Scotland for the girls
Edinburgh by Jan Butsch Schroder
Island Adventure by Janice Macdonald
Musicians at the White Hart Inn, one of the oldest pubs in Edinburgh.
the capital city: edinburgh
It’s cold, rainy and gray and the sheep
outnumber the men by 5 to 1. Would a tropical-blooded
Southern girl really go to a place like this
on purpose? Yes, and I’d return there faster
than you can get a Scotsman to down a wee dram
of whiskey. It seemed that March was the only
time we could visit my stepson who was studying
at the University of Edinburgh. My hesitation
regarding the dreadful weather was overcome by
the way I saw people’s faces light up when
I mentioned our trip. “That is my favorite
city,” I was told repeatedly.
So with a suitcase stuffed with old cashmere
sweaters, a few hand knit scarves, gloves, long
underwear and a long down coat, we were Scotland
bound. Without much of an itinerary in mind other
than visiting our son, we were free to explore
at whim with a mental checklist to: 1) drink
many pints of beer, 2) avoid haggis and 3) see
sheep.
Our first day was surprisingly sunny so we scrapped
our plans to tour downtown in favor of climbing
Arthur’s Seat, a rock formation where a
short hike leads to the best views of Edinburgh.
One path goes directly up the mountain, but after
chatting with a friendly local, we chose an easier,
more scenic path around the back. The views from
the top were spectacular and well worth the 823-foot
climb.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering
down the Royal Mile, with a quick stop at the
Visitor’s Centre. We loved the busy sidewalks
and the warm, inviting smells emanating from
the many shops that sell baked potatoes. I wondered
if people buy a couple of small spuds sometimes
just to warm up their frigid fingers.
Edinburgh is divided into Old Town and New Town,
still called that despite its development in
the 18th century. Although we rode the bus through
New Town, we primarily remained in Old Town,
which dates back to the 12th century.
Princes Street, which divides Old Town and New Town, is the main street of
Edinburgh.
The Royal Mile runs one
gently sloping mile — from
the Edinburgh Castle at one end to the Palace
of Holyroodhouse at the other. In between are
shops, restaurants, offices, pubs and hidden
alleys, also called closes, all dating way back
before Christopher Columbus’s great grandparents
had even started courting. Edinburgh is a city
best explored on foot and you could spend an
entire day just wandering around these mysterious
passages.
After all the walking it was time for a visit
to a real Scottish pub, so we stopped in the
Café Royal Circle Bar, a Victorian-era
pub where we had a cheese platter, squash soup
and the first of many Scottish pints.
Speaking of walking, a word of warning about
the street names in Edinburgh: They exist, but
change just about every block, make no sense
and overlap each other in a most confusing matter.
It’s really best to have no real destination
in mind and just enjoy wherever you end up! But
if you have to get to a particular point, it’s
easy to get a taxi or take a bus. Double-decker
buses are everywhere and particularly fun to
ride.
You can’t visit Edinburgh without visiting
its most looming monument — the castle.
A lot of the displays, here and at many other
Scottish sites, focus on military history. It
seems that in addition to wearing kilts, drinking
whiskey and raising sheep, the Scots loved to
go around killing each other. That stuff interested
me not a whit, but I enjoyed walking through
the castle and seeing the Scottish Crown Jewels.
Especially fascinating was the area where the
prisoners were kept. A sign informed us that
each prisoner got one and a half pounds of bread,
a half pound of beef and two pints of beer per
day, the latter perhaps designed to keep them
peacefully napping in their hammocks.
Every day for 145 years the one o’clock
gun has been fired in front of the castle and
while we were there, Bombardier Allison Jones
made Scottish history by being the first woman
to fire it!
At the opposite end of the Royal Mile we reached
the Palace at Holyroodhouse, which was founded
as a monastery in 1128 and is now the Queen’s
official residence when she visits Scotland.
Mary, Queen of Scots, who became queen at the
age of six days, way too early to even enjoy
wearing the pretty crown, lived here from 1561.
After royally messing up her romantic and political
life, she fled from Scotland in 1567 only to
be put in jail in England and sentenced to death
by her own cousin, Elizabeth I.
