Final day - Stirling Castle - more pics to come

I think the kids (especially Connor) are done with vacationing!  This was one of Connor’s top choices of places to see so his grouchy mood wasn’t going to cut it.  We ended up driving around so he could get an extra hour of sleep - kind of reminded us of when the kids were little and they needed a nap.

Sight for the car - not something you see driving around in Saskatchewan!

The castle was very impressive  and they have done a very good job of restoring it.  We took in a guided tour and then tour some more on our own.  It took awhile to get through and we really enjoyed it.

After that, we walked around the castle area and found a pub for our last pint and fried food.  There was a neat shopping area that we walked around in for awhile before leaving.

Instead of going straight to our hotel we took a scenic route past the tip of Loch Lamond which was very pretty.   We were also able to avoid Glasgow and go straight to the airport which is quite a ways west of the city.

Now we’re packed up and thinking of home.  Overall, it was a wonderful trip but likely about 4 or 5 days too long.

Sleeping in a castle

Most of the sites we went to on this trip were based on Connor’s choices.  Although we did try to make sure Nic was okay with them too.  The one thing she told me as I was putting the trip together was that she really wanted to sleep in a castle.  I surprised them with a night at Broomhall Castle a former boys school not a royal castle but still a castle.

We also had a nice relaxing evening and dinner in the castle dining room.  It was far enough out of town that we had a nice quiet night and a good sleep.

St. Andrews - pics to come

We drove about an hour out to St. Andrews to see the first golf course.  Neat to see it and a chance for Dave to spend far too much on a shirt!


There was also a very nice castle and huge cathedral ruins which we toured.  The town itself was very pretty so we also spent some time wandering.

Day 2 in Edinburgh- the Fringe

We are all getting tired (especially Connor).

Today we didn’t do much sightseeing, but took in 2 Fringe shows.  The first Best of Show made up of 5 shows that have been getting the best reviews.  We thought 2 of them were good.  One of which good enough to go back to his show “Sports for the unsporty”.  Although the best material was hat was in the early Best of show, it was still funny.  Connor and I both got chosen from the audience to participate.  He called Connor the young Brad Pitt.

Early night and packing up for the last leg of the journey

Day 1 in Edinburgh - pics to come

The morning was spent at the Edinburgh castle, with the million other people there.  Very impressive, very large, very old, and very crowded.  Lots of museum items and history.

After a nice lunch in an impressive old bank, we did some kid shopping for keepsakes, etc.  Then we took in a few fringe shows.  The first one, a comedic / theatric production called ‘A Joke’ which we didn’t enjoy but then a magic, illusion, mind reading show by Chris Dugdale.  It was incredible!!  We were all blown away!

We’re now sitting in our apartment listening to the Tom Jones concert going on a couple blocks away at an outdoor stage.

England last stops and Edinburgh

We spent the last hours in England going over to Holy Island (only accessible when the tide is out) to see the Priory there.  Nice, but having seen the one at Whitby a few days ago, this wasn’t as impressive.

From there we stopped at the Barricks on Berwick-Upon-Tweed.  A very impressive museum, but essentially too much to take in.  A lot of historical items from the squadrons stationed there over the years.

Then the drive of about an hour to Edinburgh where we checked into our apartment.  It is a large three bedroom, three bathroom apartment in an old building right in the heart of the fringe activities going on.  It is unbelievable how many people are here.  We met the owner of the building and she said the population of Edinburgh triples during the Fringe and we aren’t surprised.  Makes me want to go back to a quaint English village.

Last full day in England - pictures to come

Very busy day today!

First stop, Aydon Castle.  A fully intact castle which was lived in until 1967.

Next stop, Connor’s reason for being in this area - Hadrian’s wall.   The wall is 71 miles long so we had to choose where to visit it.  Based on what I read, Homesteads was the place and we weren’t disappointed.  It’s amazing to think the ruins are over 2000 years old!

Next stop surprised all of us.  I had seen Belsay Manor house, castle and gardens were on our way to the next stop and had a cafeteria so we stopped for lunch.  We ended up staying for 2 hours and were very impressed with the grounds.  We got there just as a tour guide was looking for people to tour so we ended up with a private tour of the manor house which was built in 1807 in a Greek style.  Very unique for the area.  The home was 100 feet square and in relatively good condition.  The family lived in it until 1961.  After the tour of the house, we walked through the stone quarry and the ‘micro-climate’ created by the lower areas where the rocks had been removed.  The plants growing there are unbelievable!!  They shouldn’t be able to grow in England climate, and they are huge.  I couldn’t help but think how much my mother and her cousins would love to go on a garden tour here.

After that, onto our hotel and pub for dinner and a deserved early bedtime.