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Wales

Apr12

Hay-on-Wye, Wales

Paradise for Book-Lovers and Antique-Hunters

(Llew and Chriselle near a picturesque bridge in Powys, Wales)
 

Over the years, my husband Llew has had many people recommend that he visit the Welsh border town of Hay-on-Wye in the UK. As a confirmed bibliophile, this is Llew’s idea of Paradise—a town that is devoted entirely to the sale of books. Naturally, we had to make a visit there and even those of you who do not collect books with the same seriousness that my husband does, will find something both charming and interesting in this little town.

Hay-on-Wye grew in importance as “The World’s Biggest Bookstore” after a series of fairs and exhibitions held annually in the town attracted the attention of book-lovers worldwide. Book-dealers and traders then began moving into the town to set up permanent establishments and before the town knew it, it had developed into the Bibliophile’s Capital of the World.

Set amidst the beautiful downs of the western United Kingdom, Hay-on-Wye, as its name suggests, nestles quietly in the fertile Wye Valley near Wales, home to fluffy flocks of sheep and the famous Welsh lamb. All along the motorway heading towards the town, we saw herds of cattle that seemed to cling to the sides of the hills as if magnetized as they grazed continually in the watery sunshine.

When we did arrive close to town, we stopped for the night at a rather enchanting B&B called Sunnymount in the lovely town of Ross-on-Wye. After a very satisfying “full English breakfast” the next morning, we spent some time in the beautiful perennial gardens which the landlady assured me “took a great deal of work”. The cat-lover in Chriselle was delighted by the resident Tomcat called Smudge . She had a great time chasing him around the flowerbeds (left)  before we hit the road again, to wend our  way in the direction of Hay.

Bordering Wales, the Wye Valley was made famous by William Wordsworth whose Tintern Abbey Ode was inspired largely by the natural landscape. Indeed, Tintern Abbey, now completely in ruin, can be easily visited and Wordsworth fans do make the pilgrimage to these medieval remains.

We arrived in Hay-on-Wye after a lovely drive through rolling fells and emerald-green downs. We found the names of the little villages we passed en route rather amusing, mainly because most of them were unpronounceable. One of them was actually named, get this,  Bfhhh. How do you name a town without using any vowels whatsoever? we wondered

When you do arrive in the town of Hay, you will see that it has a central square from which a few streets radiate. There is a clock tower in the middle of the town that makes the best point of departure for any kind of exploration (left). The town has about 35 bookstores all clustered together on three or four principal streets. Browsing through them can be as quick or as leisurely as you choose to make it. Most of the booksellers specialize in a certain kind of book—Fiction or Military and Warfare, Children, History and Biography, and so on. This  makes it simplicity itself  for the true collector and Llew felt truly in his element. Both new and used books stand cheek-by-jowl on the crammed bookshelves. There is a charming air of antiquity about all the stores that matches the personalities of the dealers who make you feel warmly welcome as soon as you enter. Like book-lovers all over the world, they are always eager to talk about their collections, so if time is short, you are warned not to get into any prolonged discussions for fear that you might find it difficult to disengage yourself from one.

If book-seeking is not your cup of tea, Hay-on-Wye has a castle situated high on a hill that you can climb towards if you wish to enjoy some lovely views of the town (left) and the surrounding countryside. Even if you do not wish to get to the heights of its ramparts, you can stop halfway to explore shops of another kind—antiques shops, which I always find hard to resist. In fact, on my last visit there, I was able to pick up a beautiful English ceramic tea tray and a pair of 19 th century porcelain plates from the many multi-dealer stores that line the Antiques Market. Prices were quite competitive and there is something to suit every pocket. Best of all, shopkeepers are friendly and always willing to negotiate. If you lose your heart to an unusual bauble but cannot quite afford it, don’t hesitate to request the dealer to give you his or her best price. You will be surprised at how quickly they will try to accommodate your desire.

Book-hunting and antiquing done, I would recommend that you pick up a picnic lunch from one of the lively delis that are strewn all around the town. We feasted on cold pies and chilled apple cider in a nearby field before leaving in the late afternoon for our drive across the border and into Wales. Deciding to explore a bit of the Welsh countryside, we stopped for the night at Crickhowell in Powys county at a B&B called Greenvillas where we ate the reputed Welsh lamb at a pub dinner that night.

Traveling through some of the secret enclaves of the United Kingdom has always given us enormous pleasure and I have little doubt that you will find something that will tickle your fancy when you arrive at Hay-on-Wye.

