Arran, Glasgow, York and Nottingham

After breakfast on Saturday morning (June 25), after which I was ill again--but I am getting used to it--we checked out of the Auchrannie Spa Resort and left to meet another friend of Peter's from Oxford at the trailhead to Goatfell near Brodick Castle.  Charlotte (Charlie) Proby was another of the intrepid members of the Sahara Expedition in the late 1970's.  She now lives in Scotland with her husband, Stephen Hay, and most of their four children.  Their son Matthew had entered the ArranMan Middle Distance Triathlon, and various family were on the island for the weekend to provide moral support, including his parents, his Aunt Chrissy (Charlie's twin sister), her daughter Lucy and his girlfriend Anna.  Peter, Matthew and Katya joined Charlie, Stephen and Lucy for a strenous hike to the top of Goatfell (874 meters) over a total distance of seven miles.

Stephen, Charlie, Katya, Lucy, Peter and Matthew on top of Goatfall

Since Liz had to leave the island early in the afternoon, Chrissy was dealing with a bad ankle and I was not in top health, the three of us decided on a less challenging walk on the west side of the island on the Machrie Moor to see the remains of stone circles dating back to about 1700 B.C.  Six circles are visible; some are made of granite boulders while others are tall redstone pillars.  The sun was shining and I did not even need a fleece jacket!  (In fact, it did not rain that whole day--Hallalujah!)

Liz and Chrissy at Machrie Moor

Because Liz had to catch the ferry back to the mainland at 2 p.m., we arrived back near Brodick a little after 1 o'clock.  I took a blanket Liz had very kindly loaned us for the weekend, sat on the beach and read (although not in a swim suit but covered from ankles to neck in warm clothing) for about an hour.  At three o'clock, I walked across the road to the Wineport Bistro by the Arran Brewery, where the returning hikers were gathering.  Peter, Matthew and Katya were the last to arrive; Katya's shorter legs (The Proby/Hay crowd are tall and willowy.) made it difficult for her to keep up.  We all had tea and desserts as we relaxed at a table on the lawn.

We then all met up at 5:30 in Lamlash for a delicious dinner (Matthew had haggis for the second or third time; he likes it!) and good conversation.  We admired the late afternoon sunlight on the sailboats in the bay and Holy Isle behind them before we said our goodbyes.

Lamlash Bay and Holy Isle

The four of us then headed for the north end of the island, where we stayed at a lovely youth hostel in the quaint village of Lochranza.  Peter and I took a walk to observe the swan's nest on the other side of the road in the bog and see the ruins of Lochranza Castle (that originally was constructed in the 13th century and added to in the 16th century).  As the daylight slowly faded, we were surprised and delighted to be entertained by a local man who was standing by the water playing his bagpipes, who seemed to be playing just for his own pleasure.  What a lovely end to a gorgeous day!

Lochranza

Bagpiper and Lochranza Castle

On Sunday morning (June 26), Peter and I got up earlier than the kids.  Peter managed to spot Matthew Hay racing by on his bike, and then he and I observed the swans again and strolled past the castle to the ferry dock.

Nesting swan, Lochranza

When we returned to the hostel, the kids had gotten up and gotten ready, so we drove a short distance around the other side of the lock to walk along a shoreside track to see the Hutton Unconformity. At the trailhead we spotted a couple of red deer and a harbor seal, bagging two of Scotland's "Big 5" animals at once.  (The other three are the golden eagle, the otter and, yes, the diminuitive red squirrel.)

Red deer

In 1787, at Newton Point, Scottish geologist James Hutton, who had been puzzling about dissimilarities in layers of rock for 25 years, was walking with some friends when he noticed that eroded schist, a coarse-grained, Precambrian metamorphic rock was juxtaposed with an overlying layer of younger red sandstone from the Lower Carboniferous subperiod.  The unconformity represents time during which no sediments were preserved, so a part of the geological record is missing.  Hutton's discoveries and theories formed the basis for modern geology.

Hutton Unconformity at Newton Point

Peter found a little-used narrow path a bit further back from the shore through the bracken for part of our return route.  Personally, I preferred the open views of the shoreline, but I did discover a large, lovely black and yellow dragonfly among the fronds.

