Scotland- Day 3: Doune Castle, Culross, Edinburgh- June 16, 2019

One of the few bad things about taking a tour is that you have no control over when you get up in the morning. Getting up at 6 am on a Sunday on a trip is not my idea of fun. However, it is totally necessary, when your bags have to be outside of your door at 6:45 and breakfast is at 7, if you want to be able to do any kind of stretching at all. We have learned to have most of the suitcase ready the night before, which does help.
When we got up, it was 51 degrees and cloudy. Checking the Weather Channel app told us that rain was likely all along our route today. Of course it was; this is Scotland.
Breakfast was quite a spread. I was delighted to find my favorite European cold cuts, cheese and rolls, as well as the chocolate croissants that seem to be ubiquitous there. Before the trip, we'd taken to watching Scottish travel videos on Netflix. One thing we learned about was porridge spurtling competitions. A spurtle is this odd-looking wooden kitchen implement that is reminiscent of French rolling pins. Anyway, porridge was there, so I had to try it with added sugar and cinnamon. It was quite good and I felt healthy eating it. I also got Greek yogurt with fruits of the forest (yum!) and mixed fruit and muesli. Again, I felt more healthful. Blueberry juice with zinc was too intriguing to pass up and I was glad I didn't. My husband K, meanwhile, got the traditional hot English breakfast with a potato scone, which looked like a pancake wedge. He liked his meal, too.

We went back upstairs to quickly brush our teeth and gather the carry-on luggage. We'd had to opt for a backpack for K and hand luggage for me that had no wheels, as wheels were verboten in the bus. (We soon saw that that was strictly enforced.) We went back downstairs and checked out at 7:40. We joined the group amassing at the bus. When we got on at 7:50, we found ourselves sitting behind Brenda Lee and Brian from Nova Scotia and in front of Glinda, a single woman from New Zealand.
Our route was determined partially by the fact that there was a run today that would end at George's Square, which we'd seen them preparing for yesterday. Alistair drove us first through the University and then Kelvin Park. The University is the the fourth oldest in the English-speaking world and covers 80 acres. There are originals of some Robert Burns works in the library. The school's motto is: Via  veritas  vita (The Way, The Truth and The Life). We were also told how Charles Rennie Mackintosh introduced Art Nouveau here. It was difficult to get a decent shot out the window.
Around 8:35, we began to get some rain. That served to create some atmospheric shots of the hills and ridges in the distance, when we left town.

We'd read that Scottish weather was changeable and true to form, the sun came out at 9:03. It must not have liked what it saw, because it did not stay.
We left the highway behind and were soon driving through woods along a narrow road. In a clearing stood Doune Castle (pronounced "doon"), our first castle of the trip. It was 9:20 and the castle wouldn't open for another 10 minutes. I took Roseanne's suggestion and braved the light rain to go to the restrooms across the road. There was a building, but the restrooms were not inside it, but rather in sort of portables behind it.

The original castle was built in the thirteenth century, but this one dates to the fourteenth, although it had been in ruins until repair in the 1880s. It had belonged to Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, who was the son of King Robert II of Scotland. So, he built it as a royal castle.
Evidently, a lot of fans of the TV series Outlander come to Scotland. We've never seen it, but our daughter is a fan. A little bit of the show was shot here. What excited us was the fact that several parts of Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed here and our audio guide was narrated by Python member Terry Jones! How seriously cool is that?!
When 9:30 rolled around, we were all at the gates waiting. The entrance behind the gates was paved and uphill with a drainage gutter, which was useful, as it was still raining. We were given our headsets and had been told to be on the bus at 11. Then, we were on our own. The entry led to the courtyard. To our right were stairs that we climbed to get into the main floor.
K and I do not usually roam around museums together and this was no different. We ran into each other once in a while, which was just fine. I loved the commentary. Terry told us about the castle history, but also what scene from the movie was filmed in each location. There was even a bit of audio from the film. The kitchen stood in for Lancelot's bedroom and one other scene. He told us to note the scrapes on the wall by the window, which were created by kitchen knives being sharpened on the stone.

 

There were helpful signs that told us even more about the various rooms and their uses. The Great Hall, which stood in for Camelot in the movie, had several of these signs.

There were stairs that led to an upper floor, where there were bedrooms and a view. I saw how narrow and winding there were and decided that was not going to work for me. Luckily, I found K and he went up and photographed things for me to see.

 The Lord's Hall was the last room I explored inside. It was a little more finished than other rooms, although as what Victorians thought medieval  looked like.

It was not raining, when I went back out to the courtyard. Here, I heard that several scenes of the movie were filmed, plus the French soldiers were up on the wall. I have got to watch that movie again!