Bon Voyage

York

Apr12

York: England’s Medieval Gem

In one of the quaint lanes outside York Minster

Then, Llew and I were headed, once again, in our car, for the medieval city of York, hoping to catch some daylight hours and a glimpse of the renowned York Minster, one of the best Gothic cathedrals in the world. Parking our car in the public parking lot, we headed straight for the Minster or church that dominates the city’s skyline. There, since a service was just beginning, we had a chance to take in only a peep of some of the main interior features such as the astounding choir screen decorated with all the kings of England unto the time the church was built and the magnificence of the medieval stained glass windows.
Then, we sauntered out into the streets intending to return to the church when the service was complete. York is truly a tangle of narrow, cobbled medieval lanes lined on both sides by antiquated buildings that formed stores on the ground floor and homes on the first. They have such an abundance of character that it is hard t believe that we are in the 21st century when one strolls through these streets. Everywhere, there is some charming item to catch the eye. I have never seen a town such as this one anywhere—Oxford and Cambridge are medieval towns but their buildings are immense educational ones built on the model of the abbeys and cloisters of the Middle Ages. This town is composed of streets such as would have been populated by the common people and the entire atmosphere is extremely evocative of this use. We sat on a bench and munched on Cornish pasties as we were starving by this time.
Our random rambling brought us back to the main entrance of the Minster where the service had ended and we were able to enter without paying the hefty entry fees as it was the very end of the day. How stupendous is this work of art! Inside in the conical chapel is a very unusual Chapter House, a meeting room for the prelates of the church. We saw the little niches in which they sar to discuss affairs of the church. The ceiling is beautifully decorated in the Mannerist style. The Rose window featured the white rose and the red rose of the houses of Lancaster and York which were finally reunited after the 100 year war by the marriage of two of its members. There was so much to see, so much to dazzle the eye, it was hard for us to focus on any one thing. We were so glad we got to see this grand edifice of Christian worship.

We did not leave York without walking upon its fantastic medieval walls (left) that encircle the old city and provide fascinating glimpses into its Roman past–for York, was, of course, one of the seats of Roman administration in ancient times and fiercely retains vestiges of its classical civilization.
Then, we were out on the streets again, getting into our car and driving back to Thirsk. I loved Thirsk even in the fading light of the evening and after all the crowds had left the market place. We settled down to beers at The Darrowby Inn (named, of course, for Herriott’s books in which the town of Thirsk is fictionalized as Darrowby. Then, because I was unable to tear myself away, we took one more stroll around the Herriott home and were on our way, driving back to Sinderby where we went to bed completely exhausted.

James Herriott

Apr12

The World of James Herriott at Thirsk

Outside the main door of Skeldale House,  Home of James Herriott in Thirsk, Yorkshire Dales

The World of James Herriott is an interactive museum that is based in the real-life home of the famous vet who was born James Alfred Wight, was known in real-life as Alf and took the pen name James Herriott because he liked a Scottish footballer by that name.

Well, from the minute we entered the village of Thirsk, I felt completely at home, as if I belonged to its world of the 1930s. We paid £5 each to enter the place which allowed us to tour the interior of the house and to use an audio tape that cost us an extra £2. Narrated in the voice of Jim Wright (the son of James Herriott), the tour took us through the various rooms in their house as it was lived in from the years 1950-1957 when the kids were little. The same house (left) was used as a surgery, however, right up to the year 1997 which was when his son Jim Wight who also became a vet moved to larger premises. The place is decorated to look like a museum belonging to the 1950s—the decade in which I was born and for some reason I feel so much at home in that atmosphere.

Below left, you see pictures of the living room in which James Herriott spent much of his leisure time reading voraciously or listenign to music. On the right is a picture of the family dining room-cum-waiting room with a wax effigy of Mrs. Pomfrey, one of Herriott’s best-loved and most eccentric charecrts with her beloved dog Tricky-Woo, awaiting the vet’s attention.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we went through the garden (left, which is also so well described in the books and TV shows)—the beloved garden of Skeldale House where the family worked hard and where the kids spent so much time. (I realized later that the name Skeldale came from the valley of the River Skel which is where Fountains Abbey is located and, no doubt, the Wight’s home took its name from that location).

I took a picture in the car, the Austin Severn, in which the vets scoured the Yorkshire countryside in the early days as they paid house calls to their horse, cow and sheep patients. The 10 minute film, narrated by Christopher Timothy who played Herriott in the series, was excellent and took us through the entire life of the author in a nut shell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, upstairs, we saw a reproduction of the wonderful TV sets (above)that were so easily recognizable to fans of the series All Creatures Great and Small. The entire visit was so worthwhile and to be walking through the rooms in the company of fans who are equally besotted by the enthralling work of Herriott was itself an experience.