If you’d like to see the most controversial
building built in recent history, visit the fantastically
over budget, publicly vilified $925 million Scottish
Parliament building, opposite Holyroodhouse,
which was completed in 2004.
One of the most interesting sites is not to be
found in a guidebook and doesn’t even have
a marker — the Chinese restaurant on Nicolson
Street that used to be Nicolson’s Café,
where
J. K. Rowling wrote her Harry Potter tales. It
seems her flat was not heated so she would spend
her days here, creating the fantasy world of
Hogwarts, perhaps modeled after the nearby George
Heriot’s School, which was founded in 1628.
Visitors aren’t allowed, but it’s
fun to pass by and imagine a game of quidditch
on the expansive front lawn.
Double-decker buses are a common site in the
city, and a wonderful way to sight see.
Our first hotel, Southside Guest House, was near
the university and was quite charming. Innkeeper
Franco fixed a lovely cooked-to-order breakfast
each morning and was happy to help with directions.
My only caveat is to warn you of the room on
the top floor where we were. A loud water pump
was a wee bit of an annoyance, particularly in
its unpredictability, but the location, reasonable
price and charm of the Guest House compensated
for it.
Later in the week we moved to the Point Hotel.
Renovated from its previous incarnation as a
department store, it was all Scottish traditional
on the outside, but eclectic minimalist on the
interior, with bright red and yellow accent walls,
like a box of Crayola crayons had exploded on
an Ian Schrager design. Located right below the
castle, most of the rooms have amazing views,
which are particularly magical at night.
We ate at many good restaurants and Edinburgh
has a range of ethnic cuisines to choose from.
One night we spent a family birthday celebration
at The Tower. Located at the top of the Museum
of Scotland, it has lovely views and excellent
food.
I love to visit the theatre when we travel, even
more than shopping. (However, I must admit I
did manage to put in some major time at the H&M,
which was totally awesome, a fact not appreciated
by my husband whom I had left waiting for me
while I popped in for “just a minute” that
turned into 45, a major tactical error on my
part.) Back to the theatre: While sightseeing,
we picked up a free local paper and
discovered a production of Present Laughter,
playing at King’s Theatre. Simon Callow,
the Scotsman who danced himself to death and
was the funeral in Four Weddings and a Funeral,
played the lead. We loved the play and enjoyed
the chance to see this beautiful theater.
As for our initial checklist? We managed the
beer drinking and sheep-seeing, but my husband,
being in an adventurous mood, opted for a bit
of haggis sausage at breakfast one morning. He
pronounced it tolerable — for a bite or
two.
I definitely recommend the Scottish capital for
any travelgirl looking for a European break.
I’ll leave you with just a few random observations
from my first visit:
• There are no fat people in Edinburgh.
• The people are very polite and even the
old crazy man on the street sounded charming
when he yelled out curse words at imaginary enemies — because
his accent was so lovely.
• There were several checkouts, but only
one line in the grocery store. When it was my
turn, a sweet voice politely requested that I
move to position number six. As a person who
inevitably picks the slowest line, I really appreciated
this more civilized system.
• There were lovely flowers blooming, even
in March.
• The weather doesn’t seem to bother
the Scots. We saw people playing tennis, despite
the 30-degree reading on the thermometer.
• Rugby is a very strange game and the scrim,
which looks like a bunch of mud-encrusted hunky
men about to dance the hora, is the strangest
part of all.
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Iona is the most remote island of the Hebrides
and pays tribute to Columba, who brought Christianity
to Scotland.
a different sort of island adventure
When you receive a vacation
itinerary labeled “Island
Adventure ’06” you are more apt to
have visions of palm trees than kilts. But it was
all about kilts, haggis and “heilan’ coos” as
my friend Matt and I set out to get back to our
Scottish roots with our friends, the Hardie Clan,
as our guides. David Hardie grew up outside of
Edinburgh and he and his wife Leslye moved back
to Scotland a year ago so that their sons Cameron
and Lachlan could attend the school that David
attended as a child. More popularly known as Belhaven,
it is also known as “Hogwarts for Muggles.” (Hogwarts
is the famous wizard school in the Harry Potter
series; “muggles” is the term for common
humans who lack wizard powers.) Matt and I both
trace our roots to the Scottish Clan Donald. When
we discovered an incredible airfare for a direct
flight from our current hometown of Atlanta to
the land of our ancestors, the deal was sealed.
