Last Days in London & the UK

I was fortunate to be able to visit D & C who live in Bedfordshire, about a 1 hour train trip from London. They live in a delightful village close to Woburn Abbey. The Abbey has been home to the Duke & Duchesses of Bedford for more than 400 years. We decided to walk around the grounds and gardens here as it was a beautiful sunny day (quite hot in fact). The gardens are large, more than 30 acres, plus a deer park. The gardens are not as formal as some I had visited, but quite different and a more relaxed garden. There is a Chinese garden and several water gardens. The trees here were very old and in the park area many were ‘old’ oaks. Each year there is a season of plays in an outdoor theatre with the Abbey as the backdrop. After the visit to Woburn Abbey it was back to D & C’s place for a welcome BBQ and a glass of wine. A big thank-you to both D & C – I enjoyed seeing a bit of your ‘patch’ and you were delightful hosts.

On my last day in the UK, I decided to visit St Paul’s Cathedral. There are public gardens surrounding the Cathedral and many Londoners take advantage of the gardens. I decided to take a tour of the Cathedral, and I am unsure just how to describe it.

The whole place is absolutely remarkable.

The architecture alone is beautiful and ‘that’ famous Dome that is visible from many places in the city of London is nothing short of incredible.  There has been a Cathedral on this site since 604AD. In the 1600’s the Great Fire of London destroyed the Cathedral that was on the site and it was then that Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to build a new Cathedral. The Cathedral as we see it today was finished in 1710.

When you visit St Paul’s you are given an audio guide. This was one place when I used most of the audio guide to look at this remarkable building. It just seemed the right thing to do – to take some time and sit quietly under the Dome to think, contemplate or pray as many people do.

Sir Christopher Wren was interested in astrology and the height of the Dome is 365 feet, the same as the number of days in a year. The ceiling of the Quire area has the most incredible mosaics that are very colourful. There are several large circle mosaics; one has many sea creatures on it, another has various animals including lions, elephants etc and a kangaroo! The tour takes you into the Crypt and it is here that you find the tombs of Lord Nelson & Lord Wellington as well as the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren.

I was not really expecting this remarkable majestic building to have such an impression on me. Next time I visit London I would like to come here one evening and listen to the Choir sing Evensong. This is the City of London’s Cathedral and will be used next week to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Just for a change of pace I decided that a visit to Harrod’s Food Hall needed to be included on my visit to London. And yes, it was worth the visit and I did indulge in afternoon tea at a cafe in the food hall.

I wondered down Oxford Street (the retail sector) and here again the whole street was decorated with Union Jacks in preparation for the Jubilee celebrations. When I planned my trip I did not know exactly what was happening for the Jubilee and in some ways I wish I had checked and stayed here to see some of the celebrations.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my visit to England (and the whole of the UK).

I have loved all the villages, meandering through many country areas, visiting gorgeous gardens, meeting some really interesting people, looking onto some family history and of course being in London and exploring that "Giant"Monopoly Board!

I have not seen all I had hope to see especially in England, so I guess I will just have to come back next year!

The Chinese Garden at Woburn Abbey

The Quire at St Paul's Cathedral, London

Celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

West Sussex

The time I spent in West Sussex was mainly to do some family history (refer to my previous blog “Family Footsteps...”).

This part of the UK seems to be a bit off the tourist trail for a lot of people. Yet, it is a delightful part of the UK and there is a lot to see and do. I stayed in a gorgeous village near Bognor Regis called Felpham. The B&B I stayed in here was just delightful – right in the centre of Felpham village, close to a great pub called ‘The Fox Inn’, plus plenty of other eateries are close-by and it is a very short walk to the beach. There are many other delightful villages nearby such as: Aldwick, Barnham, Pagham etc. Nearby is the larger town of Chichester.

Not far away is the village of Arundel where the fabulous Arundel Castle is located. I believe this is the ‘big’ castle that my Dad spoke to me about. It is not big, it is huge!

 A visit to Arundel Castle is almost a must. This castle has been home to the Duke & Duchess of Norfolk for a very long time. There is a separate wing where they now reside. However each week the Duke & Duchess entertain guests in the original dining room and drawing rooms. This castle is often used for film & TV productions. Some of the more recent productions are - The Young Victoria, Antiques Roadshow & Bargain Hunt. During my time in the UK I have been to several castles & stately homes, but I must say this was one of the most interesting.