On the left, you see a picture of the real-life people who populate Herriott’s books including himself (bottom row, extreme left) and his colleagues, Donald and Brian Sinclair (middle and right) and the three actors who played them (standing above)m Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy and Peter Davison .

Outside, I took some pictures by the main door and also of the building. In a few paces of a quick walk, one comes to the main Market Square of Thirsk where many stores carry Herriott memorabilia and are named after the characters (Jim and Rosie’s Bric-A-Brac and Furniture Store; The Darrowby Inn—a pub, where later in the evening, Llew and I had a local beer.) It is the place where a weekly farmer’s market is still held exactly as it was on Mondays in Herriott’s day. It really was a fun excursion and I am glad that Llew seemed to enjoy it as much as I did.
To return to the rest of our travels in the Dales, please click on Yorkshire.

Fountains Abbey

Apr12

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Gardens

Our wedding anniversary picture takes at Fountains Abbey

We had decided to skip the visit to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire which was on our itinerary (since we had seen the palatial Castle Howard the previous day) and to spend the morning touring a place that Lonely Planet said should be a Must-Do on any Northern itinerary.
Since I do not think that we will return to York again in a hurry, I did believe that we should take in Fountains Abbey and the adjoining Studley Royal Gardens. Llew agreed and we were on our way, driving around once again to Ripon from where it was a ten minute ride into the Dales that seemed in the midst of nowhere. The place opened at 10 am and we were there a few minutes earlier which gave me a chance to become a member of the Royal Oak Foundation, a membership valid for a year that gives me free entry to all the National Trust properties anywhere in the world. This cost me £46 and since the entry to the place was £7 each and the attendant let Llew in for free, we were able to save £14 right away. I know that I shall easily recover my membership in no time at all during the next year.

Then, giving ourselves only one and a half hour to tour thpremises, we made straight for the ruins of the Fountains Abbey itself, a superbly serene set of buildings in a state of complete ruin that dates from the 1100s.
Built by the Cistercian monks and set in a sea of emerald green grass, an exhibit gave us a quick idea of the history of the place. It was very heartbreaking to see the manner in which the abbey was destroyed by King Henry VIII during his Dissolution of the monastries in 1534.This was after the abbey had become an extremely profitable venture for the monks who made their money selling their sheep fleeces to merchants in Italy and France. Walking through the ruins was a rather sobering experience and we did wish we had more time to take it all in. The immensity and vastness of the whole complex is so astounding and you simply cannot understand how it could have been so deliberately destroyed.

Joining the abbey are the gardens that were build in the 18th century by Lord Aislabie who acquired the property and set about creating the water gardens which are meant to complement the abbey. Together, the abbey ruins and the water gardens create a tranquil, almost spiritual space of contemplation. We walked through the first of the artificial lakes but did not have the chance to take in the gardens in their entirely as it is literally a walk of a couple of miles to see it all. Despite the paucity of time, we were grateful that we had the opportunity to take in these sights. Then, we got hopelessly lost trying to find out way back to the parking lot. The map misled us into believing that we could take a short cut and then before we knew it we had left the premises altogether and were out in the fields walking for at least a mile just when we were running late and wanted to get back into our car and on the road to London as soon as possible. I guess this is Murphy’s Law—if something has to go wrong, it will.

Castle Howard

Apr12

Castle Howard: Brideshead Revisited!

Outside Vambrugh’s magnificent Castle Howard

Then, we were driving along quiet country roads towards Malton to visit Castle Howard, one of the most splendid buildings in all of England and highly popularized in the TV series Brideshead Revisited which used it as a location in the 1980s and then again a few months ago for the release of a new version of the film. Conceived as a grand country home by the 8th earl of Carlisle who requested his friend John Vanbrugh, the playwright of the Comedy of Manners School, to design a new home for him, this is one of the most spectacular English coutnry estates and one I have long wanted to visit.

Vanbrugh drew up plans for a grand domed home (the only private home in England that sports a dome with a ‘lantern’ on the top of the cupola) and asked his friend Nicholas Hawksmoor to work the final plans for him. They collaborated to create this confection of grand rooms filled to the rafters with all kindsof accoutrements and furnishings. A tour of the house in which very well trained guides told us about the history and the decoration of the rooms was quite fantastic and left us awed at the wealth of the nobility in previous eras.
We also toured the lovely rose garden, a walled garden with dozen of roses (most of which, alas, were past their prime) and also a great potager which had an abundance of fresh green vegetables that are sold in the plant shop on the premises. Certainly a visit to Castle Howard is memorable and takes more than half a day if one wants to do it thoroughly and at leisure. We were fortunate in that we got a chance to see a special exhibit on the filming of the new version of Brideshead Revisited (coming soon to a theater near you) which took place earlier this year and I seized the opportunity to pose by the bed draped in green velvet hangings in which Lord Marchmain dies in the film.