The Hardies live in a tiny town south of Edinburgh
called Longniddrey. But, we’d barely had
time to check out their new house before the six
of us piled into our rented minivan — off
on our big adventure.
Our first stop was nearby Rosslyn Chapel. Having
read The Da Vinci Code, this was a treat, and I
thought our hosts were trying to satisfy our curiosity
over the phenomenon. What I hadn’t quite
grasped in my jet-lagged state was that Rosslyn
is the Hardies’ home church where they attend
mass each Sunday. After services, while other guests
were taking photos, we were busy helping collect
the prayer books and hymnals. (No tours are allowed
until after Sunday services.) Then as Cameron helped
extinguish the candles that help light the 400-year-old
church, we took our own look around. While the
real Rosslyn bears little resemblance to what was
portrayed in The Da Vinci Code, there is a strong
connection with the Knights Templar who are prevalent
in the book. A small structure currently under
renovation, it was amazingly ornate inside, with
intricate carvings in the walls and ceilings. A
central feature is the white marble Apprentice
Pillar, carved by an apprentice who lost his life
after apparently offending the architect with his
superior skills. No matter what I’d heard
about the column, I wasn’t prepared for the
details in the delicate turns of the marble carvings.
In fact, it was unfortunate the pillar was directly
over the minister’s shoulder during services,
because it was a bit distracting!
Just three miles in length, Iona is a close-knit
religious community known for its scenic strolls.
Our stop at Rosslyn set the
tone that while we were touring, we weren’t really tourists.
This is where David grew up and while he hadn’t
actually spent a lot of time on our targeted destination
of the Hebrides, his knowledge of the area and
its history helped us see it through different
eyes.
After studying ferry schedules, David had put together
an itinerary that would have us on seven islands
over seven days. So, leaving Rosslyn behind, we
made our way north across the Highlands and to
the small town of Ullapool, where we spent the
night. The drive was beautiful, but it was only
a precursor to the scenery that awaited us.
Armed with reservations, we drove onto our first
Caledonian MacBrayne ferry at 9:30AM, and set out
promptly 15 minutes later for our destination of
Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in what is known
as the Western Isles. This trip took about three
hours, so we ate aboard and excitedly looked at
maps and brochures describing the Hebrides.
Once on land, driving from Stornoway we almost
immediately encountered the single tracked roads
for which Scotland is famous. Single track is just
what the name implies: one lane. About every 300
yards or so there is a pull out so drivers take
turns allowing oncoming traffic to proceed. Driving
on the opposite side of the road than you’re
used to is adventure enough, but adding single
track is icing on the cake.
Luckily, this part of Scotland is populated largely
by sheep and highland cattle. These rusty colored
creatures almost look like they are smiling at
you as they stare with their shaggy hair hanging
down over their eyes. Around here, they are more
appropriately referred to as “heilan’ coos.”
Our next stop was the Standing Stones of Callanish.
Often referred to as Scotland’s Stonehenge,
these incredible stones are believed to be almost
5,000 years old. First historical mention of Callanish
was in 55 B.C. But what is even more amazing is
that the rocks are laid out in the form of a Celtic
cross. The largest stones form a circle with a
chambered cairn at the center. Stretching out from
the circle to the north, south, east and west are
smaller standing stones. The north line is the
longest and divides itself in two, forming a small
avenue.
Our visit was a few days before the full moon and
there were some campers who had set up tents nearby
in anticipation. One was actually napping inside
the cairn, forcing me to ask him to please remove
himself so I could take a photograph of this ancient
wonder without having an ancient hippy splayed
across it.
Southern Lewis was very mountainous and the weather
deteriorated as we crossed over onto Harris. (Harris
and Lewis are actually two parts of the same island.