The library here is hard to describe other than stunning, as is the great hall. And yes, I did manage to climb ‘all’ those steps up into the ancient Keep. The climb was well worth it as the views were amazing. And of course (again) the gardens were also stunning (running out of adjectives..). I especially liked the vegetable and herb gardens here. The entry to this garden was a long curved pergola that had ‘old’ espaliered apple trees covering the whole length. There were more formal areas of the garden including an Italian garden. There is also a large ancient chapel in the grounds. One thing I have learnt to do is when visiting these places is to always look at the ceilings – some are incredible.

I also spend some time at Borde Hill Gardens. These were lovely and more unusual to some I have seen. These gardens have a lot of azaleas & rhododendrons that were all originally planted by seed. Most were in flower and they were very colourful. I also enjoyed seeing many very old mature trees here including Tulip Trees and a collection of rarer Spruce Trees from China & Japan. In UK gardens you do see a lot of Japanese Maples and they do grow extremely well here.

The rest of my time in the West Sussex area was spent meandering around and the many smaller villages plus a trip to Chichester for a look at the great Cathedral there and pay a visit to the Family Records Office to try and get some more information about my Dad’s family (more research still needed).

Arundel Castle Library - just beautiful

The 'ancient' Keep at Arundel Castle, and yes I did climb to the top!

Borde Hill Gardens - a lovely colourful garden to visit.

The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds should be on everyone’s itinerary!

You feel as though you are walking through a picture book. Wherever you turn, there is another new picture, the whole area is absolutely stunning and everything it says on websites and brochures. You do not know when to start taking photos and then when to stop!

The area is not huge, but does spread into several counties. There are several cities & larger towns such as Bath, Oxford, Cheltenham nearby plus many smaller villages and towns.

Late spring/early summer has finally arrived and the whole area is very picturesque. Driving through you see many dry-stone walls and hedges. There are rolling green hills with patches of many shades of green and bright yellow fields of canola. Most of the fields have borders of either hedges or dry-stone walls. Along the roadside there is a carpet of wildflowers, a mixture of forget-me-nots, cow parsley, buttercups & many other flowers that I do not know the names of.

There are many small ancient stone bridges crossing streams and waterways. These are far too narrow for more than one car, so there are traffic lights at each end of the bridges.

I have visited several towns and villages including:

§     Lechlade, a lovely town that sits on the banks of the Thames.

§     Bourton-on-the-Water – this place is beautiful. It has a small stream running through the centre of the village. There are several stone bridges that cross the stream. This is a favourite place for locals as there are many tea-shops, cafes and places to buy ice-creams, and lots of souvenir shops. I was there on a Tuesday and as the weather had improved and the whole place was buzzing with locals and tourists.

§     Mill Dene Gardens in the village of Blockley. Back in 1086 there were at least 12 mills in this village. During the middle ages the mill ground corn & was involved in the silk & wool industry. It has also been a forge and made pianos. These days it is a delightful garden.

§     Broadway – another wonderful town that has several antique shops, galleries & places to eat.

§     Snowshill – this is ‘another’ gorgeous small village, like a postcard and a great place for photos.

§     Burton is a favourite town for many tourists. It has a very long ‘high street’ on a steep hill. At present Burton is gearing up for the Queen’s Jubilee (as are many other towns across the UK). Burton in particular is awash with Union Jack bunting and Union Jack flags on buildings. Many street parties are being planned for the Jubilee and people are looking forward to the celebrations.

§     Snowshill Manor – a National Trust Property. This property was “very different” to other NT places I have visited. The buildings are the gardens were lovely, however the previous owner a Mr. Charles Wade left a very eclectic collection of ‘things’ that he wanted displayed in the Manor House. He lived in the Priests House nearby and the Manor House was simply somewhere to put his collection and to entertain guests. He started collecting as a young boy and continued collecting all his life. The collection is made up of everything imaginable including: antique bikes, prams, keys, dolls houses, toys, clocks, spinning wheels, jig-saw puzzles etc, etc, etc.. The most amazing thing I thought that was in the collection were some antique Japanese Samurai armour and swords. I have been to a few museums in Japan and I have never seen anything quite like these. I am told Mr. Charles Wade bought the collection is the 50’s, somewhere in London at a market for a very small price. These days many Japanese visitors come to look at this collection, I am sure they are worth much more that he paid for them in the 50’s and I am sure several Japanese museums would love to have them.