To return to the rest of our travels, please click on Yorkshire.

Bronte Parsonage

Apr12

Haworth: Bronte Parsonage Museum

Llew poses in Haworth’s pretty Main Street

Then, we were on the road again, heading towards Haworth (pronounced ‘Howith’), which lies just north of the village of Hebden Bridge but along a remote and deeply isolated moor whose barrenness gave truth to the myths that the sensibility of the Brontes’ was negatively affected by the wide loneliness of their environment which led, in turn, to the moroseness of their plots. In the house, we trooped through the rather tiny rooms actually inhabited by the family members from 1820-1861 and where they wrote their best-known novels.

The house is full of memorabilia from the lives of the family and their dogs, Flossy and Keeper. There are many paintings by Branwell Bronte, their brother, a drug-addict, including the famous one that hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Next, we visited the Haworth Parish Church where their father, Patrick, served as pastor for many years—a small cute church with a graveyard attached with really old gravestones. The entire space was so steeped in Victoriana that we were transported to another era. I almost felt as if I was walking into the plot of a Victorian film.
Then, we walked along Haworth Main Street, which slopes down steeply and offers excellent views of the moors. Of the many shops that line the street, the Rose and Co. Apothecary had a very authentic atmosphere and was the place from where Branwell obtained his supplies of opium. By then , it was about 5-5.30 pm and Llew wanted to get back on the road again before it got too dark.

To return to the rest of our travels, please click on Yorkshire.

Yorkshire

Apr12

Yorkshire

After walking upon the wall and taking pictures of it, we bought ourselves a sandwich lunch and then began the long drive eastwards towards Newcastle (running parallel to the Wall on many occasions) and southwards towards the Yorkshire Dales where we would be spending the night. We tried to find the village of Thirsk made famous by James Herriot’s books and indeed when we were there, we drew a blank as we didn’t have a good address for the B&B at which I had made a booking. Well, it turned out that Glen Free Holme was not in Thirsk at all but in a nearby village called Sinderby. It also has turned out to be rather tired looking farmhouse without an attached bath though our room was quite spacious and comfortable and has a washbasin in it. There was a labrador called Sam in the house and two very docile horses outside in the stable! All this truly made me feel as if I was in a James Herriott story even though there is little resemblance to the landscape described by him in his books in the area in which we were staying.

Then , since it was still rather early and there was so much good daylight outside that we did not want to waste, Llew and I settled into our B&B and then drove out to the neighboring town of Ripon which is called the “Cathedral Town of the Dales”. And how delightful it turned out to be! The cathedral (left) truly does dominate the town but leading out from it is a maze of narrow winding cobbled roads that are lined with old-fashioned stores that were just very appealing as we browsed around them. Of course, apart from the restaurants, everything else was closed but we enjoyed our stroll, nonetheless, and thought that Ripon was indeed a very sweet little town and an unexpected find in this quiet place of natural beauty. I am looking forward to exploring the James Herriot Museum tomorrow and especially Castle Howard of which I have read so much and iwhich the BBC TV version of Brideshead Revisited, one of my famous novels of all time, was shot.


Awaking near Thirsk in the village of Sinderby at Glen Free Holmes B&B, we had a full English breakfast served by Alan Bowyer and drove off to Ripon again to find some presents for Chriselle and Chris. I was able to find a little souvenir dish commemorating the Queen’s Golden Jubilee which I decided to use as a tea bag holder when using my new tea set. Also found some lovely 100% lambswool scarves by James Pringle in the Edinburgh Wool Store and was thrilled at the prices we received.

 Then, we headed off to Thirsk to visit The World of James Herriott. To read more about our travels in the Yorkshire, please click on the links below:

World of James Herriott

Castle Howard

Bronte Parsonage, Haworth

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Gardens

York

Royal Deeside Tour

Apr12

Scotland’s Loveliest Landscape

 

We followed the Royal Deeside Driving Tour as detailed in the DK Eyewitness Book and came upon Drum Castle (below left),

 

 

 

 

 

 

now managed by the National Trust of Scotland, a fine medieval building that was associated with Robert The Bruce and his standard bearer to whom he gifted the castle. Back on the road again after taking a couple of pictures, we stopped a little later at Crathes Castle (above right), this one less visible from the car park than was Drum.

