Day 6 (11/19/04)

Today starts out early.  5:45 AM early (Glasgow time). Karen's presentation and the conference is over and now we have all day to explore Scotland.  We're going on a tour today of some of the highlights of east-central Scotland but our adventure entails a little travel.  Today there are no local tours leaving from Glasgow so we had our ever willing staff here at One Devonshire Gardens investigate alternatives.  They do come up with a solution....  We first have to catch the good old 66 bus to the city center, then a walk of a few blocks to Queens Street Station for a train to Edinburgh and then (walking again) find the tour start location.  No problem...  Remember we just figured out how the busses ran yesterday,  never mind the trains,,,

Against all odds, we finally made it.  Above is a quick shot I took in Edinburgh while waiting for the tour guide  Note the Ferris wheel in the background.  This would later allow us to find our way back to train station.  We returned after dark, in a city we never really saw in daylight.  It was really just dumb luck that we found the station on our return later in the day.

Here's our little tour bus.  Our driver/owner/operator and tour guide Nick was a definite plus on this tour.  He really had a wealth of knowledge, a funny sense of humor and was a true treat during our tour.  Both Karen and I would highly recommend using his guide services.

Above is a picture of the Forth Rail Bridge taken from the village of South Queensferry on the Firth of Forth (yes it sounds mathematical but that's what it's called).   We learned that a 'firth' is a bay and this is the River Forth.  So this is the Firth of Forth.

The Forth Rail Bridge was opened in 1890 and is 2.5 kms long.  It was a major achievement of the Victorian age and took seven years to build and cost 50 men their lives.

This is a photo of the Forth Road Bridge which we will be crossing on our way to the
Royal Burgh of Falkland.

Below is a map of the area we traveled in during this tour.

Our second stop is Falkland.  Here there's the Falkland palace (picture below). Built for James IV in 1500, king James V died here in 1542.  His daughter, Mary Queen of Scots was a frequent visitor.

Here are a few shots of the town.

Here's an idea that could only come from the land of scotch whiskey.  This picture above is from the men's room in Falkland.  The entire wall is a urinal!  You simply can't miss no matter how much you drank!

Above is a picture of Ashley who was on our tour with us.  She's 21 and from Vancouver, Canada.  She's spent the last couple of months traveling through Europe by herself.  She stays in youth hostels and sometimes with friends.  A very nice and courageous young lady.

You simple have to take a picture of an ancient lions head spiting out water.  Don't you?

Of all the pictures of castles and quaint building in this beautiful town my favorite photo is this one,  I love the balance, the moss covered cut block walls, the random rough texture of the walkway and the totally unnatural presents of the red door.  The marching fence and tapered wall and walk all seem to draw your attention to the old red door which although it's the main focus it can only open on to a small insignificant space.

Several of our friends had asked what do men wear under their kilts?  Apparently, not much! I got this shot off a mug that was in a shop window.

Another 45 minutes in the van brings us to St. Andrews.  The birth place of golf over 500 years ago.  There apparently was a small problem that started here called the Reformation a few hundred years ago.  The Protestants decided to torch the Catholic Church and burn a few people, etc.  They have initials on the sidewalk where the Protestants burnt a guy or where the Catholics burnt a guy.

We also got to walk on the famous old golf course and visit the Royal and Ancient Golf Club where Bill Clinton, Sean Connery and many other famous men are members.  Only men though, women are not allowed.

The students of St. Andrew's University make up a large portion of the towns population.  This is Scotland's oldest university (established in 1411). Young prince William (Charles and Diane's oldest son) is a student here.  Our new friend Ashley was keen to meet him but he did not seem to be about.

Above is a shot from the first hole at St. Andrews golf course.  You would want to hit the ball to the left here and not out to the North Sea which is the direction of this photo.
A photo of the rocks just after the tide went out.

This is the west beach.  Just to the west (right) of the golf course.  'Chariots of Fire' was filmed here about a runner that attended St. Andrew's University.

Walking towards the links.  Links by the way refer to a golf course which is located by the sea.  If I got this right, all championship golf tournaments are played by the sea.

Walking...walking...walking...

This was the cathedral of St. Andrews which was burnt down 300+ years ago as part of the Protestant Reformation.

More bits of the cathedral and some very old graves.

These folks have been dead for a very long time.

Not sure what this protrusion is but I do which I took the time to stroll out and take a picture from that view point.

Me and the North Sea.

Karen, ruins and the North Sea.

Just the ruins.

St. Andrews Castle.  What's left of it.

The eastern most coast of Scotland.
The North Sea yet again, this time looking east from the castle grounds.

The St. Andrews castle. Bits and pieces... bits and pieces...

This is a shot I took while walking up the hill from St. Andrews golf course.  Yet again taking my life in my hands to bring you endless photos of our trip.

Our tour guide (and owner/operator) Nick of www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk has been doing these tours for years.  He knows the out of the way places that only a true expert would know.  This photo is taken from the village of Crail.  He also knows when to get there based on the time of the year.  He brought us to this coast with the sun just 5 degrees in the sky and so allowed me to capture this photo of a high contrast reseeding tide.

I hope riding around in a mini bus called "The Wee Red Bus" is not as dorky in Scotland as it would be in the US.

A few more photos from the east coast...

And Karen complains when she has to climb 2 steps from our boat!  Based on the length of the bow and aft lines, this boat was tied up about 15 feet above current tide level. 

The doorways in this little costal town are built for warmth in the winter.  This is one of the tallest.  I would have to do a lot of ducking or develop a thick callus on my forehead to live here.

Of interest in this shot is not only the ancient sea wall but also the roof.  It's made of shingles that were brought here as ballast from ships from Holland over 300 years age.  Most roof today last little over 50 years if your lucky.

Karen and I overlooking the east coast of Scotland.
The picture was take by our new friend Ashley.


I love the composition of this shot.  How the house and walkways are built to reflect the various levels from sea to secure dry land with limited compromise to the natural landscape.  Notice the four step stair near the middle of the picture.  How easy would it have been to introduce a grading of the lawn to transition that space.  But instead, the steps transition from a maintained lawn to the wild mountains cape.  Overall a beautiful scene.

A castle corner with pane glass! I think the octagon crown is a recent addition.  Look at the difference between the wall stone and the grout and clean lines of the crown section.

A lighthouse protecting the rugged northern coast.

On our way back from Edinburgh to Glasgow on the train.  Both the public bus and train systems in Scotland are really wonderful. It's been a very full day starting long before dawn and ending well after dark.  We both highly recommend this tour.  Visit www.heartofscotlandtours.co.uk for the many tours that Nick offers.  He's funny and very knowledgeable about the county he knows well and loves.  We highly recommend if your in the area.

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