§     I spent my last day in the Cotswolds meandering through some of the smaller villages that are not on the ‘normal’ tourist route. Again all delightful and all quite different. Each village seems have to have their own ‘personality’.

§     My meanderings took me to Banbury. And yes there is a “Banbury Cross” as in the nursery rhyme! The cross is an ancient Celtic cross at the main crossroad of the town. It was difficult to see as it is being restored.

I am so happy that I included the Cotswolds in my itinerary - a fabulous place to visit.

Banbury Cross - as in the Nursery Rhyme!

Bourton-on-the-Water - a stunning place to visit!

What you expect to see in the Cotswolds - at Snowshill.

Family Footsteps to Bognor Regis

I have wanted travel to the UK for some time. But I wanted to have time to wander the UK, especially England.  I wanted to have the time to see some of the smaller villages and look at typical English gardens. The other reason is that my Dad was born in England at Bognor Regis and I have always wanted to visit and have a look at where he grew up.

My Dad was born in 1914 and migrated to Australia with his family in 1924. Sadly he did not return to England for a visit.

I do know that when my mother asked if he wanted to go back he had a couple of ‘stock answers’ – (a) I just don’t want to go, & (b) It’s too cold. Later in life when he was unwell he did mention to my mother that he should have gone back.

Being the oldest in the family, I do have recollections of many things my Dad told me about Bognor Regis:

§  Yes, the weather. He spoke of the cold & the snow.

§  The pebbles on the beach, he explained that the beach did not have sand like our beaches.

§  He talked about buying cockles, whelks & I think mussels at the beach.

§  He mentioned a big pier and that you could fish from it.

§  He talked about playing ‘conkers’ at school and with friends, and he expressed surprise when he asked me if I played ‘conkers’ at school and I said I did not know what it was!

§  He mentioned that there was a big castle nearby.

Over the past weekend I did visit the pebbled beach. I saw where you can still buy cockles & whelks and now prawns on the beach. Yes, the pier is still there, but not as long as it used to be, as part of it was washed away in a storm. And the castle nearby is not just big, it is HUGE.

I did find where Dad’s family lived and the house is still there.

The other thing I was keen to find was the church where my grandparents were married. After a false start, I think I have now identified that church but I am waiting on some more details.

By chance I was looking at the family tree that is on the web and discovered that my great-grandfather, Lewis Kingman, lived in the same street as the B&B I was staying at in Felpham – amazing!

I have really enjoyed my visit to Bognor Regis.

This part of my journey is for my Dad, a journey sadly, he did not manage to make.

The pier - still the orginal building.

The beach as I saw it. Yes, people sunbaking & it was 15 degrees!

These days, there are lots of holiday apartments along the beach front.

London (again)

Yes, I am still playing tourist in London and really enjoying it and still managing to use the tube system, much to my amazement!

Yesterday I went to Westminster Abbey and I really enjoyed that. One thing that did surprise me was just how many people are buried in the Abbey. I did know that there were many members of Royalty & the Aristocracy there, but I was not aware that people such as: Geoffrey Chaucer; Oliver Cromwell; Sir Isaac Newton; Handel (the composer); William Wilberforce; Charles Dickens; Robert Browning; Sir Lawrence Olivier – just to name a few of a very long list are all buried there. After seeing the Abbey so many times on TV, usually for Royal occasions it was an interesting and enjoyable morning.

My next stop was the Tower of London – this was certainly a busy place. The busiest I have been too – thank goodness I am here in the ‘off season’. The Tower of London was much larger than I imagined and it is an interesting place as so much ‘history’ has happened there. The Crown Jewels were spectacular to say the least. Walking around I was very conscience of all the dreadful things that happened there.  

As I wander through parts of London I have found several small parks and gardens that are open to the public and used by many locals. Some are just tucked away in a quiet corner; some are larger such as Whitehall Gardens and Trinity House Gardens. Because the weather has improved many people are taking advantage of these outdoor spaces.

My latest venture was to get a train and go 35 minutes out of London to Hampton Court Palace. I really did enjoy this outing. Just going through rooms that were used by Henry V111 & Charles 11 and others was amazing.

