Inverness is the last major city as you continue toward the tip of the UK and the Shetland Islands in extreme northern Scotland. It is considered to be the capital of the Highlands and has played an important role in the history of Scotland. However, perhaps what it is most famous for is being the birth place of one Amy Pond, er. Karen Gillan. If you’re a Doctor Who fan than you’ll undoubted know the how important that fact is. Anyway, our trek through Inverness was more of an opportunity to grab a bite to eat and get a few more glances of the northern most part of Loch Ness. It is after all the largest loch by volume in the UK and contains more fresh water than all of the lakes in England and Wales combined. At just over 23 miles in length and 755 feet deep, it’s a BIG loch.
Once we left Inverness, the rest of the drive into Edinburgh was rather uneventful, although we did manage to see lightning and hear thunder which is a rather rare occurrence in this part of the world. Driving through Edinburgh was an entirely different matter. The city is one of the oldest in the UK and still retains much of its historic charm. Unfortunately that charm doesn’t get along to well with automobiles or navigation devices. Our planned route had us traversing the city almost directly through city centre and had there not been ongoing road construction this wouldn’t had been a problem. Unfortunately, Tina (our TomTom) kept sending us into construction zones. Fortunately, Amanda being the amazing wife and travel planner that she is brought along a pretty decent map that saved us literally hours of wondering the city in circles.
When we finally made it the B&B would be staying at for the duration of our time in Edinburgh it was time to eat. The owners of this particular establishment checked us in and provided us a map that they had printed off which identified local restaurants and pubs along with corresponding bus stops. We really can’t say enough about all the B&B’s we stayed in on this trip. On this night, rather than trying to brave the bus system, we decided to walk to a pub that was just up the street. Salisbury Arms was a really good pub, if not a bit packed and pricey, but the food was worth both the 45 minute wait to be seated.
The next day was the one I had been waiting for most of the trip. St. Andrews!
Back when I was in high school my brother and I were
encouraged to try golf in order to have something else to do on family
vacations while Mom was off shopping or touring things we weren’t really all
that interested in. We both gave it try and found we enjoyed the personal
challenge of playing the course instead of constantly going up against each
other like we had done in so many of our other athletic endeavors. Plus we’ve
gotten to play some really nice course in some great parts of the country. But
St. Andrews is truly the most prestigious and historic course out there. While
it’s known for “The Open” which returns to The Old Course every five years it
actually is home to six other courses that are all squeezed onto the marshland
which makes up the traditional “links” style courses. Playing The Old Course is
no easy feat. The waiting list is more than a year long at the moment and prior
to being allowed to set foot on the course you have to provide a valid handicap
of below 24 to even reserve the chance to play. And while a handicap of 24 is
really not that great, I hadn’t actually played enough over the last several
years to retain one, so needless to say I didn’t get the chance to walk the
oldest course in the game. However I was able to walk on to one of the sister
courses there at St. Andrews known as the Eden Course. While not quite as old
as the Old Course it’s still no spring chicken having been designed and
constructed in 1894 and is the second oldest course on the site.
Prior to my round I attempted to calm the nerves by hitting
a few balls at the driving range across the street. From the picture below you
can actually see the outline of buildings that run along the most famous
finishing hole in all of golf.
The rest of my round was rather a mixed bag of results. I
came away with mostly bogeys although I did manage a par on the 341 yd 12th
hole. I figured for someone who had only played three times in the past two
plus years, a score of 94 was perfectly acceptable and spent the rest of the
day in a certain state of bliss as evident by the pictures we got to take on
the Old Course later that day.
The next day was spent touring Edinburgh itself. We started
out by taking a guided tour bus down to Holyrood House which is the primary official
residence for the Royal Family when they visit Scotland (though they
technically spend more time at Balmoral). This royal home was built to replace
the draftier Edinburgh Castle which is situated at the top of the Royal Mile.
Besides functioning as the home for the royal family
Holyrood House is also the site of a 12th century monastery which
housed a piece of the cross at one time. After winding our way through the
interior of Holyrood we were treated to what was essentially a private tour of
the palace grounds including the remnants of the old Augustinian monastery. Apparently
no one else on the grounds was interested in the brief thirty minute walk among
the beautifully kept grounds. Oh well.
After Holyrood House we hopped on another tour bus that took
us up the hill to Edinburgh Castle which sits at the opposite end of the Royal
Mile. While the Royal Family might prefer the less blustery Palace at Holyrood
I like the sweeping views of Scottish countryside provided by Edinburgh Castle.
Unfortunately, the view is slightly obscured by the large
cannon keeping time for the ships in the Firth of Forth everyday at 1:00 PM.
Why did they decide on 1:00 PM rather than the more standard noon you ask? Well
it was to keep the costs down since it’s more expensive to fire a gun 12 times
as opposed to just one.
This was another big cannon and just below the barrel on the right are a few of the giant cannon balls. I checked, I can fit my entire head inside the barrel of this cannon.
When we were finished with Edinburgh Castle we walked back
down the Royal Mile to Cannongate Church where the Royal Wedding was held in
2011. You thought William & Kate
were married in London? Well, you’re right. This was the sight of the other Royal Wedding
of Zara Phillips (now an Olympic silver medalist) to Mike Tindall. As Zara is currently 14th in line
for the throne, there wasn’t quite as much media attention. Also to the side of the church is the grave
and tomb of the father of contemporary economics and author of the Wealth of
Nations, Adam Smith.
The next morning we made our way to the Royal Yacht
Britannia to catch a glimpse of what life at sea was like for the Royal’s.
I was pleasantly surprised by this tour and came away both completely
fascinated with the ship and saddened by the fact that it is no longer used for
its original purpose. The dining facilities are still used for the occasional private
ceremony or corporate function but the ship is now permanently moored in
Edinburgh as a giant museum piece.
Among my favorite aspects of the ship I found the teak
decking that runs along the entire exterior deck to be right at the top of the
list.
A close second would be the crew’s mess hall where Amanda
thinks I look a bit like Popeye. Too bad I don’t care for spinach.
We also enjoyed that the Queen and Prince Phillip had separate,
but adjoining, bedrooms each with a twin bed.
In fact, the only double bed (and it’s only a double, not even a queen!)
was in a guest suite. It was originally
two twin beds in the suite, but Prince Charles asked that they be replaced with
a single bed when he and Princess Diana used the yacht for their honeymoon. Draw your own conclusions…
Much of the yacht was left with the family’s personal
effects still in place, including the furniture that the Queen and Prince
Phillip personally selected for the yacht.
The desk where Her Majesty read her correspondence and planned state
dinners looked like it was ready for her to return at any moment.
Touring the Royal Yacht took up most of the day so after dinner
we finished our last night in Edinburgh at the Military Tattoo.
This was perhaps my favorite part of our stay in Edinburgh
(outside of golfing) and nearly impossible to capture effectively on camera. Photos
just don’t do it justice. The Tattoo
takes place on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle and the stands are positioned
so that the castle forms the backdrop. The crowds to get in are incredible – thank
goodness we’d pre-ordered tickets!
There were numerous military bands from around the world
including the United States Naval Forces Europe Band who managed to squeeze in
a rousing rendition of Anchors Away between the more traditional Scottish themed
numbers.
The most impressive group was the Top Secret Drum Corps out
of Switzerland with their precision percussion’s and entertaining use of
lighting.
The night ended with each group taking part in a grand finale
that paid tribute to Great Britain followed by an impressive display of
fireworks and closed with a display of national pride in Scotland.
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