In May while we were in the Canary Islands we were thrilled to meet some folks from Scotland since that’s where we were planning to spend August. We told them we’d like to pick their brains on what we should see and do during our time there.  They explained we were really lucky to be in Edinburgh during “The Fringe” and then in the next breath asked if we had booked our place to stay as “The Fringe” is the biggest cultural extravaganza in the world. We had no idea!  I immediately got online and began to search for a place to stay…that would be convenient yet affordable.  As luck would have it, a woman had just listed her apartment that day.  After a few interactions we booked it!  And I’m so glad we did.

On our train trip from Inverness to Edinburgh we sat with a lovely couple from Inverness who were travelling to see friends in a small town near Edinburgh just as they do every year during “The Fringe.”  They go annually for three or four days and offered some suggestions on what they had seen that we might like.  Word of mouth has helped direct us to so many interesting places!

“The Fringe” is a three week arts festival in August.  While the majority of performances are comedy and theatre, there is lots of dance and music.  Each performance lasts about an hour and prices vary.  Some are free but the most expensive tickets we saw were 15 euros. Most were in the 5 or 6 euro range.  There are over 40,000 performances in virtually every available nook and cranny in the city.  And in addition, there are street performers everywhere.

Fringe programs are free for the taking and available at every performance and street corner, although we found it easiest to look online and sort by venue or time. How anyone puts together the program is beyond my comprehension! To make the festival even more special, both Cary and Patrick flew in to spend a week with us.  We couldn’t resist going to see Trumpageddon.  He had Trump’s mannerisms down pat. And it was especially funny seeing Trump through the eyes of a European performer. He even took questions from the audience.  A favorite show for the four of us was Aladdin and His Magical European Refugee Tour 2016 performed by Asleik & Jon, a Norwegian duo  who did a wonderful comedic routine about the immigrant crisis. So good in fact we thought it would be wonderful to show to school children throughout the world! There were also some big names.  We went to see Ron White on the last day of the festival. He was hilarious.

Several had told us that while we were in Edinburgh that the Military Tattoo was a must do!   We had read that The Military Tattoo was first performed in 1950.  The name comes from British Regiment’s Practice of playing to notify taverns t0 turn off their taps. Later in the eighteenth century the term Tattoo came to mean the last duty call of the day. This year we watched military bands, dancers, singers and various other performers from more than 16 countries. The event always takes place on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle and incorporates both pyrotechnics and lasers using the castle as a backdrop!  It’s really spectacular.

The Tattoo has been sold out for the past eighteen years and never once in its 67 year history has it been cancelled because of inclement weather. Nearly two hours of nonstop music! (Check this out if you want to see the 2016 Tattoo in its entirety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvWGB8gDLDE)

England’s national anthem, was followed by Auld Lang Syne and the Evening Hymn remembering all who died a century ago in World War I.  Finally, the lone piper played “Sleep Soldier Sleep” which was really moving and then the massed bands performed a finale to end the amazing evening, one which none of us will ever forget.

While we love the cities of Scotland we decided that our kids should see the Highlands in order to have a more complete picture of the country. I found a bus tour that took us first through Dean’s Distillary.  After touring  the distillary we were invited for a taste…although 10 o’clock in the morning is a bit early for whiskey, it still was pretty good!  We then traveled on through the Highlands heading for Loch Ness making various short stops along the way.  The scenery was spectacular!  By the time we arrived at Loch Ness the sun was shining and it had warmed up considerably.  We took an hour cruise peeling our eyes for a glimpse of Nessie but no luck.

Some have suggested that the chances of seeing Nessie improve with a few drinks of the famous Scotch whiskey!  Instead we settled for the local brews on board the boat.  Heading back we traveled briefly through Cairngorms National Park, with its lovely glens and lochs.  The coach driver once again impressed us with his knowledge of the history of the area.

Whenever we think of Scotland, St. Andrews usually comes to mind and its famous golf course.  Our family has always had a special love for miniature golf so when we found out that St. Andrews has a miniature golf course right next to its old course we thought we’d like to play it.  We found a train that came quite near to the the city and from there we took a taxi.  We had checked online to make sure the course was open so when we got there and found that it was going to close from noon to 4 for a special function we were really disappointed, but then we decided we’d just venture on into the city, have some lunch, take a look around and then come back and play at 4.