For the next 12 months there is a wonderful collection of paintings on display at Hampton Court Palace. Many are of Charles 11’s many mistresses. The paintings are really beautiful and most have been lent from the Royal Collection. For anyone who is interested in art, this is well worth a look.

Listening to the guides at these places you do pick up some interesting ‘trivia’. For example – on the day that King Henry V111's 2^nd wife Anne Boleyn was beheaded, the King went hunting in his 600 acre park. After the beheading had taken place a canon was fired from the Tower of London and that was heard in Richmond.  Then, another cannon was fired and soon as the King heard the sound of the second cannon he went inside the palace and announced his engagement to Jane Seymour who became his 3^rd wife!

Of course, I went out into the gardens and they are spectacular. At the back of the ‘newer palace’ (designed by Sir Christopher Wren), there is a lovely grassed area that has a lot of clipped Yew Trees growing there - some more trivia:

Several years ago, it was discovered that ‘taxol’ found in Yew Trees could be used to produce chemotherapy treatments for breast and other cancers. These discoveries lead to the use of ‘taxol’ to produce a synthetic drug we now as Tamoxifen which is used to treat many women who have had breast cancer. Apparently the clippings from the trees were saved prior to the development of the synthetic drug. It was also mentioned that Aspirin was originally produced from the bark of a Willow Tree.

The gardens are huge – about 60 acres in all, plus the 600 acre park. Forty full times gardeners are employed to look after the grounds. The Yew Trees I mentioned above only need to be clipped every 2 years. The gardens run down the Thames River. There is an extremely old grape vine that was planted in 1768 - and it is huge, and still produces grapes each year that are sold in the shop. The Privy Garden is the formal garden, plus there are a couple of Pond Gardens and an Orangery. The gardens and grounds are so large I did not get a chance to see it all.

Hampton Court Palace is a good venue to visit. And, yes another great garden to see.

At least I did not get lost in the Maze; in fact I avoided it for that very reason!

A Yew Tree near the "New" Palace

One of the "Pond Gardens"

The 400 year old Grape Vine & still produces fruit.

In London

I have spent 3 nights in London and enjoying it immensely. I quickly got the feeling I was on a giant sized “Monopoly Board” with so many familiar names and places.

I spent 2 nights at Club 63, which is a private hotel owned by Soroptimist International. It is in a great central location on Bayswater Road opposite Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and a two minute walk to the Tube Station. I met a group of members there from Pembrokeshire and was invited out to dinner with them. One of the members had just come back from the SISWP Conference in NZ – she tells me it was a good conference.

I am now at the Girl Guide accommodation centre, Pax Lodge. This is located in a lovely area of London near Hamsptead and is very comfortable. The area is just lovely with lots of nice walks and lots of very expensive real estate close by!

I have played tourist since I have been here – it seems to be a city where you can just wander around and find yourself in familiar places.

I think I deserve a “Gold Star” as I have managed to get around using the London Underground! And for me, that is a really good effort as directions are not one of my strong points. However it is much easier than the Tokyo Subway system!

On my first day here I did have to arrange train tickets so I can get to Europe, after that I just wandered. Got back on the ‘Tube’ and then hopped off at Knightsbridge intending to have a look at Harrods, but walked the wrong way and ended up at Buckingham Palace (see, my sense of direction again – guess I will have to go back again and find Harrods).

There are a lot of works happening around London as the Queen’s Jubilee is happening early next month and the Olympics are not far off either. I did go into the Royal Mews and enjoyed seeing all that.

I took a trip on the Thames and went as far as Greenwich. Greenwich is now a World Heritage site and home of ‘mean-time’. I went into the Old Naval College, the building was designed by Christopher Wren and is now a museum – the building is beautiful. I was going to walk up to the Royal Observatory, but again lots of works happening and all the paths were fenced off – so I had to give to give it a miss. I did wander through Greenwich Village and that was delightful, lovely old traditional buildings and some very old pubs.  The boat trip along the Thames was interesting in itself with an excellent commentary pointing out lots about the history of the Thames and seeing buildings & places I had heard about since I was a child – a good outing.

There is a National Trust property nearby in Hampstead called Fenton House and Garden. It is a 17^th century house with a walled garden including an orchard and a vegetable garden.

