel.  If any of you read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, then the name will be familiar because the chapel is featured in the climax of the book. The chapel is privately owned by the 7th Earl of Rosslyn.  Its construction was begun around 1456 and it was originally planned to be in a cruciform shape, but that was never completed. Only the choir was built with a chapel called the Lady Chapel adjoining.  The building is heavily carved with lots of gargoyles and many figures called green men, which are human faces with greenery all around them even coming out of their mouths sometimes.  There are more than 200 cubes or boxes carved on the pillars with lots of intricate designs in them.  People have speculated about what the meaning of these are but no one really knows.  I suppose the speculation offered a good opportunity for Dan Brown to come up with an exciting tale involving Knights Templar and the Holy Grail.

When we left the Chapel we took a whirlwind ride through Edinburgh.  I can’t really call it a tour and then we went across one of the three bridges crossing the Firth and I was back at the ship.  That’s when the really marvelous day began! I had arranged for my friend Beena, who is a doctor in the area and whom I met on the Quest, to meet me.  After some mix-ups on meeting, she arrived at the pier with her friend Paul and they whisked me off.

Our first stop was the village of Culross.  I’ve never watched the series Outlander, but evidently parts are filmed in this little village.  We visited the ”palace” of a man named Sir George Bruce who was a smart merchant in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Sir George constructed the first moat pit coal mine which extended under the sea.  He evidently was a pretty decent man because he paid his miners fair wages and wouldn’t allow very young children to work in the mines which was common practice at the time.  At some point he figured out that the waste coal could be used for drying out sea water and producing salt, which was a very valuable commodity.  He persuaded King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) to declare Culross a Royal Borough which allowed Sir George to trade with foreign countries.  

Main street of the village of Culross

Beena and me in front of the palace

These chess pieces were slices of wood

The palace, which is really a grand house, was remarkable.  It was furnished to look exactly as it did in the 16th century with real embroidered bed hangings and furniture.  It had the most marvelous garden on a large terrace above the house. It was obviously the center of the little village which has less than 400 residents.

As we left the house the gatekeeper was an older gentleman who told us the most fascinating things about the subject of a statue in the square in front of the house.  The figure was of Admiral Thomas Cochrane. This man came from Culross and had a distinguished career in the British navy and served in Parliament where evidently some kind of scandal occurred.  During his career he helped both Brazil and Chile in their fight for independence from Spain.  I don’t know the whole story but apparently Queen Victoria insisted that Cochrane be buried in the center nave at Westminster Abbey.  Every year on May 18 a delegation from Chile comes and lays a wreath on his grave at the Abbey.  For lovers of the novels by C.S. Forester, the character Horatio Hornblower was created based on Admiral Cochrane and in the movie Master and Commander Captain Jack Aubrey was based on Cochrane as well.

The real Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey

After our visit to Culross, Paul drove us into Edinburgh to the Botanical Garden and that’s where the excitement began.  No, we didn’t walk around looking at exotic plant specimens.  It was out in front that we met our driver who gave us each a leather jacket, helmet and goggles, and off we went on our three wheeled motorcycle (it’s called a trike) tour of Edinburgh. I have never before been on anything remotely like this and was it ever fun and exhilarating!!!  We zipped around the streets of Edinburgh where I saw the lovely Georgian row houses with their huge variety of chimneys and carvings.  We passed Edinburgh Castle which sits high atop one of the city’s seven hills.  We rode down the Royal Mile between the Castle and Holyrood Palace where Mary, Queen of Scots lived. I can tell you now that you see things riding on one of these that you would never, ever see from a car or a bus.  Along the way we stopped at Regency Street on a quiet corner and we had hot coffee and an oat cake.  It was probably one of the most fun days I’ve had and something I’ll never forget.

Our ride

Edinburgh Castle

This and the next couple are of Georgian row houses

Can you make out the name of this café and hostel in the oldest part of the city in the shadow of the castle?

At the end of our ride we took a taxi back to the ship. I had arranged for Beena to come aboard as my guest and we were supposed to have dinner.  There was another snafu and it turned out we didn’t have time for dinner but we went up to the nicest bar on the ship for a drink and we did a little walk around so she could see this ship.  She hadn’t been on this class before.  Finally, we went to say hello to Chef Trevor because he’s from here and my friend is his family’s doctor.  It’s just too bad that Seabourn mixed up our plans for dinner.  Oh well.  It was a lovely day.  I walked her out to meet her car and we said tearful goodbyes.