Another round and another picture later, we arrived at Ballater (left), a town that lies about 15 minutes from Balmoral Castle which is the residence of the royal family in Scotland. This town, made famous by Queen Victoria, who used it as a railway base for her many trips to Balmoral which she so loved, is full of shops that proudly display their royal warrants on their store fronts as so many of them supply provisions to the royal family. 

Since it was close to 5 pm and we were nowhere near the Castle, I suggested to Llew that we stop to find accommodation. It was at that time I discovered that the Tourist Office right next to the red and yellow picture-perfect Old Royal Station (left) would be able to find us accommodation. I raced there and was relieved to find that despite the fact that every town along the River Dee was packed to the gills with tourists who had arrived to witness the Highland Games that are being played at nearby Lonach, there was actually a place available in the town in a B&B called the Schoolhouse run by Kathleen and Allan Low.

Kathleen (left with Alan) then suggested we have dinner at the Old Station Restaurant and after we stashed our stuff in our room, we went out for a long stroll to explore the lovely little village that had probably not changed at all since Queen Victoria visited these parts and crossed the stone bridge over the River Dee from where we received lovely perspectives of the place.

The ladies in the Tourist Office also informed us that Balmoral Castle and Grounds were closed as the Queen was in residence there with her family enjoying the August holidays. We were disappointed but then they also informed us that if we went at 11. 00 am the next morning to the Castle, we would be able to see the Queen leaving the Castle at 11.30 to go to Church. I asked if we could also attend service in the church and they told me that we could do one or the other—attend the service by getting to the church by 11.00 am or stand behind the police barricade to catch a glimpse of the Queen at 11. 00 am. We decided to do the latter and soon headed to dinner.
Dinner at the restaurant was very good value for money indeed—I had the Scottish salmon with a tomato sauce and creamy mash and Llew had a burger made with rumpsteak and lamb that was gigantic. I also had cider while Llew had red wine. Neither of us had room for dessert. After another quick stroll (it had suddenly turned chilly), we got back to the B&B and had a chat with Allan who runs a volunteer education service in India and Sri Lanka where he was born and sat by a warm fire for a few minutes.

Balmoral and Other Literary Castles–Close Encounters of the Royal Kind:
The day we spent on this leg of our tour was so extraordinary—certainly the most memorable part of our Highland Fling! We awoke in Ballater, the quaint Victorian village of the prettiest kind, at our Schoolhouse B&B where we had a lighter than usual breakfast and set out to see Balmoral Castle and, hopefully, catch a glimpse of the Queen en route to church.

Balmoral Castle:

Since we were a little early, we started off by taking our hostess Kathleen’s advice and going in search of Knock Gallery, just a mile outside Crathie, the village in which Balmoral Castle is located. The reason for the detour to Knock was to see Balmoral Castle from the only point in the entire village of Crathie in which it is visible—in the distance but there, nevertheless, a fairy-tale castle with its Scottish standard flying high and proud to pronounce the fact that the Queen was in residence there (above left). Climbing the hill to Knock, we were rewarded with that glimpse indeed, the only one that would be permitted us on this trip. But if our disappointment needed to be consoled at not being allowed to enter Balmoral or to tour the grounds, it certainly was—over and above our fondest expectations.