Under the castle, one of the old storage rooms had been converted to an air-conditioned shop. There were Outlander and Python souvenirs, as well as souvenirs specific to the castle. I used some of the money my younger daughter gave me to buy her dad a Father's Day gift, which is today. I got the British version of a fruit cake with whiskey. Of course, I found postcards and such for my collections. My husband arrived just in time to help me get things to the cashier. While chatting with her, she asked where I was from. When she found out it was Florida, she asked for more specifics. It turns out she has visited a relative in Merritt Island, which is not far from us. We shared our pleasure in visiting Cocoa Beach. Small world!

After turning in the headsets, we went back out front to take more photos. I discovered a sign indicating that even some of Game of Thrones had been filmed here.

We took a selfie before one more pit stop. Near the restrooms, I found these lovely flowers. I also saw others photographing them.

At 10:45, the sun made another appearance. We were due on the bus by 11, but everyone was early and we departed at 10:55.
We crossed the River Forth for the first time at 11:30. Long ago, I'd heard of the Firth of Forth and thought it was a really cool name. I had not realized that there was a river named Forth, nor did I know that a "firth" is an estuary. Cool!

 It took just 13 minutes to get to our next destination, Culross ("KOO-russ"). Evidently, it's a great place to see sights from Outlander. Since we really didn't remember its use in Captain America: The First Avenger, we were just going to soak up the charm of the town.
Speaking of soaking, it was raining again. First, we  stood near a bus shelter and then in the square near the statue of Thomas Cochrane, Admiral of the Fleet and Tenth Earl of Dundonald, who had lived here, as we sorted out what channel the local guides needed to be on for our "whispers" headsets. I didn't realize at first that we were being split into two groups, but with the size of our group it was a good idea.

Our half of the group continued to stand there, listening to town history in the pouring rain, while the others went off to tour the palace, which is really just a mansion that had belonged to Sir George Bruce, who'd brought the town prosperity by figuring out how to mine coal under the Firth. Soon, our elderly guide, who really had quite a few stories to tell and yarns to spin, started leading us through town. Even in the rain it is a charming town. After Sir George's death and the flooding of the mines, the town stagnated. Rick Steves wrote in his book that the town was rescued and rehabilitated by the National Trust. Our guide told us a few of the very strict rules that must be followed in order to maintain the look of the village.
As we headed off on our tour, we passed this house, whose flowers I had to photograph both going and coming back. Happily, the sun came out at 12:15, so the last photo is brighter.

Some of the things I learned: The tile roofs became a thing back in the day, because the ships that left with coal would come back with the tile as ballast and the captain could sell that to the townspeople and make a bit of money. The unicorn  on the market cross, where the market was once held, originally signified only the House of Stewart, not Scotland. The town was a royal burgh at one time, so they could have this. Small windows in many of the houses didn't have glass back in the day. They were for barn owls to come in and nest, so that they would eat the vermin. Fun stuff. Oh, the last photo in the set below is the Town House, which was once the economic and legal center of the town.

On our way to the palace, I got this great shot of the Forth.

On our way into the palace, which is truly a big house, not a palace in the traditional sense, we passed through the garden. The plants there often had medicinal uses. They were not grown to be put in bouquets.

The guide told me a charming story that the dots inside of foxglove are from fairies' feet.

The word "palace" does not work for this place in any way shape or form. Perhaps it was just such a large house for the time that that is what people called it. Inside, we were given more great stories, including one for the origin of the word "threshold" that is just a legend from what I've gathered through research. Nonetheless, it was an interesting tour and it was interesting to see such an old home that was used for business, entertaining, and raising a family.

This bow ceiling is reminiscent of the roof of some houses in New England, that were modeled on the upside-down shape of the bow of a ship.

The original green paint in this room dated from 1720 and was Georgian green, named for the king.

The wooden canopy was to keep things from falling on the guest at night.

Just some of the beautiful needlework done by a ladies' guild.

More of the lovely needlework.

 When we finished the tour, we needed lunch. It being Sunday, the town was really rather quiet. We saw  a large sign for Bessie's Café at Culross Palace on a front wall of the palace and thought, why not? When we arrived at 1:45, it was rather busy, but we managed to find a table. The rain had made it rather chilly, so warm food seemed to be in order. Rather than waste time going to the counter to look at sandwiches we didn't want, we ordered from specials on the board. I went for cheese and spinach pie for Ł 8,50, because that just seemed rather British. It came with a nice little salad with balsamic dressing, which was a nice surprise. I don't do hot drinks, and while Ł2.50 is steep for a small bottle of Diet Coke, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. K ordered lentil soup with a roll for Ł6, along with a caffé americano (American-style coffee) for Ł2.50. He'd noticed a dessert on the board that interested him, so we also ordered apple crumble for Ł5.50. The waitress said that since it was served hot, it would take a bit to put it together. So, she put in the order for it with our order. She recommended ice cream and had to come back with a list of available flavors. She and I agreed that white chocolate would be the best choice of the lot.  The meal was really excellent and that ice cream really worked well on the apple crumble. The crumble was a lot like an English Apple Pie that I make. The bill came to Ł25.50, but they just gave us Ł25 as change for our Ł50 note. That was easier, I suppose. But, it did mean that we had to dig through our change for a Ł2 tip.

