Thursday 31st August 2017

The liquid sunshine followed us up to Scotland.  We did not realize the Edinburgh Tattoo was in progress.  So many people.  It was tricky dodging between the crowds and traffic.

This was as close as we got to Edinburgh Castle.

A brief interlude from the rain.

There were many buskers about. This guy was giving the pipes a workout.

This experimental lawnmower was buzzing about a hilly area.  It was doing a good job although not giving those straight lines that my brother Eric requires.

Two days of crowds did us in.  Time to rent a car. Notice which side my brave husband the driver is on.  Roundabouts here we come.

Our first day excursion was to the Falkirk Wheel.

I had to insert this info blurb because it explains the workings better than I could.

We had a barge next to us on the trip down.  This area is quite popular for taking canal barge trips.

Our next trip was a coastal walk. These are the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle built in 1313.

I was glad we had a small car driving through this opening.

Now that’s a castle.

This is Alnwick Castle. Dax and Jay, my Harry Potter fans, this is where Harry learned to fly the broomstick.

Quite a few of the Harry Potter scenes were filmed at this Castle.

Sales of broomsticks were brisk and yes like most everything these days they were made in China.

Ahhhhh. A lovely sunny day at last.  This was the only day without rain for our whole month trip. Another coastal hike. We liked the small villages.

The village of Crail was a thriving metropolis by 1100.  We walked around the tiny harbor.

Also the hilly streets.

The UK has so many lovely coastal hikes. This is certainly a nation of walkers.

On to St. Andrews.  See that lovely blue sky above the remains of St. Andrews Cathedral.

Of course we had to visit the famous St. Andrews golf course. Golf has been played here for over 600 years. The nice part is all the courses are open to the public, although the original old course requires a handicap certificate to play.

Jay, we played a round of golf in your place.  OK it was just a nine hole putting green and Dean clobbered me.

We were surprised to find that the prices to play were reasonable, at least compared to the USA.

Back to the cloudy rainy weather but stiff upper lip and all that. This is a two lane road! Keep Calm and Carry On. With my awesome coaching Dean managed to get us to our destination………..

which was Loch Katrine. We hired a couple of bikes and took the Sir Water Scott original boat for a cruise up the lake.

This little steamship is over 100 years old.

Since 2007 it has run on bio fuel rather than coal.

On our 14 mile ride back around the lake we saw some very fashionable highland cows.

Our cycle ride was uneventful so thank goodness we did not need zapping.  What a great way to recycle the old phone boxes.

We stopped by the William Wallace monument.  Remember the movie Braveheart?

We looked for Mel Gibson to no avail but these friendly blokes stood in for a pic.

Our last day was a tribute to John Muir. He is considered by many to be the Father of the US National Parks. He was born in this cute town of Dunbar.

This is a statue of John Muir as a boy in Scotland.

We hiked nine miles on the John Muir trail. This old mill was one of many interesting features along the trail.  Thank you John Muir for being a National Park advocate.

What better way to end the day!

We have had a great trip and want to thank my brother Eric and lovely Gina for showing us all the great spots in England and Wales. It was wonderful to visit with brother Peter and Mandy.  Also, thank you Russell for loaning us your house in Edinburgh for a week so we could see the REAL Scotland.