Stalking Royals in their Favorite Stomping Grounds:
Returning to Crathie where police and security men were already present and crowds had already started to gather in time for the 11. 30 am service, we parked our car in the car park and climbed the low hill towards Crathie Kirk (Church). Though Kathleen had told me to expect no more than “a dozen, maybe two dozen” folk, the Lonach Games had drawn a sizeable crowd to the region and not being able to enter Balmoral, they were all outside the church, like us, hoping to catch a glimpse of royalty.
So we joined the throngs, finding ourselves a prized spot at the very top of the driveway that sloped gently upwards just behind the chain barricade that was being manned by security men in plainclothes. They were the epitome of politeness and indeed “very relaxed” (as Kathleen told me it would be) as they urged people to stay behind the barricade and put their cameras away. Not having anything better to do, we got into conversation with Carole from Northumberland and her husband who were as excited as I was to see the royal family. The excitement of all the observers was infectious and I felt my excitement mounting too as I waited patiently on what was a truly spectacular day in the Highlands. The sun was out and shone golden upon the conifer covered mountains and the air was crisp and cool and somehow deliciously pure.
Then, at a few minutes before 11. 25, a car pulled up and to my enormous delight, I recognized Camilla wearing a wide brimmed beige hat and a beige outfit. She was smiling warmly. I peaked further into the car expecting to see Prince Charles somewhere and was surprised to find that he was actually driving the car himself. In the back sat a slim and tall women whom I later realized was Sophie Rhyes-Jones, wife of Prince Edward. Prince Charles and Camilla passed by rather quickly in something of a flash but they were easily discernible. Llew thought that it was all over but just then a policewoman came and stood alongside us and excused herself for standing in our pathway. Carole told her that since she was tiny she would be obliged if she would move and she did move aside.
Then, in a few seconds, a lovely long burgundy Rolls Royce came along and all of us knew at once that the Queen would be in that car. The car climbed the hill much slower, driver by a chauffeur and for a long while before it got right in front of us, I saw Prince Edward sitting in the passenger seat and smiling away for all he was worth. In my delight, I began to wave frantically, just so thrilled to be actually seeing these folks whose pictures we have all seen forever. “That’s Prince Edward,” I said for Llew’s benefit so that he would not miss the sight of this lesser royal.
Then, just when it seemed as if my joy would know no bounds, the car stopped, unbelievably, for just a couple of seconds, right in front of us so that I found myself looking directly at the Queen not even two feet in front of me. Resplendent in bright pink silk with a lovely formal pink hat, she wore a double strand of pearls around her neck and large pearl ear-rings. Her hand was raised as she waved—the famous royal wave, that has been satirized in comedy shows for as long as I can remember–and she was smiling brightly and widely and taking in the enthusiasm of the crowds. For all those who have talked about the aloofness of the Queen, her inability to connect with common folk, her remoteness and everything else, all I can say is that for those couple of minutes, she seemed anything but friendly and approachable and truly kind. Seated right besides her was her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, his head stooped slightly to allow him to be seen by the crowds and his hand also raised in a friendly wave. To say that I could not believe my eyes would be an understatement. I was filled with the utmost delight and a true sense of having just witnessed something that I could write home about. Truly it had been worth standing there outside the church and the half hour that we spent waiting patiently there was more than rewarded.

Braemar–Location of the famous Highland Games:

Since no one was allowed about the premises as long as the royal family was inside the church, we got back into our car and drove about 15 minutes to the neighboring village of Braemar, home of the famous Highland Gamers which are scheduled for next weekend. If I thought Ballater was pretty, this village was picture-perfect. Astride the River Dee that bubbled furiously beneath me on the stone bridge that spanned it and built around a number of stone hotels, town halls and a church, this was truly a tourist’s dream. Llew and I strolled around, charmed by every corner before we got back into our car and returned to Crathie.

Visit to Crathie Kirk:

The service was over by this time, the royal family had returned to their secret abode at Balmoral and the congregation was making its way down the hill towards their cars in the parking lot. That gave Llew and me the chance to visit the interior of the church and to pray there for a few minutes before we walked around the pews, saw the one used by the Royal Family right at the front and bought a few postcards by which to remember our recent experience. We saw marble busts of Queen Victoria and Georges V and VI and lovely stained glass windows. I made my way to the Royal Pew which was covered, by this time, with a rich purple slipcover and found, to my astonishment, the printed copies of the service that had been used, not half an hour previously, by members of the Royal Family. Since they just lay there and would certainly have been discarded, I picked one up for my scrapbook, thrilled to know that it had just been used by royalty!

Visit to the Grave of John Brown–Protagonist of the film ‘Her Majesty Mrs Brown’:

The church itself is very tiny, almost cozy, rather dark inside and heavily beamed. Kathleen had also told me about the old graveyard right across the road from Crathie church in which lies buried John Brown, Queen Victoria’s faithful and dedicated groomsman. Her relationship with him following the death of Prince Albert had led to speculation about a possible clandestine relationship between them. Some even allege that they were secretly married though there is no historical evidence to support this conjecture. This became the subject of the excellent film Her Majesty Mrs. Brown in which Dame Judy Dench played Queen Victoria rather superbly.

Of course, Llew and I had to go out in search of his grave and of the prominent gravestone (left) erected in his memory by a grateful Victoria who called him her good and faithful servant. None of this information is available in any of the guidebooks I was carrying with me and were it not for information disclosed by a local, I would have missed this incredibly interesting gem of history that was located not even a few yards from where we had stood in a church in which Queen Victoria had herself once worshipped.

On the Scotch Whisky Trail:
Then, we were on the road again leaded to the Lochnagar Whisky Distillery where we thought we’d take a tour as we had missed the malt whiskey trail earlier on. Unfortunately, the next tour was a good half hour later and since the tour itself took an hour and we were running short of time, we drove on as intended to take in the last bits of the Royal Deeside Tour.

