Adventures in Scotland
A Welshie Big Adventure in Scotland Special Edition
Hello Everyone! My name is Roberta and I am excited to share my adventures in Scotland with you. You previously heard from my younger sister, Sofie on her time in England. I am honored to be the second guest writer on my mother's blog.
Wednesday
I arrived in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland on Wednesday morning.
My parents were staying in Gargunnock, a small village about 45 minutes from the airport. Just down the street from our house was the Gargunnock Village Store and a tasty pub called the Gargunnock Inn.
After settling in, we set off on our adventures for the day. Our first stop was Stirling Castle, one of Scotland's most historically significant castles.
This castle sits atop a volcanic crag, and offers a fantastic view of the surrounding area. We learned that the castle is associated with Mary, Queen of Scots, who spent her early childhood there and was crowned in the castle's Chapel Royal in 1542.
After that, we explored downtown Stirling, including Stirling Old Town Jail and The Church of the Holy Rude. Stirling jail opened in 1847, and we learned that it was created as a last ditch effort to reform and re-educate criminals. Interestingly, The Church of the Holy Rude is named after the Holy Rood, a relic of the True Cross Jesus was crucified on.
Thursday
Today we began our adventures by visiting Scone Palace. This castle is located near the village of Scone and city of Perth, Scotland. It is famously known as the historic crowing place of many Scottish monarchs.
Today, Scone Palace is owned by the Earls of Mansfield. Inside the palace we saw The Stone of Destiny, a block of red sandstone that has served as a powerful symbol of the Scottish monarchy. Historically, this stone was used to inaugurate Scottish kings, and it has sat beneath the Coronation Chair for almost every English and British monarch.
My favorite part of the Scone Palace was seeing the vast amount of peacocks wandering the property.
Apparently, the peacocks were brought to the palace by the original owners, who were exotic bird enthusiasts, and they have lived there ever since. After touring the palace, we walked in the palace gardens.
After leaving Scone Palace, we headed to Branklyn Garden, a National Trust for Scotland site. We enjoyed afternoon tea amongst the beautiful botanics, and then headed back to Gargunnock for dinner.
Friday
Today we woke up bright and early and took the train from Stirling to the city of Edinburgh. We spent a very rainy day on a walking tour of historical sites such as The Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle.
The tour began at St. Giles' Cathedral, which is one of the three cathedrals in Edinburgh. In front of the cathedral, we saw the Mercat Cross, a tall structure that marks the center of Parliament Square.
Atop the Mercat Cross sits a Unicorn, which is the national animal of Scotland. Carved on the cross are shields, and most notably there is a shield bearing the Scottish coat of arms.
In Scotland, the unicorn is placed on the left, representing power, and the lion is placed on the right, representing the English monarchy. This positioning is reversed in the official UK Royal Coat of Arms, as the left (or right-sided position from the animal's perspective) is considered the most honorable.
Outside of St. Giles' Cathedral is a heart-shaped mosaic called the "Heart of Midlothian". This mosaic marks the site of Edinburgh's Old Tolbooth, the location of the city's jail and execution site. We learned that people often spit upon the mosaic, an action which is said to bring good luck.
Next, we saw the Court of Session, or the Supreme civil court of Scotland. We learned that this court operates independently from the English legal system.
After that, we walked along Victoria Street, which is also known as Edinburgh's real-life "Diagon Alley". It is said that J.K Rowling gained her inspiration for Harry Potter's Diagon Alley here.
We then headed up to Edinburgh Castle to hear the famous 1:00pm gun fire. Historically, the sound of the gun firing would give sailors an idea of what time of day it was. We ended our visit by exploring the castle grounds and surrounding shops. After a busy day, we headed home for dinner at the local pub in Gargunnock.
Saturday
Today we drove back to Edinburgh to hike to the top of an ancient extinct volcano. Located in Holyrood Park, the volcano is called, "Arthur's Seat" and it offers fantastic views from the summit.
We brought along my parent's two dogs, Maisie and Winston to enjoy the scenery and hike as well. The terrain was manageable, albeit some rock-scrambling, and it took us less than an hour to reach the summit.
Before heading home, we stopped by the Kelpies, a pair of massive steel horse-heads designed by Andy Scott. The Kelpies are 98 feet tall and weigh approximately 300 tonnes. They were built to honor the Clydesdale horses that powered Scottish canals and industries.
Sunday
Today was very exciting as we attended Scotland's premier agricultural and rural life event, the Royal Highland Show.
Featuring over 4,000 animals, people come from near and far to see top-tier livestock, farming machinery, equestrian competitions, and country sports such as pole climbing.
We started off the day by watching the Sheep Young Handlers competitions. Each contestant wrangles their sheep and tries to show the highest level of control of their animal.
Next, we saw a pole climbing competition, where tree surgeons raced each other up an extremely tall wooden pole.
We then headed back to the main ring to see all of the cattle and horses parade by in the main ring. It was incredible to the see the variety of different breeds of animals in the ring at one time.
After the parade, we saw the Clydesdale horse competition, followed by show jumping. Watching the show jumping competition was a real treat as none of us had seen this event before. We were in awe of the control each rider had over their horse, and how high and far they had to jump to clear the obstacle.
After a busy day at the Royal Highland Show, we headed back to Gargunnock for Father's Day Sunday Roast dinner. Sunday Roast is a traditional meal featuring chicken or beef served with roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and roasted vegetables.
I had the most marvelous time in Scotland and I was incredibly sad for my time in Europe to come to an end. I am so thankful to be given the opportunity to spend time with my parents and explore the place they had learned to call home.
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