Rewind to Scotland: - there's more to tell! In the last few days before we went to Belfast, Northern Ireland, we visited 3 Scottish cities which we really enjoyed: Stirling, Dundee, and Glasgow.
Stirling is an ancient capital of Scotland, located just west of Edinburgh. Stirling Castle is where some of the Scottish royalty were crowned, including Mary, Queen of Scots. In order for us to see this beautiful and historic city, Dori and Dan graciously agreed to re-visit Stirling, where they had been just a couple of weeks previously. As we approached the city, after our long drive from the Isle of Skye, down along Loch Lomond (singing the familiar song along the way), Stirling Castle sat on a high promontory. What amazes me here and in other cities is the abrupt transition from green pastures to city. No urban sprawl, just tidy countryside devoted to pastures and cultivation and then clean city streets. It's all so organized and practical. Of course, that means that folks like us don't have their 2 acres of land surrounding their home!
the Forth Guest House, Stirling
We all stayed in a pretty B & B for our one night in Stirling, walked around a bit that evening, had a nice meal at an Italian resto, and then got to sleep after our trip. The next day was Sunday. Bruce and I attended services in the Church of the Holy Rude, where Queen Mary had worshiped and where her infant son, King James VI, had been named King in 1567. We didn't know this at the time, only that it was a beautiful medieval church. There was a very small congregation that day, but a contingent of aging veterans of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders, an infantry regiment, were honored with front row seats. After services we chatted with a couple of folks who introduced themselves to us over tea and cookies. One was a delightful 87 year old, Olive, who told us about attending church in her younger years when the sanctuary would be packed with worshipers. I guess that many churches are struggling with attendance, even famous historical ones. Olive had been a docent at the church and pointed out the highlights to us, including the exact spot where King James had been crowned king.
Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling, Scotland
inscribed in the floor of the sanctuary
Bruce and Olive, sweet friend to newcomers at Church of the Holy Rude
We followed up with a tour of nearby Stirling Castle, an Historic Scotland property which has been restored and is now a fascinating, dynamic destination, with staff portraying early castle residents. I learned about the tapestries that are being reproduced by hand, using highly skilled weavers employing techniques from the 14th century. One of the completed designs is identical to the famous unicorn in a fenced enclosure, the original of which is now in the Cloisters in NYC. I've added that to my bucket list.
Recreated unicorn tapestry in Stirling Castle
We met Dori and Dan in the late afternoon and headed east to Dundee, northeast of Edinburgh, on the Firth of Forth ( a large bay emptying into the North Sea). Erik and Elizabeth live there and had invited us to stay for 2 nights in their flat in a restored jute mill. It's the city where my Uncle Lloyd, a member of the Canadian forces in WWII, met his wife, my Aunt Jean (is that right, Peggy & Fran?) It's a very hard-working city, dominated in the past by the jute industry - and also, apparently, the Dundee marmalade business and newspapers, resulting in the moniker, the city of "Jute, Jam, and Journalism". Bruce toured the ship Discovery, built in Dundee and used by Capt. Scott to explore Antarctica. We both toured a jute museum, which explained the process of jute being shipped from India, where it was grown, to Scotland, where it was processed into lots of materials, including fabric for the American wagons carrying pioneers west! Eventually, the manufacturing was moved to India, where it still exists today. Of course, this was devastating for Dundee, leaving 60 or more jute factories idle. However, the city seems to have recovered and is the location for universities and bio-medical firms and free museums, Michelin Tire, and National Cash Register. One of the city's current industries is the creation of computer games! On our last evening together, Dori and Dan treated us all to a delightful meal together, followed by a farewell sip of Talisker's Scotch for each of us from the pretty Isle of Skye quaich. It had been a wonderful 2 weeks with these four Scots lovers!
Erik & Elizabeth's apartment complex, a converted jute mill
The Discovery, Capt. Scott's ship used to explore Antarctica
The third Scottish city that we visited that week was Glasgow. By this time, we were on our own. Dori and Dan had flown back to Canada, and we had turned in our silver chariot. We traveled by train. Glasgow was a city that I was eager to see, as it seemed to have a distinctly different history and feel from Edinburgh, more of a proud working person's place with deep union roots from the shipbuilding industry. We booked a hotel for 2 nights and explored Glasgow for one full day in between.
The city is full of imposing impressive architecture, but, like Belfast, which it resembles in some ways, it also has many modern steel and glass buildings slipped in among them - and lots of churches. I was especially interested in the architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Glaswegian Arts & Crafts designer from the early 1900's. That first evening, as we walked around, I spotted the art college which he had designed. The next day, we had lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms which he had also designed. Dan had highly recommended the People's Museum, where we saw a flat similar to the one that Erik and Elizabeth had lived in during their early years of marriage in Glasgow, when Erik was beginning his career as an industrial pastor. Bruce and I both enjoyed that museum, with its displays of Glasgow life from the not-too-distant past, including a model backyard bomb shelter which families had used during WWII.
Though Glasgow's history is that of industry and hard work and poverty and poor, overcrowded housing, it has a vitality and contemporary artiness and style, not to mention socialist leanings, that are appealing.
