A Proper British Day Out

Mike is in Seattle right now but did that stop me from getting out and about? Nope. :) Well, maybe I'm overstating my bravado. After all, yesterday I drove the furthest I've driven in the last nine months! But--yay me, I did it. 

Our proper British day included: Wellies and warm jackets, a drive through the countryside, a walk along the coast, sheep, a castle, 4:00 scones and tea, a day that started out rainy and ended up brilliantly sunny, a gorgeous big-sky sunset, and toad-in-the-hole with peas for dinner.

The boys and I drove up the A1 highway to get to Dunstanburgh Castle, just outside the seaside village of Craster.

The fall colors as we drive into the town of Craster were just lovely.

The harbor and the village, straight ahead. Turn a sharp left for the 2-mile
footpath to the castle.

We're about halfway there, and it's still a long way to go. The misty air and brisk
wind coming off the sea made the walk quite "bracing," as they say here.

Hoods up, heads down, and hands in pockets
against the cold and wind. They're good lads!

As we approached the castle, we had to cross over the
meres (shallow swampy freshwater lakes) which
surround the castle on three sides. When the castle
was in use, the meres were filled with water channeled from
a nearby spring. They were  connected to create a moat and
were used for stocking and breeding freshwater fish .

The boys couldn't believe that we were walking right through
the sheep fields. The sheep were tame, but skittish. They'd
let us get within five to 10 feet of them.

Walking through the gatehouse, originally built in 1313
and fortified in the 19th century. The boys are getting
ready to go into the small gatekeeper's room.

Inside the gatehouse, we climbed three stories of spiral staircase to get to
the top. Here, we look back along the track we walked through the cow and
sheep fields. You can see the village of Craster in the distance. 

Turn 180 degrees and here's the opposite view: The Lilburn Tower, at
the northern-most spot along the castle grounds. The tower was named
for Sir John de Lilburn, a notorious local bandit and, briefly, a constable
of Dunstanburgh.

Three stories down to the bottom of the gatehouse floor.

The sun is coming out! The sun is coming out!
Merrit takes a peep through the arrow slit in the wall.

Helping Ollie up. They are such good brothers. (Most of the time.)

Back on the ground now. We are exploring along the east wall of the castle,
which includes the Constable's Tower, the Egyncleugh ("Eagle's Ravine") Tower. These
bits of the castle were finished around 1351. There are half walls where interior rooms
would have been, and geological surveys show that there are more like this buried under
the turf. The Constable's Tower was originally three stories high and the Egyncleugh
Tower was two stories high and included a separate entrance with a drawbridge. 

It seems like the kids really never stop moving, but every now and then, they'll
 stop long enough to appreciate a view. A rare moment here, captured on film.

Yes, a posed picture. But the light was great and they looked so cute in their
royal blue jackets and Wellies.

Balancing.

Climbing.

Walking.

Directing.

The boys decide to bushwhack our way over to
the Lilbburn Tower.

Ollie struggled a bit with the tall grass.

...But Merrit helped him up when he needed a hand.

...And he kept a sense of humor throughout.

The view north from the Lilburn Tower, including part of a golf course (don't
know which one). What a great course to play, huh? 

Ollie being silly.

Walking back to the gatehouse now. The sun is
getting low in the sky. 

Time to go. We have a long walk back to the village
and our parked car. And more than an hour's drive
home again. At this point, I'm actually worried
about Ollie's stamina, hoping I don't end up having
to piggy-back him for some or all of the two
miles back to the village of Craster!

The best view of the castle gatehouse. Most towers when this castle were
built had square towers, so the fact that these are round is noteworthy.
The wall to the right is the east wall and extends all the way down to the
North Sea. Originally these two towers were three stories high with an
additional two stories of battlements.

Ollie with sheep, the Constable's Tower, and the east wall in the background.

The boys getting their goofies out.

These sheep are, like, posing for us! They even bleated on cue.
They must be on the payroll. :)

You knew they were going to chase them, of course, didn't you?

A few pictures back in the village of Craster: 

The Shoreline Cafe, where the boys had fruit scones
and I had a cup of tea. They had a log fire burning when
we walked in. Ahhh, perfect!

Goodbye, Craster and Dunstanburgh Castle.

Oh, and what's Toad-in-the-Hole, you ask? I'll tell you in Merrit's words: "It's basically Yorkshire pudding with a sausage baked inside it. Fork a hole into the Yorkshire pudding and just pull out the sausage. I really liked them, they were really good--even though Mommy burned them, just a little."

The Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle, and the Castle Rock

After we got off the train, we met up with a friend of Jer's named Tom (our most awesome tour guide for the day!), grabbed breakfast at McDonald's, and followed Tom as he took us through the city and up the Royal Mile, the road that leads up to Edinburgh Castle.