The house is beautiful and the most recent owner filled it with her collections of porcelain, Georgian furniture and 17th-century needlework. The needlework pictures are really beautiful.

This NT property had donated a collection of Harpsichords and other old keyboard instruments. Some of these were beautifully decorated with paintings. One of the conditions of the donation was that the instruments had to be kept in working order and played. So each week music students & others visit and play the instruments. On the top floor of the building there is space for people to repair and recondition any instruments. I was lucky, I was there on the day when the music students were there and the music was very enjoyable.

The garden at Fenton House is absolutely stunning – part of the garden was quite formal with lawns and floral borders. The orchard was quite old and had been replanted early in the 20^th century. Part of the orchard was left as it would have been years ago with many native wildflowers growing around the fruit trees. The orchard looked lovely with the apple & cherry trees in flower with a carpet of bluebells, blue & pink forget-me-nots and daffodils.

I have been to a few NT properties on my travels, but this one is a really nice property and was worth the visit even if I did get lost walking back!

Fenton House a NT property - just stunning !

The orchard at Fenton House - a NT property

The Royal Mews - worth a visit

Scotland - a wonderful destination

As I write this I am travelling on a train from Edinburgh to London. The train journey so far has been very scenic – travelling along the east coast and at times you feel like you are actually in the sea! We have passed through Berwick upon Tweed & Newcastle and should be in London in about 3 hours. On the train you are well looked after with free tea/coffee, a newspaper & lunch plus free Wi-Fi.

I have emailed a few people and said that I have spent more time in Scotland than I had originally planned. That now means that I will have less time in England so I think another trip is in order!

I always wanted to visit Scotland but it was not until I started to read up some tour-options in travel brochures that I decided that it might be nice to see more of this part of the UK. One tour in particular was called ‘The Country Road of Scotland’ and it was the destinations listed in this tour that inspired me to spend time here.

I want to thank ‘S’ for giving me the confidence to hire a car a drive here. Driving here is easy, not much traffic on the roads; very courteous drivers and the main road are all good. I often went off on the scenic route (with the GPS not at all happy!) and that was when I saw some wonderful fishing villages, farms and smaller towns. I loved all the small fishing harbours with their ancient stone harbour walls and the white washed cottages – they are just stunning.  A couple in particular come to mind – Crail & Portsoy. The drive I did in Aberdeenshire to Balmoral Castle was probably the most scenic of all – I stopped in Bancory, Ballatar & Crathie all delightful places.

I am so glad that I have put in three weeks here, I have enjoyed it immensely – the scenic drives, the gardens, the castles & stately homes and the people I have met along the way.

I now have a better understanding about words that are used in Scottish literature, such as – mist/misty, glens, lochs, ben, crag, the highlands, the lowlands, kirk, clans, haggis, battle-fields, firth, crofters, sheep etc.etc.....

Another bonus from my trip to Dundee was to find out a little bit more about my grandmother’s family. I now have a ‘stepping-stone’ to work from, so that will be a challenge for me to follow up.

Scotland is a wonderful destination and I am surprised people do not spend more time here.

Farewell Scotland............

Last day in Perthshire.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Perthshire and the weather is improving, thank goodness. 

I drove out to a village called ‘Comrie’ as I had heard it was very old. The drive was again beautiful, through farmlands with views to the southern edge of the Scottish Highlands, some smaller lochs and the River Earn.

I had a good walk around Comrie; many of the homes had very low doors and small windows. The village was delightful and many people had window boxes and pots of flowering bulbs outside their homes. One home had a large pink clematis in full bloom over the doorway and it looked stunning.

The River Earn runs through Comrie and there is a lovely white church on the river bank. The village is overlooked by a hilltop granite obelisk commemorating Henry Dundas (1st Viscount Melville (1700’s).

I then went onto Crief, a large town that has been a holiday destination for many years. Crief was once an ancient cattle market and Scottish 'frontier town' where Highlanders would come for the great cattle markets.

The next stop was just out of Crief at a magnificent formal garden at ‘Drummond Castle’ – the castle is not open however the garden is.

It is the exact opposite to the rambling/woodland/cottage garden I saw at the National Trust Garden in Perth.

This garden spreads over about 22 acres in all, and the drive into the castle was an experience on its own. The driveway was narrow (room for one vehicle only, and one-way) and was more than a mile in length. The driveway was flanked by huge old Beech Trees on each side – I wondered if I was ever going to get to the Garden!