We managed to find a shop that was open and I bought 5 postcards for Ł2 before we got back on the bus at 2:50. Once again, everyone was early, so we left at 2:56 and soon encountered rain again.
Just over a half hour later, we crossed the Firth of Forth itself. The view out our side of the bus was toward the old cantilever bridge and past that to the North Sea.

When we entered Edinburgh, we did so through the New Town section. This area was full of stores and restaurants. I could see the Old Town up the hill on the basalt spine of the town and knew that when we came back later getting up there would not be easy. Our hotel, the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton on the North Bridge, was arrived at by a bit of a circuitous route, perhaps because of having to pull up to the hotel with the left side of the bus next to the sidewalk. Even British buses need to be built differently, due to the way they drive.
We arrived at about 4 and my husband and I were assigned room 316. This would be our room for three nights, which was a really nice thought. Our room looked out the back of the room toward the Firth of Forth, which I thought had to be a better view than the street. The bed faced south and I was glad to see that there were outlets on both sides of it. That way, I could sleep on my usual side and use my CPAP. Across from the bed was a desk and there was a closet across from the modern bath.
It wasn't too long before there was a knock at the door and our luggage was delivered. We had some time to settle in.

 As we headed onto the bus again at 6:15, we noticed that it had gotten chilly. We were headed for our first optional excursion the Spirit of Scotland show at The Jam House down in the New Town.  When we parked at 6:29, we saw many other tour buses. As we got out, we could hear bagpipers and discovered the piper in full regalia standing outside the venue, greeting the visitors with music. Cool!

I was lucky to get this shot of just him, because visitors and even passers-by would stop to pose with him.
Roseanne had arranged for our group to be in one of the center tables of the entertainment space, which was behind curtains beyond the bar. There were 3 or 4 long lines of tables there, perpendicular to the stage, and then a row or two to the side beyond arches. Our tour group took up about the back half or so of our row.
We found the table set and shortbread on the saucers of the cups. There were also menus, which were a bit hard to read in the low light, but, luckily, cellphones have flashlights. When they came around to take drink orders, I chose a white wine, because it was included, and got my husband to get a Glenfiddich scotch for Ł 5, as a Father's Day gift from the other daughter. As for food, I ordered Rare-Breed Scottish Borders Pork Terrine, forest herbs, and orchard apple chutney, which didn't sound bad and was something different to try for my starter. K ordered Shetland Smoked Salmon, tartare potatoes & fennel salad for his starter and liked it.

While we waited for our food, we talked to our neighbors. To my right, toward the stage, was a family consisting of father, mother and two adult daughters from South Dakota. K was to my left and no one was directly across from us. He talked to the folks to his left.
Roseanne had told us on the way over, that haggis was not really as bad as people said. She said it depended on where you got it and said that this place used only the choicest meat and we really couldn't leave Scotland without trying it. The show made a big deal of the haggis, complete with a poem by Robert Burns. Because it was Burns, it was in the Scottish dialect, some of which I could make out. They brought each of us a small sample and I was a good girl and tried it. Very peppery and not something I enjoyed. K, on the other hand, just tasted the pepper.

For our main course, we both tried the Slow Braised Blade of Scottish Beef, mashed horseradish potatoes, roasted root vegetables  (carrot and leek, again, it seemed) and red wine jus. We both really enjoyed it.

The show was a mixture of singing, dance and piping.  One of the songs was 500 Miles, a rock song that I found out later was by a Scottish group. The dance bears a strong resemblance to Irish dance, but arms are not held down at the side as in Irish dance. One of the piped tunes was Amazing Grace, of course. Several of the performers were relatives of the emcee and it seemed to be a rather family enterprise. The servers all seemed to be teenagers.
It took a while for the main course plates to be cleared, but once they were, dessert was brought out. It was Jam House Cranachan, soused Scottish raspberries, whipped cream and toasted oatmeal. Wikipedia later informed me that cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert made with oatmeal, seasonal raspberries and whiskey. According to them, "it has been called 'the uncontested king of Scottish desserts.'" It was pretty good.

I slipped away to the restroom and found many, many more stalls than you usually find in a ladies room. I also saw signs that advertised more bar-related entertainment. But, the true find was how incredibly stupidly these stalls were designed. Who put the toilet paper up behind the user?

Even though Rick Steves had recommended not attending one of these Scottish folk evenings, we were not sorry that we did. We've been to such performances in Ireland, Russia, Germany, and Switzerland and we always like them. We felt it was worth the money.
We got out at 9:35 and found our bus among the others. We were back at the hotel at 9:48, exhausted.
When we looked out our window, we could see the last of the sunset, which was quite lovely. Interesting that we could see so much sunset, even though we are facing east.

According to my phone, I walked 4,552 steps for 1.5 miles and walked up 1 floor today.