Thursday, July 24, 2008
The day began a full breakfast at Scotch Corner. We boarded the bus and began a day on roads that clearly weren’t designed for coaches the size of the one we were riding in, let alone one that drives on the left side of the road! Nevertheless, Steve, our bus driver, was masterful at navigating the many turns and dips in the roads we were on throughout the morning and afternoon.
Our first stop was at Hadrian’s Wall. The wall was built across northern England by the Romans beginning in 120 AD, and was used for more than 300 years to mark the north-western-most reaches of the Roman Empire. It was remarkable to be able to stand on top of a section of the wall that still stands. We drove along side the wall for several miles, sometimes over where the wall once stood and sometimes over the road that the Romans built so many years ago. We watched the landscape change as we drove into the English moors. Broad, green hills without trees were dotted with cattle and sheep.
We next moved into a region called The Borders that was the scene of many battles between England and Scotland. This came to a head in the early 16th century when Henry VIII mounted a major campaign, the “Rough Wooing” that was a result of a failed attempt to get a marriage contract between Henry’s son and the infant Mary, Queen of Scotts. Several large, significant abbeys were destroyed in the raids. We visited two of them, neither of which have been rebuilt, but the skeletons of the buildings are still standing. Jedburgh Abbey was the first, with was also the site of an early lunch and some quick shopping. We were able to identify the plaids likely a
ssociated with the Dunnuck family (Dunnachie-Roberson) and Kelly family (MacDonald) in the stores there. The second was Melrose Abbey. We found a grave, by chance, in the cemetery surrounding the church that may indicate that some branch of the Dunnuck family may have been in the area in the 1700’s.
We twisted and turned our way from Melrose to Edinburgh for a two-day’s stay at the Best Western Edinburgh Capital. After settling in (and with Alan and Joyce washing out a few clothing items, we boarded the coach again for another side tour to the Britannia Yacht.
The Britannia was retired in 1997 after 44 years as the Royal Yacht for Queen Elizabeth and her family. It is now permanently established on the Edinburgh waterfront (the Firth of Forth) as a tourist attraction after being donated to a charitable trust. We had a chance to see all parts of the ship, including the quarters
of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillips when they were on board. While the ship is clearly a wonderful and amazing facility, it was surprising to Alan that there was a decent amount of restraint shown in the size and decorations of the boat.
We re-boarded the coach and went to an upscale restaurant, also on the waterfront, for an arranged three-course dinner and some wonderful conversation. After returning to the hotel, Forst checked in with daughter Sandi back home, looked at some of the nearly 1400 pictures that we’ve all taken so far, and, of course, checked the current White Sox scores and standings!
Our first stop was at Hadrian’s Wall. The wall was built across northern England by the Romans beginning in 120 AD, and was used for more than 300 years to mark the north-western-most reaches of the Roman Empire. It was remarkable to be able to stand on top of a section of the wall that still stands. We drove along side the wall for several miles, sometimes over where the wall once stood and sometimes over the road that the Romans built so many years ago. We watched the landscape change as we drove into the English moors. Broad, green hills without trees were dotted with cattle and sheep.
We next moved into a region called The Borders that was the scene of many battles between England and Scotland. This came to a head in the early 16th century when Henry VIII mounted a major campaign, the “Rough Wooing” that was a result of a failed attempt to get a marriage contract between Henry’s son and the infant Mary, Queen of Scotts. Several large, significant abbeys were destroyed in the raids. We visited two of them, neither of which have been rebuilt, but the skeletons of the buildings are still standing. Jedburgh Abbey was the first, with was also the site of an early lunch and some quick shopping. We were able to identify the plaids likely a
ssociated with the Dunnuck family (Dunnachie-Roberson) and Kelly family (MacDonald) in the stores there. The second was Melrose Abbey. We found a grave, by chance, in the cemetery surrounding the church that may indicate that some branch of the Dunnuck family may have been in the area in the 1700’s.We twisted and turned our way from Melrose to Edinburgh for a two-day’s stay at the Best Western Edinburgh Capital. After settling in (and with Alan and Joyce washing out a few clothing items, we boarded the coach again for another side tour to the Britannia Yacht.
The Britannia was retired in 1997 after 44 years as the Royal Yacht for Queen Elizabeth and her family. It is now permanently established on the Edinburgh waterfront (the Firth of Forth) as a tourist attraction after being donated to a charitable trust. We had a chance to see all parts of the ship, including the quarters
of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillips when they were on board. While the ship is clearly a wonderful and amazing facility, it was surprising to Alan that there was a decent amount of restraint shown in the size and decorations of the boat.We re-boarded the coach and went to an upscale restaurant, also on the waterfront, for an arranged three-course dinner and some wonderful conversation. After returning to the hotel, Forst checked in with daughter Sandi back home, looked at some of the nearly 1400 pictures that we’ve all taken so far, and, of course, checked the current White Sox scores and standings!
posted by Alan Welch at
7/24/2008 06:10:00 PM
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