This was my first visit to a formal garden as large as this. The garden was started a couple of hundred years ago and has developed over time. Apparently they only employ 1 head-gardener and 2 other gardeners and sometimes some casual staff. The amount of pruning must take ages, but because of the cooler climate the pruning only needs to be done once a year. There were lots of seedlings planted. Had I been there in July all the flowers and roses would have been in bloom.

I also discovered the Visitor Centre in Crieff where the Caithness Glassworks & Buchan Pottery have workshops and display areas. I then discovered that Stuart Crystal had a showroom a little further on - they have a collection of Stuart & Waterford Crystal, Royal Dalton and other brands of china on display.

It seems that a good part of my time in Scotland has been visiting Castles, stately homes and gardens – this was not planned, however I have enjoyed it all.

Drummond Gardens - a beautiful place to visit

The lake with the Castle behind - stunning!

The Journey to Perthshire

When I left Inverness I drove by Loch Ness. On the way there was a lengthy traffic hold-up and you had to wait for a convoy vehicle to take you past a works site. The works site was interesting to say the least! There are signs along the roadway warning of possible rock-falls. The works site was several men hanging from abseiling ropes using a pneumatic drill, drilling into hard rock and then attaching wire-mess of some sort to help with falling rocks. Hope they got danger money!

The drive took me through many beautiful glens and snow covered highlands including Ben Nevis (which was partly obscured by cloud). I stopped at Blair Atholl and took a tour through Blair Castle which was worth the stop.

The journey then took me through Pitlochry – quite a large town and I suspect a popular holiday destination if the number of hotels & B&B’s is anything to go by. I arrived in Dunkeld for my overnight stop and what a lovely place this is. If I had known how lovely it was I may have stayed longer. It is a beautiful small village with the main attraction being Dunkeld Cathedral.

The Cathedral is in two parts – the old and the new. The Cathedral is on the banks of the River Tay, a superb location. The lady in the National Trust shop told me if I hurried into the cathedral I would be in time to see the ‘Hand-Bell Ringers’ demonstration. So, I did hurry and it was well worth the rush. There were two ladies ringing hand-bells, they explained about the bells and then played several songs. They played a mixture of church music and some well known tunes – it was something really different and I enjoyed it.

After my overnight stop in Dunkeld I travelled a few miles further on to Perth. The weather has again turned cold and wet so sightseeing was a bit challenging. However I did on the advice of 'M' from Dundee visit Scone Palace. This is where the Kings of Scotland were crowned and is the traditional home of the 'Stone of Scone' - these days there is a replica stone here.

I have enjoyed visiting some castles/stately-homes and I keep thinking about a comment made to my mother and myself a few years ago after we had visited Versailles in France. We were waiting for transport to go back to Paris and three English ladies were waiting with us. They asked what we thought about Versailles – needless to say we told them how much we enjoyed the visit. They then commented that, compared to the stately homes in England they were rather disappointed. After visiting several places in Scotland I do have an understanding now about what they meant – however they are not really better, just different.

Even though it has been wet I did decide to visit another National Trust property almost in the centre of Perth. Most of the NT properties in this area are outdoor areas including “Branklyn Gardens” where I went.

Well – talk about impressive!

It is 2 acres of beautiful garden. I would describe it as a mixture of a woodland/cottage/rambling garden. There are many rare and unusual plants here including the Himalayan Blue Poppy and it was in flower. The garden has many wonderful trees including several varieties of Japanese Maples. The garden does specialise in plants from China, Tibet, Bhutan and the Himalayas. There were also many the bulbs and plants that I did know and we do see many of them in Australia.

Looking forward to exploring more of Perthshire.

The Hand Bell Ringers - Dunkeld Cathedral

Main Street - Dunkeld

Branklyn Gardens a National Trust Property - beautiful!

Inverness & The Black Isle

Inverness is a good city to use as a base. It is a lovely city and sits on the banks of the River Ness.

I had heard about the Black Isle and decided to visit it. The Black Isle is not an island but a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water. No-one knows where the name actually comes from, but it is thought that the term 'The Black Isle' is connected with the dense natural forest that once covered this area. The Black Isle is surrounded by three firths, the Beauly, Moray & Cromarty.