Here's Tom. Mike, Jer, and Tom all played in the same pool league a few years
back. Tom and his wife Catherine moved to Edinburgh about 8 months ago.

The Royal Mile is a succession of streets that form
the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh's Old Town.  The Royal Mile
is almost a mile long and runs from Holyrood Abbey to
the top of the Castle Rock, at the entrance of the castle.
The streets that make up the Royal Mile are (west to east)
Castle Esplanade, Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street,
Canongate and Abbey Strand. This is the Old Town's
busiest tourist street. (thanks, Wikipedia)

Walking up the steady incline to the castle.

Ollie's tuckered out and it's not even 11:00am yet. This does not bode well for
the long day ahead! :)

The gatehouse, built in 1888 with the sole purpose of making the castle look
more imposing. It replaced a much simpler 17th-century gate. 

This is a bronze statue of Sir William Wallace, added in
1929. (Also known as "Braveheart," played by Mel Gibson.)
There is no record that Wallace ever visited the castle, though.
(details about the castle in this post are taken from the guidebook
we bought that day)

The castle's Porticullis Gate, built in 1573. It originally
had four barriers--an iron porticullis and three pairs
of wooden doors. The doors are gone now.

The iron porticullis.

We lost Merrit for a minute, then we realized
that the hoodie he was wearing is like
castle camouflage!

Once  you get through the gatehouse, you realize that this isn't one building,
but really a small city. At right, old cartsheds that have been converted into
a cafe and gift shop. Straight ahead, the governor's house, built in 1742.
And behind that, the barracks, built in 1799 to house 600 soldiers and still
a working barracks. (Believe it or not, the castle is a working
military base to this day!)

Walking up the cobblestone street, the governor's house on our right and
Foog's Gate on our left.

Foog's Gate, which was added in the 17th century to refortify the castle.

It's a big hill for a little kid.

The city of Edinburgh in the distance, with the Firth of Forth in the far distance.

We hooked up with a guided tour already in session. In the background,
the Scottish National War Memorial.

We're standing in Crown Square, at the heart of the castle. This courtyard was
built in the late 15th century. The Crown Square had four important buildings
surrounding it: The Crown Palace, the Great Hall, the Royal Gunhouse,
and St. Mary's, the castle church. The gunhouse and the church have long been
destroyed, and have been replaced by the Queen Anne building and the
Scottish National War Memorial. 

The Crown Palace, where the royal family used to live.
Now it houses the crown jewels of Scotland, which we saw!
But we weren't allowed to photograph them.

Emmie made a little friend! (The Queen Anne building in the background.)

It was blessedly protected from the wind in the Crown Square. Behind us, the
Royal Palace. At left, the Scottish National War Memorial.

Emmie learns about Papal Dispensations, on our way into
the vaulted, guarded room where Scotland's crown jewels
are kept. Actually, it's called the Honors of Scotland--the crown,
the sceptre, and the sword of state.

Just before we go into the room where the Honors of Scotland
are on display. There are bronze reproductions, true to size, on
display that you can see and touch (and photograph).

Interesting story: The jewels were hidden away in a secret
crown room behind a brick wall in 1707. Sir Walter Scott, in 1818,
on a hunch, requested and was granted royal approval to break
down the wall in search of the crown, sceptre, and sword. He
was right, and the Honors of Scotland were found after 111
years in hiding.

Found this picture online.


Also in the room is what's known as the Stone of Destiny.
It has been used, for centuries, as the seat on which the Scottish
kings were enthroned at Scone, near Perth. Then in 1296 it was
taken forcibly by the English and kept in Westminster Abbey,
where it was used in the coronation ceremonies of most of the
monarchs of England, and from 1714, all the sovereigns of Great
Britain. It's now back in Scotland.

Found this picture online.

Inside the Great Hall, which was built in 1511. This
medieval roof is one of the most important in Britain.

The Great Hall was used for ceremonies of all sorts. Now lots of arms are on
display here.

Back outside, in the Crown Square, Ollie poses on a lion sculpture.

Then they all pose with the unicorn sculpture. The lion and the unicorn
stand on either side of the door to the Scottish National War Memorial.

These empty guard rooms that flank the door
to the Scottish National War Memorial represent
and honor the dead. The boys just thought it
was fun to get inside them.

The Scottish are famous for their love of dogs, as evidenced by this little
dog cemetery, which is built into part of the castle wall. Regimental
mascots and officers' pets are buried here.

Inside St. Margaret's Chapel. This can still be rented out for weddings, if you
can believe it, though it only holds about 24 guests. A pretty penny, I bet!

The view from the courtyard outside St. Margaret's Chapel, which is the
oldest building in the castle and in Edinburgh.

Another stunning view.

Arthur's Seat, about a miles east of Edinburgh Castle.

Goodbye, Edinburgh Castle. And now...off to find some lunch!