Will I see Nessie ?

The day length here in Great Britain is very different Sunrise 4:16 and Sunset 22:19 and I believe today is the longest day in the year (June 21st)

Today, heading to Wick with a stop at Loch Ness. Maybe Nessie will make an appearance. 😉
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Had some lunch at Dornoch. This is the view I liked the best from the bench I sat and ate my lunch.
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Some pictures from the outside the Castle of Mey, the Queen’s Mother’s Castle which she purchased in the 1950s after the death of her husband, the King. She frequently vacationed at this castle in Scotland during her life.

Castle Mey 01 Castle Mey 02 beach at Castle Mey

Published in: on June 21, 2013 at 12:26 am  Comments Off on Will I see Nessie ?  
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Inverness

After a breakfast of sausage and eggs, I’m off to Inverness.

I will need to find some time soon to better organize and then upload pictures of the trip so far.

First stop is St. Andrews. If any golfers are reading this, go ahead and be jealous.
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Pitlochry for lunch and a tour of Blair Castle.
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At Inverness, here is the castle. We are just staying here overnight before heading to Wick for 2 nights.

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Some of the skyline along the Ness River
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Here is a Scottish £20 note
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Published in: on June 20, 2013 at 1:54 am  Comments Off on Inverness  
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Edinburgh

This morning is a guided tour of the old city of Edinburgh ending with a tour of the castle.
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Lunch at The World’s End on the Royal Mile. Sweet potato soup.
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Tried to walk up Arthur’s Dent. Here is the view from how far I got.

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Pictures later.

Published in: on June 19, 2013 at 2:08 am  Comments Off on Edinburgh  
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Off to try the haggis

I have 2 days in Edinburgh to explore this center of the Scottish history.

Right now getting ready to leave for a Scottish dinner along with entertainment. And yes I’m going to give haggis a try. Pics and maybe a video to follow this evening.

So I wasn’t able to video any of the performance, but here are some pictures from the Scottish song and dance:

 

Prestonfield Dancers   Prestonfield piper

Prestonfield Entertainers   Prestonfield EntertainersI

And yes I did eat haggis.  It was very good.  Was much like a spicy ground beef sausage; it did not taste of organ meat like I feared.

Haggis Haggis on a fork

Haggis is very good.  Its like a spicy sausage.

Haggis is very good. Its like a spicy sausage.

 

 

 

Published in: on June 18, 2013 at 12:48 pm  Comments Off on Off to try the haggis  
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Will you try haggis?

Leaving York today, off to Edinburgh in Scotland with a few stops along the way.

First stop was Settle
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Second stop Grasmere. Saw Wordsworth’s grave along with some pretty purple flowers in the garden behind the church’s grave yard.

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Quick Pitstop at Gretna Green in Scotland.  Bit of history… This town is just across the line between England and Scotland.  In the past (1770s) the city was the place for runaway lovers.  Why? Well, the age of to consent to marriage in England was 21 years, but in Scotland it was 14 yrs for boys and 12 yrs for girls, so many young lovers would run across into Scotland to marry.
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Published in: on June 18, 2013 at 2:04 am  Comments Off on Will you try haggis?  
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Pork pies and ale

Was a much warmer day today while visiting York. I walked down Shamble Street, bought a pork pie and later found a pub to try a half pint of an English brewery.

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More details and photos later. We have a much earlier start tomorrow.

 

Here is a shot of the road called Shambles in York.  In the past it was the street in which the butchers of the town setup shop, because the road slants downward.  This allowed for the bi-products of butchering to flow down the street away from the shops.  In the second picture you see that many of the wooden support beams are curved.  This is because the wood used to build the city of York came from the British Navy as ships became decommissioned.

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Published in: on June 17, 2013 at 12:52 pm  Comments Off on Pork pies and ale  
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Coventry

June 17th, 2013
On the way to York, stopped to see what remains of the Conventry Cathedral.
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Published in: on June 17, 2013 at 4:13 am  Comments Off on Coventry  
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Off to York

Had a good nights sleep and a nice breakfast. I really like how the British cut their bacon. It’s not any thicker, but wider.

It’s off to York in a few minutes. I will post pics of the hotel (Alveston Manor)  once I get back home.

My data is about used up for my MiFi so one of my side trips will be to find another EE store and top off. If I didn’t mention it, data here in the UK is so much cheaper than in the states.

Published in: on June 17, 2013 at 2:45 am  Comments Off on Off to York  

Afternoon with Shakespeare

It is hard to believe that I’ve visited the place a man was born and died over something like 500 years ago. The only way you can believe this, comes from the fact he was as famous in his time as ours.

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I leave this place with only pictures and postcards only because my luggage has limited space and my trip has only just begun. There are some wonderful souvenirs in the shops, and some nice fudge too.

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Published in: on June 16, 2013 at 10:25 am  Comments Off on Afternoon with Shakespeare  
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Lunch at Oxford

Had a nice tour and stopped for lunch at The Buttery for lunch.

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The food was really good.  I had the smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel with a coffee.

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Published in: on June 16, 2013 at 5:52 am  Comments Off on Lunch at Oxford  
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