My trip to the Black Isle was well worth the drive. The area has many working farms and several delightful villages. I spent some time in Cromarty the largest town there. The Cromarty Firth is the harbour I mentioned in a previous blog about being a deep sea harbour that has been used by the Royal Navy during both 1^st & 2^nd World Wars. It was also the base of the first flying boat squadron. These days there is a fishing industry there and they do repairs for the oil industry.

Cromarty (being a small town) has several excellent attractions:

·        A National Trust property that was the home of Hugh Miller. Hugh Miller was a stone-mason and a self-taught geologist, and wrote about the history of the earth. His fossil collection of over 6,000 specimens became the founding core of what is today's Scottish national collection. Many fossils are on display in the cottage and he wrote many books on the subject. One thing I did learn was that the reason for the small doors and windows in these cottages was to keep out the cold and the inside of the cottages warmer.

·        The Cromarty Court House is a registered museum and is enjoyable way to learn about Cromarty's past.

·        The Cromarty East Church is sometimes known as the Old Church. The design is an ordinary Scottish T-plan church and it dates back to the 1560’s. As you enter the ceiling is extremely low and you walk towards the pulpit the ceiling is much higher.

My next stop was a small village called Rosemarkie a few miles away. I found a wonderful bistro there and had the best roast beef meal I think I have ever had and all for £8.95! The temperature was rather cool about 10 degrees and this was a Bank Holiday weekend and many people were holidaying in the area. However what astounded me was the number of children in light summery clothing playing in the sand and paddling in the sea! I was rugged up in a very warm jacket.

When you visit Inverness it is a ‘must’ to visit Loch Ness:

þ Yes a must see drive

þ Yes- Been there

þ Yes – Beautiful & scenic

ý Saw Nessie – NO !

Since I have been driving through Scotland I have seen a yellow shrub growing wild everywhere. I thought it looked like what we know in Australia as ‘Broom’ – it is a similar cultivar. Here it is a weed and highly flammable.

Now off to Perthshire.

A Castle on Loch Ness

Hugh Millers Cottage - a National Trust Property

Elgin to Inverness

Elgin in a really nice town and I am so glad I included it on my itinerary. There are the ruins of Elgin Cathedral where you can climb up into the two remaining towers. The Cathedral dates back to the 13th century and the Chapter House is still used for services and meetings and the ceiling is incredible.

However opposite the Cathedral you find the “Biblical Gardens”. I wondered why they were called that and apparently there are 110 plants mentioned in the Bible and I understand that all 110 plants are in the garden. Because of the harsh Scottish winters many of the plants are dug up and placed in hot houses during the winter months. The garden also includes a number of life-size sculptures depicting various parables including the Good Shepherd and the Prodigal Son. I did recognise many of the plants and herbs and some were labelled, many I had never seen or heard of before. Both the Cathedral and the Garden are well worth a visit.

I also made a visit to Johnstons Cashmere, a company that had been spinning and making quality cashmere garments since 1797. Sadly they do not have factory tours on a Sunday but the range and quality of their garments are first class.

The scenic route to Inverness was lovely and I drove past a lot of farming properties. I have seen several Highland Cattle on farms and they are huge animals.

Along the way I stopped at Nairn a popular holiday destination and it has wonderful views of the Moray Firth. I stopped at a small place called Ardersier which is also on the Moray Firth and was speaking to a lady who had moved to Canada from this town and was back to visit family. She pointed out a small gap on the other side of the Firth and explained that during WW2 British War Ships were often there for maintenance and refuelling. It has a narrow entrance and is a deep water harbour.

I am looking forward to a few days in Inverness and the weather has been sunny !!

The Biblical Garden

Ceiling in the Chapter House, Elgin Cathedral

Aberdeenshire to Elgin

I have been surprised to see so much Canola (or as they say here, Rapeseed) being grown in Scotland. There are many acres and it is all in flower. I would have thought it would have been too cold, but apparently not. I have seen the Canola since I left Edinburgh.

Aberdeenshire is a beautiful area and as they say in their PR it runs from the ‘mountains to the sea’ and is located between 2 great rivers, the River Dee & the River Don.