St. Andrews is a really pretty city with a lovely castle dating from the late 1100’s  right on the edge of the North Sea.  It’s also home to St. Andrews University which dates from 1410 making it the third oldest in the UK (after Oxford and Cambridge) and the place where Prince William met Kate Middleton. There’s even a restaurant marking the spot. The Brits do like their royalty!

Patrick and I walked around the city while Cary and her dad enjoyed the sun (and caught a little shuteye) on the campus.  We got back to the golf course just as it opened.  I don’t know what I was expecting to pay but when the woman at the gate said it would be 4 euros total for the 4 of us I was really surprised.

While we only used a putter, the course was on real undulating greens (and not much like a putt putt course) but it was really fun. Patrick came in first and I was thrilled because for the first time in my life I beat Bob! And the four of us can now reference the time we played golf at St. Andrews!

The day before Patrick was to fly home we decided we’d like to at least get a taste of Glasgow.  The train trip is less than an hour. Glasgow struck me as far more a regular city than Edinburgh and with less history. But still it was an interesting place. As usual we did the Hop On Hop Off bus to get an overview of the city. Glasgow is a city of murals! St. Mungo is one I particularly like. It was done by the Australian street artist, Smug, of Mungo who lived in the sixth century but in the mural is attired in the clothing of today.  The story goes that children were throwing stones at robins and then ran away, but Mungo ran toward the bird, revived it and it flew away. It’s thought to be a miracle thus making Mungo the patron saint of Glasgow.  Smug also painted the mural, “The Swimmer” to celebrate the Commonwealth Games in 2014.  It’s huge and strategically placed at a stoplight so that folks have time to gaze upon the massive piece!

The statue of the first Duke of Wellington in the center of Glasgow traditionally has a cone on his head indicating the humor of the people of Glasgow. It’s been quite the controversy. Fines have been issued; they’ve even attempted to make the statue taller thus making it more difficult to put the cone on his head. All has failed…so far! And we also wandered through the pedestrian streets downtown and stopped and tried the local beer.

Cary had headed back to her job. Patrick had headed home as well. It was soon time to wind up our travels in the UK and now that we had been out of the Schengen countries for 90 days we were allowed to re-enter. We had booked a train from Edinburgh to London in order to see more of the English countryside.  Then we spent the night in London and are headed next to Sicily! We’re really looking forward to warmer weather!

We left Belfast on board the Stena ferry bound across the Irish Sea to Scotland. Ferry travel, on calm days, has become my favorite form of public transportation.  There’s plenty of room to move about and your luggage is checked (without charge) when you board. The two hour crossing was pleasant enough going from sunny to cloudy by the time we arrived in Scotland. From there we took a coach to Ayr, a small resort city sitting at the  the River Ay spot where it flows into the Irish Sea on the west coast of the country. Unfortunately it was cold and windy in Ayr and by the time we arrived at our Bed and Breakfast the rain had begun and the beach didn’t seem very appealing. Nevertheless, we took a walk to the ocean front and found a small wonderful local restaurant for dinner.

The Bed and Breakfast, which would be our home for the next two nights had a comfortable large living room with a bar in the corner.  We enjoyed chatting with a group of four men from England who were staying there while they were working in Ayr replacing seating a local theatre.  The owner was an interesting lady who said she always wanted to own a B&B so after her sons grew up and left home she bought the Arrandale Hotel .  She seemed to be a one-person show checking guests in, doing the cooking and in charge of the cleaning as well. The weather was cold enough that we didn’t hesitate when we headed upstairs to bed but hurried into our pajamas and jumped beneath the covers to get warm.  And this is August.  Wow!  What must their winters be like! We do wonder how often it is that folks get to use the Ayr beach for sunbathing!

Alloway is just two miles south of Ayr and was the home of Robert Burns. So off we went in the morning to the Robert Burns Home and Museum. We walked a short distance to the bus stop and must have looked unsure of ourselves because a gentleman who is a curator at the museum asked if he could help us and showed us which bus to take and also where to get off!  The home is a modest place that dates from the early 1760s.