Willow Tea Room, looking out through the art deco windows
All in all, we saw a lot of Scotland during our 2+ weeks there, from cities to highlands and islands. It's a beautiful land, stark and majestic, as well as pastoral, mystical, and alluring. There is still a lot left to explore! Another time :).
Stirling is an ancient capital of Scotland, located just west of Edinburgh. Stirling Castle is where some of the Scottish royalty were crowned, including Mary, Queen of Scots. In order for us to see this beautiful and historic city, Dori and Dan graciously agreed to re-visit Stirling, where they had been just a couple of weeks previously. As we approached the city, after our long drive from the Isle of Skye, down along Loch Lomond (singing the familiar song along the way), Stirling Castle sat on a high promontory. What amazes me here and in other cities is the abrupt transition from green pastures to city. No urban sprawl, just tidy countryside devoted to pastures and cultivation and then clean city streets. It's all so organized and practical. Of course, that means that folks like us don't have their 2 acres of land surrounding their home!
We all stayed in a pretty B & B for our one night in Stirling, walked around a bit that evening, had a nice meal at an Italian resto, and then got to sleep after our trip. The next day was Sunday. Bruce and I attended services in the Church of the Holy Rude, where Queen Mary had worshiped and where her infant son, King James VI, had been named King in 1567. We didn't know this at the time, only that it was a beautiful medieval church. There was a very small congregation that day, but a contingent of aging veterans of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders, an infantry regiment, were honored with front row seats. After services we chatted with a couple of folks who introduced themselves to us over tea and cookies. One was a delightful 87 year old, Olive, who told us about attending church in her younger years when the sanctuary would be packed with worshipers. I guess that many churches are struggling with attendance, even famous historical ones. Olive had been a docent at the church and pointed out the highlights to us, including the exact spot where King James had been crowned king.
We followed up with a tour of nearby Stirling Castle, an Historic Scotland property which has been restored and is now a fascinating, dynamic destination, with staff portraying early castle residents. I learned about the tapestries that are being reproduced by hand, using highly skilled weavers employing techniques from the 14th century. One of the completed designs is identical to the famous unicorn in a fenced enclosure, the original of which is now in the Cloisters in NYC. I've added that to my bucket list.
We met Dori and Dan in the late afternoon and headed east to Dundee, northeast of Edinburgh, on the Firth of Forth ( a large bay emptying into the North Sea). Erik and Elizabeth live there and had invited us to stay for 2 nights in their flat in a restored jute mill. It's the city where my Uncle Lloyd, a member of the Canadian forces in WWII, met his wife, my Aunt Jean (is that right, Peggy & Fran?) It's a very hard-working city, dominated in the past by the jute industry - and also, apparently, the Dundee marmalade business and newspapers, resulting in the moniker, the city of "Jute, Jam, and Journalism". Bruce toured the ship Discovery, built in Dundee and used by Capt. Scott to explore Antarctica. We both toured a jute museum, which explained the process of jute being shipped from India, where it was grown, to Scotland, where it was processed into lots of materials, including fabric for the American wagons carrying pioneers west! Eventually, the manufacturing was moved to India, where it still exists today. Of course, this was devastating for Dundee, leaving 60 or more jute factories idle. However, the city seems to have recovered and is the location for universities and bio-medical firms and free museums, Michelin Tire, and National Cash Register. One of the city's current industries is the creation of computer games! On our last evening together, Dori and Dan treated us all to a delightful meal together, followed by a farewell sip of Talisker's Scotch for each of us from the pretty Isle of Skye quaich. It had been a wonderful 2 weeks with these four Scots lovers!
The third Scottish city that we visited that week was Glasgow. By this time, we were on our own. Dori and Dan had flown back to Canada, and we had turned in our silver chariot. We traveled by train. Glasgow was a city that I was eager to see, as it seemed to have a distinctly different history and feel from Edinburgh, more of a proud working person's place with deep union roots from the shipbuilding industry. We booked a hotel for 2 nights and explored Glasgow for one full day in between.
The city is full of imposing impressive architecture, but, like Belfast, which it resembles in some ways, it also has many modern steel and glass buildings slipped in among them - and lots of churches. I was especially interested in the architecture of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Glaswegian Arts & Crafts designer from the early 1900's. That first evening, as we walked around, I spotted the art college which he had designed. The next day, we had lunch at the Willow Tea Rooms which he had also designed. Dan had highly recommended the People's Museum, where we saw a flat similar to the one that Erik and Elizabeth had lived in during their early years of marriage in Glasgow, when Erik was beginning his career as an industrial pastor. Bruce and I both enjoyed that museum, with its displays of Glasgow life from the not-too-distant past, including a model backyard bomb shelter which families had used during WWII.
Though Glasgow's history is that of industry and hard work and poverty and poor, overcrowded housing, it has a vitality and contemporary artiness and style, not to mention socialist leanings, that are appealing.
All in all, we saw a lot of Scotland during our 2+ weeks there, from cities to highlands and islands. It's a beautiful land, stark and majestic, as well as pastoral, mystical, and alluring. There is still a lot left to explore! Another time :).
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