Purple Mountains Majesty:

This, in fact, turned out to be the most unforgettable part of the tour as we passed by gently rolling glens and hills that were entirely covered with heather. The heather was so thick and so profuse that entire mountains in the Cairngorms National Park were covered with them. The heather, the mountains, the river Dee following us along our trail and the heavily wooded slopes combined to create sights that can never be captured by camera. As we wound our way towards Glamis Castle, our next stop, they enchanted us.

Glamis Castle–Supposed Site of Lady Macbeth’s Murder of Duncan:
Glamis Castle (pronounced ‘Ghlams’), long associated with Shakespeare’s Macbeth (again, like Cawdor Castle inaccurately) was amazing and unexpectedly fabulous. We drove along the endless driveway past twin rows of trees that lined both sides and saw the castle slowly come into view. We decided to actually stop there and take a tour both of the interior and the exterior and we were so glad we did.

A lovely guided tour costing £8 per head gave us the services of a superb guide who took us through one room after the other all of which were stacked with the most breathtaking interiors—bedrooms, living rooms, libraries and a private chapel, all filled with furnishings of the most notable kind. Glamis Castle is closely associated with the Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons, the late Queen Mother who was born here and spent her life here until her marriage to the present Queen’s father, born Albert, later George VI. Here is tons of memorabilia associated with her life as a girl including her mother’s bed, the piano that the Queen Mother played as a young lady, her carriage in which she received rides around the castle, etc. The present owners, the Duke and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, who still inhabit the castle look after it very well indeed and there are so many stories about the ghosts that haunt the environs including the one of Lady Jane Grey who was declared a witch and killed. There was so very much to see and admire about the interiors and we thoroughly enjoyed every second of the tour.

Off to a Round of Golf (hahahha) at St. Andrew’s:
Then, we were on the road again, this time headed to St. Andrew’s, home of golf. We reached there about 5. 30 and decided to go out in search of an early dinner. The town is just beautiful, made up of medieval buildings that form the core of the oldest university in Scotland (build in the early 1400s). These converge beautifully in commercial areas where the shops doing modern business still seem rather ancient.

We found a traditional Scottish Angus steak dinner in a bar and enjoyed our meal very much. Then, we headed south towards Dunfermline in search of the Carneil Farm B&B in Carnoch where we were going to spend our last night in Scotland. We got there about 8. 30 pm and gratefully made our way up to the room we had occupied a week ago, just thrilled to have had such a spectacular day.

To follow us on the next leg of our travels in Scotland, please click on the Rosslyn link.

Rosslyn

Apr12

Dan Brown’s Gift to the World

Rosslyn Chapel under heavy repair

Kathleen’s Carneil Farm B&B offered our last full Scottish breakfast which included kippers which are smoked herrings–superb!
The drive which skirted Edinburgh after we crossed the Firth of Forth took us into velvet-smooth green dales on a very drizzly morning under overcast skies.

Rosslyn Chapel–Dan Brown’s Gift to the World:

Our next destination was Rosslyn  Chapel in the town of Roslin made popular in recent times as the final setting for Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code. Though it has been a while since Llew and I had the book and watched the movie, I did remember many of the last parts of the plot that are shot in this chapel and decided that it was worth visiting. I had also read that the carvings inside are exquisite.
Getting there was no picnic what with the rain and the slick roads and the heavy traffic on the motorways. This was contrasted by a quiet one-lane country road that actually got us to the spot where we found the car park filled with tour coaches. It is a bank holiday in Great Britain and many people are out for the weekend. We paid the £7 entrance fee and found the place under heavy fortification with a large metal canopy concealing the roof.

The history of the chapel goes back to the 1400s when it was constructed by William St. Clair. Over the years it has come to be associated with the Knights Templar and the secrets of the Holy Grail and the preservation of various precious items from the history of the Church including the scrolls from the Temple of Solomon. This sort of rumor gave rise to Dan Brown’s purely fictitious novel and has brought all the modern-day pilgrims seeking answers to the puzzles raised by his plot.
The carving is indeed exquisite, done in sandstone and featuring scenes from the Bible, the Seven Deadly Sins, the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy and two interesting pillars, one a square version, the other a rounded one with skeins encircling it. The former was said to have been carved by the Master mason, the other by his apprentice; but since the latter’s was better, the jealous master killed the apprentice. In many ways, the carvings inside the chapel reminded us of the sandstone temples we have seen in India in which the walls appear lace-like because the intricacy of the carvings is so closely wrought. Not surprisingly, Dorothy Wordsworth is supposed to have commented that the inside of the chapel reminded her of Brussels lace.
We went down to the crypt which also featured in the film only to find it empty and certainly not concealing the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalen! We had a superb half-hour lecture by a very good guide indeed and she filled us in on the history as well as the architecture of the chapel. We also climbed up the scaffolding that led us to the same height as the roof and the flying buttresses of the chapel—all being protected while the chapel is undergoing restoration—and found a very interesting perspective on the carvings from that height. We spent over an hour in that hallowed space and thought the visit was completely worthwhile. It is little wonder that when the book first came out, the chapel received 179,000 visitors in one day while today some 1000 visitors still come through each day.