Black and yellow dragonfly

As we were walking, I mentioned that the cave where Robert the Bruce observed the spider that gave him inspiration for persevering in the war of independence against the British was further down the western coast of the Isle of Arran.  We decided we had just enough time before the 2:00 ferry to Androssan to do the the 3 mile roundtrip hike.  Protected with insect repellent from the midges and with raingear from the elements, Peter, Matthew and I set off through the pine forest.  (Katya was tired and chose to stay in the car for a nap.)  At the beginning, the misty view stretched out across fields filled with sheep and the dark water over to the Kintyre Peninsula. The scenery in Scotland is really beautiful, particularly if your preference is for a limited palette of gray and green.

Composition in Gray and Green

Actually, there are occasional highlights; unfortunately, they did not occur frequently enough to lift the somber mood.

Heather adding a bit of brightness to the trail

Walking over the undulating trail and down to the shore, the dampness changed to mist and then to steady, light rain as we found the caves in the bottom of the cliffs on a ledge above the shore.  By this juncture, we were quite pressed for time and had to debate whether to go back the way we came or continue on the loop trail.  We forged ahead, climbing up the steep cliff and making our way through the forest to the carpark.  Matthew raced ahead and Peter patiently kept me in sight.  I am usually the slowest hiker since my legs are shorter, and days of sickness had not increased my stamina.  Even with my new high-tech rain jacket, the cold and dampness permeated my whole body, but particularly my legs, where my soaking jeans clung to skin covered in goosebumps.  And annoying flies buzzed around my head as water dripped from the peak of my hood in front of my face.  Misery, misery!  Katya, who should have been comfortable in the car, had not fared well either.  It had been cold, and the rain prevented her from venturing out of the car to get a blanket from the trunk, so she had been unable to sleep.

We couldn't get out of there fast enough, in my opinion, because of the dreariness.  But we also had to rush to reach the ferry.  We took the road that bisects the island from west to east at breakneck speed (considering the narrowness and winding nature of the lane) and arrived at the designated time for lining up to board.  We had really eaten nothing all day, so we had been looking forward to food on the ferry, and we were quite satisfied with the hot lunches we were able to purchase.

We arrived back at Liz's welcoming flat around 4:30.  Most of her luncheon guests--her graduate students--were still there having tea and drinks.  The day had worn me out, so I excused myself for a nap, but Peter, Matthew and Katya joined them for conversation.  (Matthew, I understand, also enjoyed sampling various whiskies with them.)  By the time I woke up, the crowd had left.  Liz managed to pull together another delicious meal in the evening from leftovers and a few other dishes, and we helped her polish off most of the food.

Liz is such a gracious hostess and lovely friend that we regretted having to continue on our travels, but on Monday morning (June 27), we packed up and departed before 10 a.m.  Luckily, there was a hiatus in the rainy weather.  The kids still wanted to shop for souvenirs in Scotland, so we went first to the nearby Kelvingrove Museum to try the museum shop.  Unfortunately, most of the items reflected the collections rather than Scottish heritage, so we decided to try downtown.

Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow

Along Buchanan Street, we found a shop with Scottish souvenirs that were reasonably priced.  Matthew purchased a tam and Katya chose a trivet with a Celtic design.  We got in the car around noon, just as the rain started pouring.  It continued to rain hard as we drove south to York.  The rain miraculously ceased when we arrived there, although the skies did not brighten.  We parked outside the city by fields recently fertilized with manure.  The smell was disgusting!  However, York is a lovely old walled city by the Ouse River.  Because of the lack of external light from the heavens, the stained glass windows did not show to their full advantage on the interior, and the nave was set up with bleachers to accommodate a large audience for the season of the mystery plays, so the beauty of the soaring gothic arches was diminished.  We chose to walk along the old streets and admire the architecture of the public buildings along the winding, narrow pedestrian streets.  There are remnants of structures from the Roman era, when York was a strategic fortification, as well as examples of Tudor, Edwardian, and other period styles.  It was cold outside, and we needed food and tea, but, for some reason, most tea shops seemed to be closed or closing around 4 p.m. so we were forced to grab something to eat at the chain, Pret et Manger.  (Nothing looked appetizing to me, so I just had hot chocolate to try to get warm.)  We ended our brief stop in York by strolling through the museum garden, which was actually pleasant (if not warm).

