Day 20 Saturday July 11 St.Andrews and Edinburgh

Day 20 Saturday, July 11 St. Andrews & Edinburgh



Another nice day that sees us traveling through the Grampian Mountains and some ski areas. The roads are extremely narrow, hilly and winding and closed in the winter due to snow conditions. There are snow poles along the roads to mark the road when in snow. These roads, like many through Britain were built by General Wade in the 1700’s for the movement of troops. Every so many miles there are spots to pull over to allow oncoming traffic to pass as in places the road is really singl lane. This is the area near Balmoral Castle where the royals spend time in August. They are often seen driving their landrovers along the roads. The Castle itself cannot be seen from the roads.



This is also called the “whiskey trail” as 80% of the distilleries are located in the area. There are cairns (piles of rocks) along the route where people add a stone for good luck. Naturally we stop and most of us add our own rock to the pile. Again, spectacular scenery.

We stop for lunch in Braemar the home of the highland games and witness (what is described as a parade) a young pipe band preparing for the junior games which are to begin the following day. We see the home of Robert Louis Stevenson of Treasure Island fame who began the book while sickly in the top room of the row type house in which he lived.

Now quite sunny we stop at St. Andrews, whose Royal and Ancient Golf Club (1754) has given us the rules of golfing. Many pictures taken at the 18th hole as golfers play out the hole. The course itself is actually public and they do not play Sundays when the entire course is open to the public for walking. there are 5 courses on the site and the old course is on the sea and the sandy beach is the one used in the film “Chariots of Fire”.
We pass through Kelso where Anne’s father was stationed during WWII and take pictures from the coach to show him on our return. The city has a population of about 165,000, the 4th largest in Scotland and is where the ATM was invented and where Scott left on the Discovery and then the Terra Nova to the Antarctica (beaten there by the Norwegians).

We leave Dundee to Edinburgh over the elegant Fourth Road Bridge where we stop at the Barcelo Edinburgh Carlton, on the North Bridge, another ‘non-internet friendly’ hotel. While the high and unnecessary cost of internet access is not a problem for most, it is one of the things that bothers me the most.

The majority of the group head off to dinner and a Scottish evening with dancers, bagpipes and a bit of the Haggis. Anne and I do not go but head on our own for a walking tour and an Italian dinner on the Royal Mile. Talking to some of those who did attend the event indicates that it was a success and enjoyed. Edinburgh is very busy with the Royal Mile and both the old and new parts of the city being very crowded and, unfortunately, very dirty. Part of the reason for the crowds relates to a Crosby, Stills and Nash Concert this evening at the site of Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Royal Mile. The street is cobbled with varied entertainment including musicians, sword swallower, mimes etc. It is also Saturday night in a University town. It is an easy city to walk in with the major sites visible, impressive and accessible.