I decided to take a drive and visit Balmoral Castle (the Queen’s summer home). The drive there was worth it on its own. You follow the River Dee through some picturesque countryside, towns and villages. The woodlands are lovely and there were many copses of Silver Birch trees. I love all the daffodils; they just seem to grow anywhere – along the side of the road, and in the woodlands. This morning I saw about a 20 metre length (on the roadside) of daffodils and bluebells – in the middle of nowhere! 

I enjoyed the visit to Balmoral, the grounds and gardens are lovely. You only see the ballroom of the castle, they now use that for exhibitions. As I left Balmoral it snowed! I did not expect that – even the locals were surprised. They told me recently they had 39cm of snow overnight. Thankfully these were more like snow-showers, but lovely to see.

On my way to Elgin I decided to take the scenic route and travelled through several coastal fishing villages such as: MacDuff, Banff, Portsoy and Buckie. All were delightful with old harbours, fishing boats and in Buckie they also build fishing boats. I did go into an aquarium in MacDuff, it is located on the edge of the North Sea and they constantly pump sea water into the tanks. It was interesting to see what fish and other sea creatures live in this cold sea.

I stopped in Buckie for lunch and there was a large crowd of people on both sides of the street opposite a church waiting for a wedding party to arrive. The wedding party did arrive and the bridal party were all dressed in beautiful dresses with thin straps and all in 8 degrees, they must have been freezing.

I did not have the time to see as much of Aberdeenshire as I would have liked – guess I will have to revisit some time.

Beautiful old bridge at Cullen

The garden at Balmoral Castle

Dundee

The drive to Dundee was a bit stressful to say the least – I had purchased a GPS and asked when I bought it if there were instructions with it and I was told all I had to do was charge it for 12 hours before I used it.

When I opened the box there were NO instructions at all so I did was I was told to do. I charged it for 12 hours.  Then after picking up the hire car the GPS could not get a signal (panic !!!).

Fortunately I had looked at a map and knew what highway number I needed to get onto – I did eventually get to Dundee.

I stopped at a restaurant/pub place and asked if they had WiFi and YES they did!

I explained to this wonderful waiter what my problem was and he knew it needed to be activated over the computer!!

Yes, it did have a USB connection but so does the cigarette lighter that you plug into the car – I thought you would only connect it to a computer to upgrade the maps .... (when I bought the one I use at home, all I had to do was charge it in and switch it on).

Thank goodness the day ended OK, I found my B&B and had a wonderful 3 days in Dundee and nearby areas.

Dundee is a very old city and does lack a bit of ‘soul’ mainly because it seems to be a bit of a construction zone and they have lost many of their beautiful old buildings – however there are still some lovely old buildings, in the city. I did enjoy visiting the McManus Art Gallery & Museum and I learnt about some of the early history of this city. I was especially interested in this as my Grandmother was born here in 1881.

I was delighted to make contact with M, an Australian lady who has lived back in Dundee (Broughty Ferry) for the past 4 years. She was pleased to have an “Aussie” to show around and she was great company.

We played tourist and went to some lovely places nearby – St Andrews, Crail, Anstruther & St Monans. All are picturesque seaside places and are just stunning.

The following day we went to Glamis Castle (home of the Queen Mother), this is a wonderful place to visit. The restaurant is located in the original kitchen. The tour of the castle was very informative and interesting. You had the opportunity to see the wonderful treasures, including tapestries, ceramics, furniture, paintings etc . You are taken into the Queen Mother’s private apartments and apparently she used to visit regularly. The Italian Garden is beautiful and had many tulips and other spring flowers in bloom.

Broughty Ferry, where M lives is 4 miles to the east of Dundee city. Known as "the jewel in Dundee's crown", it has a seafront esplanade. It was once regarded as the "richest square mile in Europe" because it was home to the wealthy jute barons who built Dundee's textile fortunes- its origins date back to the 15th century ‘fisher folk’ who built their homes around the harbour close to Broughty Ferry Castle.  Although the industries that Broughty Ferry was once associated are now gone, the town remains a lovely holiday destination and a pleasant waterfront suburb of Dundee.

On my last morning here I did spend some time in a Family History Centre and thanks to the wonderful staff there I did discover some information about my Grandmother’s family.

A big thank you to M for giving up some work-time to show me around and share some meals – you were wonderful company. Enjoy your next trip.

Next stop Aberdeen.



The Fisherman's Church at St Monans





Anstruther