Streets of York and York Minster

We then continued our drive to Nottingham for a two night stay with Peter's brother Mike and his family.  When we arrived, dinner of lasagna was ready.  Along with Mike, Louise and their two children Hannah and Simon, we were joined by Rob and Susan's daughter Immie, who is studying at the University of Nottingham this summer to begin her two-year teacher certification program.  She will be teaching Spanish to young teens at a low performing school in Lincoln.

The next day (Tuesday, June 28), we had a lie-in and a lazy morning.  In the afternoon, as rain threatened, the four of us walked with Louise and Simon through their town of Beeston to the University of Nottingham, where Louise is on the faculty.  It is an attractive campus, and we made our way across it to the Engineering building.  Louise gave us a tour of some of the areas, and we got a chance to see the displays and talk with the graduate students who will be at the Royal Society in London next week for the annual Summer Science Exhibition featuring cutting edge innovations.  Their focus was on the use of polymers in medical applications.

After that, we went to the Lakeside Arts Center, where we enjoyed afternoon tea as the rain began to fall again.  We spent some time at a small exhibit on British travelers to Europe before the 20th century and then darted across to another building where we viewed an exhibition of works by MFA students.  The rain was even heavier when we walked the block to the tram station where we picked up the public transport that took us to within a couple blocks of their home.

After Mike arrived home from work, Mike, Louise and Simon (unfortunately, Hannah had to work that evening) walked with us to the Victoria, a red brick pub by the train station.  Immie met us there.  We loved the atmosphere, and the food and drink was superb.

Matthew, Mike, Louise, Simon, Katya, Immie, Sherri and Peter at the Victoria Pub

The eight of us had a great time there, and then we walked back to the house, where we got involved in a lively game of Uno.  With each hand, Simon added house rules that made the game more lively and more cut-throat.  It was sometimes hilarious and sometimes intense.

This morning (June 29), we packed up once again, loaded the car in the pouring rain and set off for London.  (Where is the sun?)  When we reached the ring road, we detoured to the town of Potters Bar, where Peter's paternal grandparents lived.  Dodging raindrops, we made it to a restaurant, where everyone but me had fish and chips.  (I only had chips, because there were no vegetarian options.)  Afterwards, we drove along the road where his grandparents' house was, but Peter couldn't be sure where it was or if it was still there.  We then drove to the home of Wendy Sykes and Don Fisher and their family in the north of London.  Peter and I will stay here for two nights and help get the kids settled in and oriented.  Then we will abandon them for a week to join our friends from the States, Paula and Andrew, on the canal boat they are renting for four months this summer.  They are near or perhaps in Wales at this time; we have yet to establish a definite rendezvous point.  

We have just finished a dinner of pasta and a salad, and I must rejoin the family.  (Whew!  I am caught up!)

Isle of Arran, Scotland

Liz and I set off at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning (June 24), driving out of Glasgow and through the countryside to the town of Androssan, where we caught the 9:45 ferry for Brodick on the Isle of Arran.  Skies were clear when we left, but it was raining when we arrived.  We decided, therefore, to make our first stop Brodick Castle, the previous summer home of the Dukes of Hamilton, now owned by the Scottish Trust.  We spent a good deal of time touring the rooms of this Victorian Highlands estate and gathering an abundance of information from the gracious and friendly guides in each room as well as the placards for adults and children.  The adult information sheets provided the names and styles of artwork and furnishings as well as a bit of family history, while the children's sheets provided insight into such things as how sugar loaves were made, where secret compartments are located and the lives of the young servants.  The Hamiltons obviously had much wealth and a fine collection of ornate furniture, china, silver and paintings by such artists as Fragonard, Watteau, and Herrick.  In addition to the Hamilton collections, Brodick Castle displays fine silver, china and furniture collected by William Beckford, the heir to a Jamaican sugar fortune.  His only heir, Susan Beckford, married Alexander, the 10th Duke of Hamilton, in 1810, and she inherited the family estate and collections when William died in 1844.  The beauty and richness of the combined collections is truly stunning.  (Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the castle.)

