Edinburgh Day 4: Adrift

We had six hours to kill in Edinburgh after checking out of our hotel on Sunday morning. We began with a bus ride to the National Library, and walked from there to Edinburgh Castle so that t. could get a closer look. From there we took the path down and around the bottom of the castle rock, accompanied by our extra roller bag, whom we christened "Bob the bag."

I regret to say I didn't take any pictures of Bob, but here is one of s. contemplating an assault on the castle:

It was too cold to spend the whole morning outside, so we migrated to the nearby Scottish National Gallery, where Bob took a nap in a locker, and the rest of us, respectively, sat and read, sat and knitted, and looked at paintings.

From there we walked to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, which was more to our taste. t. and I found the 16th-18th century exhibits fascinating, though Bob, weary from the journey, took another locker nap, and s. was content to read:

When I read this quote by E.J. Hobsbawn about the early 20th century, I wondered if it will also be asked of the 21st:

We stopped in the Waverley Station mall for lunch, and then caught a very crowded train back to Cambridge. Note for next time: Don't book a train for the last day of half-term break.

Edinburgh Day 3: Dunfermline

Day 3 was a public transit extravaganza. We took a city bus to the Edinburgh train station and then a train from Edinburgh across the Firth of Forth to Inverkeithing where rail repairs necessitated a transfer to a coach to Dunfermline, the medieval capital of Scotland. A suspension bridge spanning the Firth of Forth is visible in the background of this picture:

Our initial destination was Dunfermline Abbey, though not the 19th-century shrine to Robert the Bruce visible in this picture, ...

Next door to the church yard is Abbott House, where "Lady Anne", as she is affectionately known to the locals, lived from 1671-1699 after her husband, Sir James Halkett, died:

Unfortunately, Abbott House is now closed to the public, so we weren't able to see the "Anne Halkett" room, but I took several pictures of the outside:

An index to the church cemetery informed us that the Halkett family burial plot was relocated in 1818 either in or near the "oldest part of [the] church":

Perhaps because we happened to arrive on the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Robert the Bruce's tomb, the door of the medieval church was ajar ...

 ... and we located the Halkett family memorial:

Our next stop was the Dunfermline Golf Club, a couple miles down the road in Crossford. Anne Halkett lived in the clubhouse--then the Halkett family manor--from 1656-1671: 

 

More information about Pitfirrane Castle can be found here and here.

One of the staff invited us up to see the old private dining room, whose wood paneling was apparently taken from Dunfermline Abbey--presumably, if the story is true, around the time the Abbey and Palace were abandoned in the mid-to-late 17th century:

Before retracing our steps all the way back to Edinburgh, we stopped at the Dunfermline Tesco cafe for what was easily the best food we had on the entire trip:

Edinburgh Day 2: Between Castle and Seat

On day 2 we took the bus from our hotel to the National Library of Scotland, where we deposited t. and set out on the day's adventure. We managed to spend over 3 hours in Edinburgh Castle, long enough to witness the firing of the one o'clock gun.

The view from the battlements was spectacular. (Is it always this nice in Edinburgh?) Our hotel may be somewhere in the background of this picture:

 Arthur's Seat looks quite far away from this vantage point:

After lunch with t., we hiked down the Royal Mile to the foot of Arthur's Seat:

The hike to the top was the easy part:

We didn't venture too close to the edge:

Edinburgh Castle in the background:

Three hours after we set out we were back at the National Library, grateful for a bus to take us back to our hotel.

Edinburgh Day 1: Follow the Orange Jacket

We took the train to Edinburgh early on Thursday morning, arrived before noon, and proceeded directly to the National Library of Scotland where we had a quick lunch and left t. to commune with her Lady's manuscripts, while the two of us played "Follow the Orange Jacket": 

Our first stop was St. Giles' Cathedral: 

I'm not sure the reformer John Knox would approve of the quantity of stained glass in this Presbyterian High Kirk:

(I would have taken a photo of John Knox's statue in the church but by that time s. had informed me that I was supposed to purchase a permit before taking pictures. Some forms of iconoclasm remain, I guess.)

At the top of Advocate's Close, with the steeple-shaped Scott Memorial in the background:

At the Scott Memorial:

The steeple of St. Giles is visible from the Scott Memorial:

At the Scottish National Gallery I encountered my favourite saint in a painting by Jacopo del Sellaio:

On our way back up to the Royal Mile, we stopped for an impromptu campus tour of New College, Edinburgh. It doesn't hurt to plan ahead:

Edinburgh Old Town with Arthur's Seat in the background:

Edinburgh Castle:

Later in the day we played "Get-lost-in-Edinburgh-while-trying-to-find-our-out-of-the-way-hotel." That part was not quite as fun.

Norwich, England's "Second City"

We took an hour-and-a-half train ride to Norwich a couple weekends ago. The city is apparently "the most complete medieval city in the UK," with "more medieval churches than anywhere in Europe." Until the industrial revolution, it was the second largest city in England.

Our first stop was the Julian church, which gave its name to an anonymous 14th-century medieval woman who wrote "the first theological book in the English language known to have been written by a woman":

I was told that we could visit Julian of Norwich's cell, but since the church was almost totally destroyed during World War II, what exists now is a reconstruction--more of a shrine than a reproduction, I'm guessing.

However influential she was during her lifetime, neither Julian nor her book appear to have been particularly well-known after her death around 1416. Although The Revelations of Divine Love was first printed in 1670, it did not become popular until the 20th century. (Source: Wikipedia, of course.)

Thanks to a tour by a knowledgeable guide, we found the Keep--basically all that remains of what was once a massive castle begun by William the Conquerer--more interesting than the tower of London. For most of its history, the castle was used as a prison. I'm not usually good with numbers, but for some reason the guide's comment that 52,000 people died in the castle stuck in my head.


In addition to the Keep, Norwich castle is now home to an impressive art museum, and a stunning collection of stuffed animals from around the world and "nearly every species of bird found in Britain." (We were afraid our burgeoning environmentalist might have a break-down in the museum, but she made it through.) Also in the museum is a display about the remarkable lepidopterist, Margaret Fountaine, whose Wikipedia entry you can read for yourself.

In the art museum, I especially liked Tobias Verhaecht's massive Tower of Babel, although I prefer the version by Peter Bruegel, to which Verhaecht is obviously indebted. Also striking was Emily Stannard's "Still Life - Dead ducks and a hare with a basket and a sprig of holly."

If you want to know, the spire on the Norwich cathedral is the second tallest of any church cathedral in England:

The cloisters were nice too:

There's nothing like walking through a Norman cathedral to the sound of organ music and choral evensong:

S's verdict: "That was so totally worth it!"

Next up, a trip to Edinburgh.