The Isle of Lewis is used to name the northern
part of the island and the Isle of Harris refers
to the southern part of the island.) In the spirit
of “when in Rome,” we felt the need
to stop at the Harris Tweed and Knitwear Shoppe
to inspect an assortment of Harris Tweed. The making
of this world famous cloth is a cottage industry
on the island. Winters are long and brutal and
many islanders pass their time by knitting or weaving.
While you may be used to seeing the brown and green
tweeds, the trend on Harris is to pull in the colors
of the moor — so many of the clothes reflect
the various shades of Scottish heather. I purchased
a deep purple sweater that became my uniform for
the next week as the storm we experienced on Harris
ushered in much cooler weather.
An unexpected find was St. Clements Church in Rodel
on the southern tip of the island. Our waitress
at dinner in Leverburgh had recommended that we
venture a few miles further to see this 16th century
church. Even though it was almost 9PM, it was still
light out, so off we went. We were surprised and
delighted to find that the church was unlocked.
Inside, we found some incredible carvings, including
the tomb of the church’s founder Alistair
Crotach (also called Alexander McLeod) who was
depicted in full knight’s armor. We climbed
to the tower and regarded the graves of other McLeods
buried in the churchyard before noticing some surprising
carvings on the exterior of the tower. These images
of men and women in various stages of dress are
known as Sheil Na Gig and no one quite knows why
a church would have these rather suggestive fixtures
on it.
This old bridge over the River Sligachan in
northwestern Skye is considered a hopping-off
point for hikers and climbers seeking to explore
the Cuillin Peaks.
The next day, we ferried from Leverburgh to the
Isle of North Uist, where we did a quick five-mile
dash from Port nan Long to the town of Lochmaddy
to catch another ferry to Uig on the Isle of Skye.
On the Isle of Skye, we were all at home. This
is the seat of the Clan Donald and the hotel where
we were staying in Portree had been owned by David’s
father’s best mate, Jock MacDonald. Now operated
by his son Hugh, Viewfield is a beautiful Victorian
manor that is clearly still treated as a family
home. Many guests we met had been coming here for
decades because of its comfortable atmosphere.
Family portraits don the walls, as do trophies
from Jock’s hunting expeditions.
My room was in the tower and sharing a bath down
the hall was a small discomfort in exchange for
the chance to spend two nights feeling like a princess.
Dinner and breakfast were included in the room
rate, and the atmosphere was so comfortable, we
nixed plans to get out and explore, opting instead
to relax in the drawing room while Cameron played
his fiddle and we mingled with the other guests.
Later, we took advantage of the amazing weather
to explore the Clan Donald Centre in Southern Skye
and pay a visit to the Isle of Ornsay. Better known
by its Gaelic name — Eilean Iarmain — the
small piece of land contains a hotel and some shops,
as well as a lighthouse designed by Robert Louis
Stevenson’s father (who apparently designed
a fair amount of Scotland’s lighthouses).
The island is owned by another friend of the Hardies,
Sir Ian Noble, who strives to keep the Gaelic voice
alive and requires all of his employees be able
to converse in the language. The surroundings could
not have been more beautiful, with the rocky bay
and the mountains from the mainland filling in
the background.
We really didn’t want to bid Skye good-bye,
but off we went the next day, ferrying from Armadale
to Mallaig on the mainland. After a perilous, mostly
single track drive to a remote ferry in a tiny
village called Kilchoan, we traveled to Tobermory
on the Isle of Mull and made our way south to Fionnphort,
where we parked our car and walked onto the ferry
to go to the Isle of Iona.
Iona was a magical place. St. Columba first brought
Christianity to Scotland via this tiny island over
1400 years ago. The island’s Abbey still
has an active nunnery and the church and various
ruins draw in pilgrims from around the world.
Since the pilgrims tend to arrive by droves on
the morning ferries, we headed instead to the Isle
of Staffa, a journey that left us all in awe. Formed
by a volcanic eruption millions of years ago, the
island has the appearance of being columns of rock
bundled together. A National Nature Reserve, Staffa
is a haven for puffins and other seabirds and visitors
are allowed only one hour to explore. You can climb
up to search for birds, but an absolute must is
visiting Fingal’s Cave down below.