Seeing new places and experiencing new things are both wonderful, but truly the best part of my travels has been the chance to reunite with old friends, make new ones and talk to lots of people along the way.  I feel like my world is getting bigger every day and with every trip.

May 15 - Invergordon, Scotland

Yesterday, I cried “Uncle” and did absolutely nothing.  We were in Scrabster, Scotland, a small fishing village at our furthest northern point on the cruise.  I had an all-day tour booked to someplace and when I woke up it was raining and cold, so I went back to bed.  Later some folks who went into the little village told me that since it was Sunday everything was closed.  Of course people came back from the tour I was supposed to be on and said it was the best one ever, but I needed a day of rest.

Anyway, today we’re in Invergordon, Scotland which is on the Cromarty Firth which leads into the North Sea.  (By the way, firth means fjord and is from the Scandinavian word. I didn’t know that.) It’s a port that gets oil rigs from that sea in for repairs and now has a burgeoning wind farm industry.  I booked a tour to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle.  After all, how could I come to this part of Scotland and not try to see Nessie?

My bus took me through the Scottish highlands and I have to say it was some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen.  The hillsides were covered with bright yellow gorse.  Along the side of the road there were bluebells and occasional rhododendrons.  We passed lots of lush pastures with happy looking sheep and highland cattle.  It was gorgeous!  We drove through the city of Inverness on the way and I was so sorry we couldn’t spend some time there.  The city lies along the river Ness and there were beautiful old buildings. One that we passed was an old bookstore that our guide said was the best he’d ever been to in all of the UK.  I know Katie would have loved that.

A field of rapeseed (canola) oil plants

An inn in a village we passed through

Bell tower in Inverness

Eventually we came to Loch Ness, nestled between small lush mountains.  You can’t tell from looking at it, but the water is not clear at all. Our guide said that you can’t see more than a foot in the water. No wonder they’ve never been able to spot the monster. The loch (that’s Scottish for lake) is the second largest loch in Scotland but the largest by volume of water because of its great depth, 755 feet at its deepest point. We drove along the shore to get to the ruins of Urquhart Castle.

Loch Ness

Urquhart is a castle with such a long history that I can’t begin to retell it.  It was a royal castle during the reign of the Scottish king Malcolm III.  It played a big role in the Wars of Scottish Independence and has been overrun by the English under Edward I, also called the Hammer of Scotland.  It changed hands many times with various Scottish clans and was destroyed during the last such conflict when the Macdonald clan (the same guys who had the feud with the Macleods) were attacking and the owners of the castle decided to blow it up rather than surrender. So today it stands as this magnificent ruin on the shores of Loch Ness..

Urquhart Castle

Urquhart with the Cross of St. Andrew flying oner the ruins

After our stop there with time enough to see the beautiful vistas we headed back to Invergordon via a different highland route. All of it was so beautiful that I’ve decided I’m in love with Scotland and I may have to try to make a land trip here so I can see more than these brief glimpses I get on a cruise. 

I don't think it's possible to not think this countryside is beautiful.

Gorse on the hillside.

May 15 - A place Holder

 I'm here but I'm exhausted so this is just to let you know I'm alive and well and I'll catch up on my next sea day on May 18th. I went to Loch Ness and the million dollar prize is did  I see him and if so did I get a photo of him. I'm going to keep you in suspense because I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes  open.  It's one AM Where did the time go,

So for now, nitey - nite.

May 13 - Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Today we anchored off the town of Portree, the capital and largest town on the Isle of Skye which is in the Inner Hebrides islands. How’s that for a lot of geography? It’s a picturesque harbor with the town at one end and the rest surrounded by cliffs.  If anyone saw the movie Made of Honor there was a scene showing a sweeping view of the main street.

I started my day going shopping with the chef.  The group gathered around 9:30 AM and tendered ashore.  I didn’t know that to get into the main part of the town we had to hike up a street which felt like I was climbing Kilimanjaro.  It nearly did me in!  When we finally made it up there and I caught my breath, we walked around the streets and we passed some shops that looked interesting. The chef had specific things he was looking for (salmon, haggis, blood sausage) and he didn’t really know where to look for them so he stopped and had a chat with a local for directions. From the conversation I heard it sounded like finding shops that sold what he wanted would be difficult. I decided that I would leave the expedition and check out the shops that I’d passed.  I let the ship’s personnel accompanying the chef I was leaving and set out on my own.