The next leg of our travels took us into Northern England and the Yorskshire Dales. Please click on the link to follow us.

Loch Lomond & Loch Katrine

Apr12

Scotland: Our Highland Fling

On the Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond

The Magnificent Lochs and Glens of the Southern Highlands:
The spectacular day we had in the Highlands more than made up for the disappointments of Glasgow.

On the Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond:
We found our way out of the city of Glasgow fairly easily and arrived on the shores of Loch Lomond within an hour. Making our way towards the western shores for the prettiest village in southern Scotland called Luss, we passed by a few tourist buses and many holiday makers. At Luss, Loch Lomond’s “bonnie, bonnie banks” allowed us to touch the water that softly lapped the shore as kids fed ducks. This is the lake with which every kid is familiar—especially those who have gone through music lessons. Which one of us who learned to play the piano did not play the Scottish song made famous the world over by a Scottish soldier dying far away from home? I had to pinch myself to believe that I was actually on the banks of this celebrated lake.We found the temperature of the water rather chilly and for a souvenir I picked up a small pebble of slate which was the main export of this little village.

It had the cutest little cottages all lined up in neat rows (left), their front facades thick with colorful climbing roses and the famous slate roofs sloping down low and crowned with their chimney pots.

 

Loch Katrine and Loch Achray:
Then, we took a detour towards the western side of the lake driving into Queen Elizabeth Forest Park in the Trossachs which reminded me of the film The Queen and I had to wonder whether the unforgettable scene with the stag in the film was shot in these environs. Certainly the landscape was as spectacular and isolated as shown in the film. Passing by tiny little villages, we stopped a couple of times to browse through their stores and to pick up our little stock of souvenirs.

At Lake Katrine, famous for the novel The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott and the opera of the same name by Lammermoor, we saw the steamship The Walter Scott that has plied these waters since the late 1800s (left). Throughout the area, there are lakes that glisten softly in the weak sunshine. On our way out, we passed by the imposing Tigh Mor, a castle-like building on the banks of Loch Achray, which was for me at least, reminiscent of the setting of the manor in Monarch of the Glen. We were fortunate that though clouds hung low on the mountain tops, there wasn’t much rain, not until we reached Fort William about 4 pm, which afforded Llew perfect driving conditions in the Highlands. The driving was slow and for about ten miles we were on a one-lane bicycle path that needed us to allow oncoming cars to pass in special “passing places” created along the route. The sense of remoteness was complete as we were engulfed it seemed, up to our elbows, in green pastureland and towering peaks. The villages were cute to the point of quaintness and I enjoyed these bits of the drive best of all though they couldn’t have been very easy on Llew.

Glen Coe and the Glen Finnan Viaduct:
The most spectacular part of our travels today was around the area of Glen Coe where the mountain faces of the Cairngorms rose up sharply right in front of our car (left). We saw the famous Glen Finnan Viaduct, which is deeply evocative of the Victorian Age when it was created—a very old arched bridge that spans two mountain slopes on which steam trains still run today and become useful props for films such as the very recent Miss Potter.
The Three Sisters, three magnificent mountains, were clearly evident close to Glen Coe right off the winding road and then we were arriving in Fort William on the banks of Lock Leven when the drizzle began. This entire area is so full of lakes that every time you round a curve in the Highlands, you pass by another picturesque body of water. Since it had started raining by the time we arrived at the tiny town of Fort William, we spent some time browsing through the souvenir stores, got ourselves a take-out tea consisting of scones and hot chocolate (which we ate at Subway and which filled us up so much that we could barely think of dinner) and spent about half an hour in the local library checking our email.


Getting back in our car, we thought we’d try to find our B&B before darkness fell. This lay about four miles north of Fort William in the little village of Bannavie and in a short time, we were at Quaich Cottage B&B (left) run superbly by Ian and Val McDonald who were extraordinarily friendly and offered us a cup of tea upon our arrival. We spent more than two hours chatting with them in their living room that offered a dazzling view of Ben Nevis, the UK’s tallest peak then shrouded in clouds. We met another French couple Isabel and Bruno, fellow-travelers in Scotland, who were staying at the same place.

To follow us on the next leg of our travels, please click on The Isle of Skye.