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Jan's Holiday Diary - England 2007 (week 2)

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Remaining itinerary - train to Edinburgh 4 days, car wanderings for 3 weeks, London 7 days, KL 2 days, home on 1 July.

Saturday 2 June 2007
Left Edinburgh after a five night stay. I felt I saw everything I wanted to. Headed south and stopped in the village of Jedburgh, after about 90 minutes driving on the A68. Had a look at the ruins of an Augustinian Abbey (photo 1). This is one of the better preserved ruins in the country. The audio guide was very informative. Wandered along high street (fairly quickly), and bought lunch here.

I crossed the border soon after, back into England, and took a side road to see Hadrian's Wall, and the remains of an old Roman fort. The site was called Chester's Roman Fort and Museum - not sure where 'Chester' came from, because it was near the village of Chollerford. Extensive archeology has been carried out the there were lots of carved stone pieces (photo 2) in the museum rooms. Out in the fields they had unearthed the foundations of an entire Roman Cavalry Fort. The photo is one of the entrance gates, and part of the actual wall is visible leading away from the guardhouse building (top of photo 3).

Found my way to this b&b about 1 mile east of Durham. Quite spacious, but no internet and on the second floor again.

Friday 1 June 2007
Woke up to a thick fog today, but the forecast is a warm 18C. Decided to drive west to Stirling to see something outside of Edinburgh. I tried to avoid the Motorway, and unintentionally found myself under the two big bridges across the River Forth. Still a bit foggy, but the first photo gives you some idea of the scale of the rail bridge. Continued to follow an A road to the west, and eventually came to Stirling. The signposted way to the Castle was right through the centre of Stirling, mostly on narrow cobbled roads. This one was also on top of a volcanic outcrop, similar to Edinburgh, but this time we could park on the forecourt. Photo 2 is of Robert the Bruce, one of the first to create defenses here. Stirling Castle is not a working castle, so most rooms were open. We could walk through the building known as the Palace where James II lived. The rooms were being restored and we could walk through some rooms in a state of disrepair. This was great. Stayed for about four hours.

After the Castle, and a short walk down the hill, there was a restored lodgings from the late 1600s which was also National Trust Scotland. This had several rooms restored, including this Dining Room (photo 3). The end room had not been retouched to show the faded decorative treatment on the timber, probably oak. No warping here!

I decided to drive back on the Motorway to save time. I managed to get back to my room without making a wrong turn (I won't mention the wrong turns on the way to Stirling). Had tea with Stephen and Alice. Went to a local pub, and I had a dish of haggis.

Thursday 31 May 2007
The sun was finally shining this morning, although the maximum temperature today is only 14 degrees. I caught the bus to the Botanic Gardens here arriving at about twenty past nine in the morning. I found it locked up tight, not opening till 10:00am. How uncivilised! However, there was nowhere to go, so I waited. I spent some of the time talking to a woman from Arizona. The gardens and hot houses were worth looking at, and they reputedly have the best collection of Rhododendrums of anywhere. Took plenty of photos, but selected one of the hot house to show you.

Caught a bus back to the city, and visited a National Trust of Scotland property - aptly named 'A Georgian Mansion'. A family of five lived here with six servants. Could not take photos inside, but photo 2 shows the outside of part of the street. The house included the entry steps (with people), plus the two windows to the right. All 4 storeys plus the basement made up the house. I then wandered back to the gardens between the new and old parts of town, and found myself underneath the castle. I think this view (photo 3) is quite spectacular.

I took a bus to the hire place to collect my car, and got a further upgrade from a Vauxall Astra to a Vectra. Very nice.

Wednesday 30 May 2007
Wet again this morning, but I headed down to the Port to see the Royal Yacht Britannia. An all day bus ticket is 2 pounds 50p, and most are double decker buses. The 'boat' was fascinating, and we followed an audio commentary through the bridge, the crew quarters and the royal accommodation, including the sunroom (photo 1) overlooking the rear deck. Everything has been left as it was when decommissioned a few years ago. In fact, it is still a 'working' ship, providing functions and silver service dinner in the main dining room (photo 2), to the same high standards that royalty received. A new shopping centre was built right next to the Britannia wharf, so I wandered around and had lunch here.

After lunch, I caught the bus back to the centre of Edinburgh, and wandered around the shops in the 'new' part of town. Found a couple of things to bring home. I was tired by about 4:00pm, so caught the bus back to my unit.

Tuesday 29 May 2007
Still raining lightly, but off I sallied to Edinburgh Castle. I saw the queues and the buses lined up, and turned around to look at the Royal Mile strip instead. I pottered in and around the old part of Edinburgh, and found St Giles Cathedral. It was small as far as cathedrals go, but St Giles has a very important place in Scottish history (but there is not enough space to tell you). See photo 1. Kept wandering till about 12 noon, and returned to the Castle.

This was much more to my liking - there were still queues, but many more people were coming out than were going in. Wandered through the museums, the battlements, the winding walkways, and marvelled at how such a huge structure can be built. The views were spectacular, too. I selected a photo looking at the entry to the Castle from the Esplanade, where the Military Tattoo is held each year (photo 2). I left the Castle at about 4:00pm, very satisfied that I had seen everything, and it was not crowded.

I am having tea with Stephen and Alice tonight, and walked down the Royal Mile to meet Steve about 5:00pm. This photo is one of the narrow lanes that lead off the Royal Mile (see the narrow laneway in the distance). Should be able to get better photos before I leave. I waited outside Hollyrood Palace (the Queen was in residence for a function with the Scottish Parliament. Stephen cooked a great meal, and it was good to catch up. I had a ride in their new campervan tonight - they are looking forward to being able to get out in the countryside each weekend.

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Monday 28 May 2007
Woke to a cold, wet, windy morning, but the rain stopped long enough for me to get to Earl's Court station. We were 30 minutes late leaving London, due to track works, but it was a pleasant trip. The train was full, and the scenery was green and restful to watch. Arrived at Edinburgh and got a taxi to my Guest House accommodation. Cheaper than London, but much nicer fittings, and a decent size shower. Rang Steven to say Hi - will meet him and Alice tomorrow night for tea. Sunset is after 10pm tonight, and sunrise is before 5:00am. The photo is the view my window (Edinburgh Castle is in the top right).

Sunday 27 May 2007
It is a rest day today for me. The weather forecast is miserable; 11C maximum and rain and wind all day. I still went out and surfed the Underground for five hours. Firstly, I went to Shepherd's Bush to see where I had to return the hire car, and then went to Kings Cross Station where I catch the train to Edinburgh tomorrow. There are major track works happening this long weekend, and a convoluted detour is in place. The information booth expect services back to normal tomorrow, in time for my train, but will have to turn up there to find out. With that out of the way, I then stopped at several larger National Rail stations to have a look around. Photo 1 is Paddington Station, and, yes, there was a large kiosk selling Paddington Bears.

See my diary for earlier weeks - week 1

Previous Holidays

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This page last updated on 27 May 2007.

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