My first stop was an artisan knit shop.  They had the most beautiful wraps and throws out of super fine wool.  I shouldn’t have, but I bought a wrap because it had the most beautiful colors.  Now I just need to figure out how to wear it.  I walked into a toy and bookstore thinking perhaps I could find some uniquely Scottish toy for my grandson.  Toys must be universal because I didn’t see anything new, not even a Lego model of the Loch Ness monster.  The one thing I did see though  were a few books written in Gaelic.  In retrospect I should have bought one even if I couldn’t read it.  After I’d checked out the stores along the street I walked back down the hill, which was nearly as bad as going up, and took the tender back to the ship.

The main square

Principal shopping street

I just liked the name of this store  "Tippecanoe Gallery & Gifts

In the afternoon, I went back ashore, this time to meet my bus to go on a tour to Dunvegan Castle and to see the Scottish Highlands.  Our guide was an older gentleman with a white beard dressed in a kilt and the appropriate socks and shoes and with a lovely Scottish accent.  I think he said his name was Callum. We had 23 people on our bus and when we were all there we set out.  Going up the hill was much better this time.

We headed out of town on our way to Donvegan, a castle belonging to the Macleod clan. Along the way we passed not very much arable land; instead there were fields with rushes and some kind of grasses and lots of sheep grazing in them.  The road was lined with gorse bushes which have a bright yellow flower that Callum told us bloom nearly all year long.

As we rode along our guide told us some of the history of the island and Scotland in general.  There is a long history of Scots and English fighting, and though he didn’t say it, I got the definite impression that the Scots are still not overly enamored with the English. When the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain Queen Anne, died in the early 18th century there were many Scottish clans that supported Bonny Prince Charles.  His efforts to take the throne failed and the Scots suffered a disastrous defeat at the battle of Culloden.

More interesting to me was one of the tales he told about a feud between two clans on the Isle of Skye. I think these stories are a little like some of the Irish ones, based a little in fact but embellished for the sake of a good story.  There were two clans on the island, the MacDonalds and the Macleods.  Seven or eight hundred years ago there was a custom that a man and a woman could become betrothed and live together for one year and a day before getting married. At the end of that time they could marry or either party could end the relationship, a sort of no-fault divorce.  It seems there was a lovely Macleod girl who was sent with great fanfare on a beautiful horse with a retinue of servants all richly dressed to be betrothed and live with a MacDonald man.  In the year that followed somehow the young woman lost an eye. At the end of the year the MacDonald sent her back to her family riding on a one-eyed donkey, accompanied only by a one-eyed servant and dressed in rags.  So began the feud between the two clans.  If I remember what he said correctly, at some point in the mid 20th century a MacDonald was trying to be appointed to some kind of council on which a Macleod already sat.  The latter said that “absolutely no” the MacDonald could not be appointed and that ended that.

We arrived at Donvegan, a Macleod castle situated on a rock next to a loch.  There is a lovely garden in which the rhododendrons were blooming. The castle was originally built in the 13th century and added on to in the following centuries. In the 19th century it was remodeled to look medieval.  It’s the only castle in the Hebrides islands which has been continuously occupied by the same family for 800 years.  There are a few rooms that you can visit and of course the gardens.

After our visit we headed back to Portree on a different road and as it turned out, the guide and driver shouldn’t have done that.  We were riding along looking at the rolling hills, lochs and mountains in the diatance with lots of sheep everywhere when we came to a halt.  There was an accident involving a truck and a car up ahead.  The road is two lane but there is no room to pass nor any possibility to turn around, especially in a bus.  So we sat in a tremendous line of traffic until eventually a tow truck was able to get there and the mess could be cleared.  It didn’t look like anyone was killed which was good, but it certainly tied up everything.  We sat for an hour and a half and were late getting back to the ship which in turn made the ship late to leave.  These are some photos of the country we passed. You can see it turned out to be a gorgeous day.

While we sat I asked our guide who owned the land we were passing with all the sheep grazing.  He told me that there are mainly large landowners who leased houses and in times gone by plots of land to tenant farmers.  So at that time much of the land was planted in crops.  At some point the landowners realized they could make more money raising sheep so they wouldn’t renew leases on farmland and eventually they stopped leasing the houses too.  That began to force many of those tenants off the land and started a migration of many Scots to the US and to places like New Zealand and Australia. I’ve gotten the distinct impression that these absentee landowners were not particularly nice people.

Anyway, we got back to the ship and we didn’t have far to go so nothing was lost. I am getting very tired with this port a day business.  Tomorrow we are in a little fishing village called Scrabster.  I booked a tour that lasts nearly all day mainly because I wanted to see the Scottish Highlands.  I saw a lot of them today so I’m thinking seriously of calling it a day of rest instead.  It will be Sunday after all.