We walked from the home to the museum and past the bridge,  Brigadoon, that was mentioned in the final verse of his poem, Tam o’ Shanter.     When we entered the museum there was a group of young girls performing Scottish dances.  Interestingly they were from Canada and on tour. In the museum itself we learned a lot about Burns and his personal life (He was quite the ladies man!) and how he had great influence on many American writers including: John Steinbeck, James Whitcomb Riley and JD Salinger. In the light rain we continued on to the Burns statue and then the churchyard where his parents are buried.  Even though the day was cold and rainy it sort of fit with what we expected of Burns’ Scotland. Imagine our surprise when as we waited for a return bus, the gentleman who had given us directions in the morning was at the same bus stop for the trip back.  He explained that he had been to the Scotland Cricket Match. We told him that we didn’t know much about cricket but it was the scoring we found particularly difficult to figure out.  He told us that sometimes cricket matches can go on for three or even four days.  That was enough to convince me that perhaps I didn’t need to understand any more about the sport!

The next morning we boarded a Scotrail train for Inverness in the Highlands of northern Scotland.  The check in with our Airbnb was a bit unusual because no one met us or even connected with us but once we figured out the key and let ourselves in we found the apartment to be very comfortable and in a great location. We felt a bit silly when we asked our taxi driver the name of the river next to us and he responded, “The Ness.”  Ah yes, the town was Inverness.  Made sense!  We had been warned that northern Scotland in general, and Inverness in particular would be cold.  But again we got lucky with the weather and while we had some rain, generally our weather was in the high 60s to low 70s, very comfortable indeed. We had learned by this time that whenever we ventured out to put our rain hats and umbrellas in my day pack just as a matter of habit. Inverness is a lovely city with just less than 50,000 residents. Inverness Castle is a red sandstone structure that is perched over the city. Although this castle was built in 1836 it is situated on the site of an 11th century defensive structure where Macbeth supposedly killed Mael Colium III’s father.There’s also an interesting local museum that helped us better understand Scottish history. But most of all Bob and I enjoyed walks along the river.

We decided that since our daughter Cary and our son Patrick are going to meet up with us next week in Edinburgh that we would wait to make the trip to Loch Ness with them.  In the meantime, Bob checked out other coach trips and suggested the trip to the Isle of Skye. The coach trips we’ve taken since we arrived in Ireland are usually very reasonably priced and the drivers and/or guides are very knowledgeable and provide an interesting and enjoyable day. We walked to the bus stop in Inverness, about 15 minutes from our apartment. Once again we were lucky with predominately sunny skies. For eight pounds each we were provided with sack meals for lunch and supper. The twelve hour tour took us from Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, across the northern section of Scotland through glens and over mountains to the Isle of Skye. The heather I’ve read so much about in Scottish novels was particularly pretty.

And then there’s the ubiquitous sheep… The guide explained that it is imperative that sheep are sheared as the wool becomes very heavy. And if the sheep aren’t sheared they’ll die because they can no longer get up.

But because the sheep were absolutely everywhere we looked, we wondered how the farmer ever rounds up his flock.

One of my favorite stops was Kilt Rock named because of its likeness to a kilt and features a waterfall of more than 180 feet.

Standing also at the site was a bagpiper.  The music seemed so appropriate in this setting. We also passed a school ferry on the Isle of Skye.  Imagine what it must be like to travel for several hours via ferry to school. Some students, we were told, stay the week in order to not have to endure daily treks.  I’m sure it saves a great deal of money as well. From Skye we could see the Outer Hebrides. One of these islands is Harris Island which is where Harris Tweed originates. We passed brochs (prehistoric Scottish hollowed wall structures) and medieval forts and castles. We learned about the bloody battles of the clans. We even traveled down a single track road to the Faerie Glen, but because the faeries shy away from the sun they stayed hidden from us. We visited Portree a busy fishing port with multi-colored houses.

Everywhere we turned there was a loch or mountain view more beautiful than the last.

When we arrived back in Inverness we stopped at a local bar on the way home for a beer and some Scottish music.

The next day it was time to leave northern Scotland and head down to Edinburgh.   It would be less than a four hour journey and we looked forward to seeing more of the Scottish countryside.