To get there, we had to hug the side of the cliffs
near the water and walk on the columns of basalt
that form natural steps. The cave itself is a fissure
in the side of the island and when conditions are
right, the pounding waves create a natural symphony — nature’s
music that inspired composer Mendelssohn to write
his “Hebrides Overture.” We had to
settle for just the crash of the waves themselves,
but it was a site like I’d never seen before.
Back on Iona, we ignored the rain and explored.
Field after field of wild yellow irises dotted
the green landscape and walks on the island’s
sandy beaches yielded discoveries of “St.
Columba’s Tears,” almost transparent
white stones with green marbling. Visiting the
Abbey was almost anticlimactic after seeing the
natural splendor of the island.
It was almost a somber moment when we had to depart.
Our ferry ride from Craignure on the Isle of Mull
to Oban on the mainland marked an end to our great
island adventure. We detoured for a photo op of
Lachlan in front of Castle Lachlan on Loch Fyne
before heading back to Longniddrey. But over-packed
van not withstanding, none of us wanted to see
the adventure come to an end.
Maybe it’s because Scotland is part of my
heritage that this felt like more of a pilgrimage
than the usual travel adventure. As I breathed
the Scottish air and reflected on the McDonalds
who had been here before me, I knew this was something
I was meant to do. |
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Scotland 411
edinburgh
www.edinburgh.org
Edinburgh Information Centre
Located at the top of Princes Mall near Waverly
Station. The people here are very nice and
accommodating.
Where to Stay:
Ashcroft Farmhouse Small bed and breakfast located
outside of Edinburgh but perfect if you have
an early morning flight. We took a bus here
from near the Visitor’s Centre. www.ashcroftfarmhouse.com
Point Hotel
Scottish charm meets modern, minimalist design
just a few blocks from the Royal Mile. Our
room had a magical view of Edinburgh Castle — be
sure to request one when booking.
www.point-hotel.co.uk/
Southside Guest House
Housed in an 1860’s home, this guest house
has a perfect location for walking or taking
the bus to just about everything. The full sit-down
breakfast is delicious.
www.southsideguesthouse.co.uk/
Where to Eat:
Original Khushi’s
9 Victoria Street. Indian food.
The Tower Restaurant
In the Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Great
for special occasions.
Spoon
15 Blackfriars Street. A casual café a
block off the Royal Mile.
Kebab Mahal
7 Nicolson Square. Serves up inexpensive but
tasty and generous portions of Indian food.
What to See:
Edinburgh Castle
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk
The Palace of Holyroodhouse
www.royal.gov.uk
The Scottish Parliament
Guided tours of the Parliament must be booked
in advance.
www.scottish.parliament.uk
travelgirl tip: If you’re doing a lot
of sightseeing, consider purchasing a city pass.
The Edinburgh pass offers free entry to more
than 30 attractions and free bus transport. Cost: £20
for a one-day pass, £36 for two days and £45
for three. Purchase at www.edinburgh.org/pass
If you’re traveling outside
of Edinburgh, buy an Explore pass that saves
you money on admission to 75 of Scotland’s
historic properties, including Edinburgh, Stirling,
and Urquhart Castles. Prices start at £13.50
.
the islands
www.visitthebrides.com
Ferry reservations are recommended. To check
schedules and book, contact: Caledonian MacBrayne
www.calmac.co.uk
reservations@calmac.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)8705 650000
Isle of Skye
Viewfield House, Portree
If you're a travelgirl traveling alone, insist
on the tower room!
www.viewfieldhouse.com
Phone: +44 (0)1478 612217
Island of Iona
Argyll Hotel
It’s within walking distance of the ferry,
the Abbey and the beaches.
www.argyllhoteliona.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1681 700334
Island of Ornsay
Eilean Iarmain Hotel and restaurant
www.eilean-iarmain.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)1471 833 332
general scottish info
www.toscotland.com
To find your own Scottish heritage
research, visit:
www.ancestralscotland.com
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