So, Autumn hasn’t been as bad as I’d feared. Not so far, anyway. I realise I’ve just cursed it by saying that, and I’ll wake up tomorrow to ten feet of snow, but for now: not so bad. It’s been sunny. It hasn’t been too cold. And so we’ve been taking advantage of the (relatively) nice weather, to do some more touristy stuff. I actually think Autumn is the best time to visit Scotland: the colours are beautiful, the light is kind of dreamy and other-worldly, and you get to wander around the grounds of all of these beautiful old castles and stately homes more or less by yourself. Sometimes we actually feel like it’s OUR HOUSE we’re strolling around, and thank God it isn’t because can you imagine having to cut all that grass?
You don’t get to wander around the inside of the castles by yourself, though. This weekend we went to Blair Castle, which, fact fans, is Scotland’s most visited stately home, and also known as “That Big White One With the Turrets”. It’s a self-guided tour so, in theory, you’re on your own. In reality, though, you will find that The Others are hiding around every corner. When we arrived there appeared to be no one else there, but we’d walk into these totally empty rooms, and the next thing we knew there would be 50 other people all crowding in beside us and wanting to look at the EXACT thing I was looking at, while standing on the EXACT same spot. Bizarre.
Anyway, Blair Castle is wonderful. It’s probably the prettiest castle I’ve been to, and it has beautiful grounds, with ponies and Highland cattle and red squirrels and stuff. Like last weekend, and our trip to Glamis, it was just really good to get away for the day, get some sunshine while we still can, and have ourselves a little mini holiday. It’s exactly what we’ve needed after the stress of the week, basically.
Now we just have to decide where to go NEXT Sunday…
Tagged blair castle, scotland
Girl to me at the horse-riding-on-the-beach experience in Florida: So, where are you all from?
Me: Scotland
Her: Wow! How long of a drive is that?!
I felt really bad having to explain that it’s actually on a whole other continent and you can’t drive from it to Florida. I really wish you could, though.
We’ve also had, “Is that in Canada?” and “Is that in Texas?” Ah, the fun of living in one of the more obscure corners of the world! (I should add here that I don’t expect many Scottish people would be able to point out various American places on a map either, so I don’t think it’s an “American” thing, particularly, just a consequence of living in a country not a lot of people know much about.)
Another fun fact about living in a small, obscure country: not many airlines actually fly here, which is why, for our planned winter holiday, we’re either going to have to a) fly to London first, thus making the trip much more expensive and lengthy or b) just go to the freaking Canary Islands again. Because everywhere else we’ve thought about going, it’s a case of “can’t get there from here.” Or “can get there from here, but it’ll be freezing at that time of year.” Gah.
Needless to say, pretty much ALL I’ve thought about since we got back is “where can we go next?” Nope, STILL not over them blues…
Tagged florida, scotland
On Sunday, we decided to take the dog for a walk around Linlithgow Loch. Terry has done this walk before: it’s short, and there’s a proper footpath, so I figured I’d be OK in these:
You see the sticking plaster on the side of my foot? More about that later. For now, just know that Terry didn’t seem to see anything wrong with my footwear either, and so off we went.
Halfway to Linlithgow, though, Terry pulled over to the side of the road. “Hey,” he said. “Let’s not go to Linlithgow Loch. Let’s just climb that instead!”
“That” was Binny Craig. Why yes, it WAS kind of steep! And what’s that? Stinging nettles, you say? All over the ground? Meaning that by the time I reached the top (crawling on my hands and knees, natch), my feet were a red, swollen mess? Yes, that too. Also, there were teenagers up there. They were playing music through those FREAKING tinny speakers kids always have with them now, so even way the hell out in the peaceful, quiet countryside, you’re forced to listen to someone else’s music. This made me want to throw them all over the side of the hill, but unfortunately for me I’m terrified of teenagers, so I didn’t. Also, Rubin had apparently set aside that special time to be an ass, and while I was crawling on my hands and knees up the slope, he was trying to crawl under my belly. WHY?
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Tagged bangour village hospital, binny craig, scotland, Walks & Days Out
After my fun walk through Bandit Country, Terry and I decided it would be better if, for my next trick walk, we went somewhere far, far away from the Banditos. Or far enough away that I’d find it harder to get into trouble, anyway.
So we went to South Queensferry:
 Forth Rail Bridge Rubin was determined not to look at the camera here because he was too busy crying like a baby, so desperate was he to begin his walk.
He was crying like a baby in this one, too:
That’s the Edinburgh skyline you can see in the background: the big hill is Arthur’s Seat, and you can see Edinburgh Castle to the right of it if you look closely enough. We didn’t, of course, because Rubin was too busy struggling to get out of my arms and down onto that beach. Once he did, though, he was totally in his element:
Well, sort of:
Incoming waves are scary, apparently…
We walked for about two and a half hours altogether (and Rubin was still tugging at his leash by the end of it), ending up at Dalmeny House:
 Dalmeny House You can totally imagine arriving here in a horse-drawn carriage, in the 19th century, can’t you? You, a poor governess with nothing to your name but the clothes you stand up in, the house rising before you, home to the dashing Earl of Blahblahblah, and his mad wife, who is locked in the attic…. (It’s actually the home of the Earl of Rosebery, and I don’t think he keeps his wife in the attic, but you know what I mean…)
Then we turned and came home, only it took us quite a long time because we’d walked so far. Still, it was worth it to be able to walk somewhere without being verbally abused for once, you know? And I think Spring may well be my favourite season now. If we lived somewhere else I’d have said it was summer, but the weather’s always so awful here in summer that it never fails to be a bone-crushing disappointment. You wait all year for it, only to realise that it’s going to be all rain, all the time, and actually, the weather was nicer in Spring. We DO sometimes get a sunny day or two in Spring, you see, and it’s that time of the year when the horrors of winter are over at last (oh please, oh please) but summer is yet to disappoint us, so the days stretch before you, all sunshiney and hopeful. Love it.
So, a good day was had by all. And no one called me “ginger” even once – bonus!
Tagged beach, coast, scotland, Walks & Days Out
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