Brodick Castle

Since I was finally feeling like eating, we stopped for a small lunch in the castle tearoom.  By the time we were ready to leave the castle, the rain had stopped, so we were able to stroll through parts of the Country Park.  I find the Bavarian summer house overlooking Brodick Bay to be charming.  This, along with three others, was built (as well as new additions to the castle) by the 11th Duke of Hamilton for his wife, Princess Marie Amelie of Baden to make her feel more at home, even though they spent most of their time in Paris and Baden.  The interior walls and ceilings of the summer house are decorated in geometric patterns using pine cones and other natural objects.

Ceiling of the Bavarian summer house at Brodick Castle

The formal walled garden was particularly lovely and well-maintained.  From it, the bay could be viewed as well as the castle rising above the garden.

Brodick Castle from the formal garden

With the Brexit referendum vote to leave the EU of the day before, the value of the pound to  the U.S. dollar dropped to a low level, so I took advantage of the favorable exchange rate to purchase souvenirs in the Scottish Trust gift shop.  Not having heard from Peter, Katya and Matthew, Liz and I decided to do some more exploring on our own.  It began to rain, so we contented ourselves with admiring the views from the shore side road as we passed through Lamlash to the south of Brodick.  By the time we reached the next town, Whiting Bay, the rain had ceased, so we stopped to take photos of Holy Isle across the bay and visit a gallery that had many beautiful pieces of art in various media.  We continued traveling around the southern end of the Isle of Arran and up the southwest side to Blackwaterfoot, where we turned inland and went east across the island, back to Brodick.

Holy Isle from Whiting Bay

Liz and I arrived at our hotel only shortly before Peter, Katya and Matthew.  After we settled into our rooms and sat a while for a chat, we walked into the heart of Brodick to find a place for dinner.  The first restaurant we tried was booked for the evening, so we ended up at the Brodick Brasserie, where we enjoyed delicious food in a pleasant setting.  Now, at nearly 10 p.m., the sky is still bright.  Night is probably still an hour away, but it's bedtime for us.

The Cotswolds, the Lake District and Glasgow

Our days have been so busy that I have been unable to find time to create new posts for this blog for days.  Yes, I could have sacrificed sleep, but there are limits!  Now, I sit in Liz Tanner's large and lovely flat in the fashionable and historic West End of Glasgow perforce. Last night, my illness of two weeks ago, which was left alone to run its course, returned with a vengeance. There is a well worn path now from the guest room where Peter and I are staying and the loo. The five of us were planning to depart this morning for Ft. William to enjoy the countryside and see the Jacobite (Harry Potter) Train.  Instead, only three left--Peter, Katya and Matthew. Supplied with Pepto-Bismol, loratadine and electrolye fluids, I was left in the capable hands of Liz, who is forteiting a day of sightseeing to care for me and catch up with work and things around her house. She and I will leave tomorrow morning to meet up with them on the Isle of Arran, where we will spend the weekend.

And, so, as the sun shines warmly on the streets of Glasgow, I am curled up in a corner of the couch in the spacious sitting room, gazing out the leaded windows to the stately red sandstone homes across the street which mirror Liz's building.  I would rather be doing and seeing things than writing about them, but for every thing there is a season!  Let's go back . . . .

I stopped my reports and reflections in the middle of Sunday afternoon, June 19, as we had arrived at the country home of Andrew della Casa and his wife Leonie Brown.  After introductions to their three young children, Olivia, Aurelia and Nick, Andrew, along with Olivia and Nick, took the four of us on the high-powered electric golf course they use to see the countryside and the pens where pheasants and partridges are reared and kept for organized hunting parties.  We were able to observe a few roe deer, including a young one hidden in the tall grasses that we almost ran over.

We were supposed to be as quiet as possible on the expedition in order to increase our chances of seeing wildlife, but Nick had constant questions and comments.  I was touched at one point when, after Andrew had answered a question, Nick asked, "Daddy, do you know everything?"  I remembered those days when Matthew would have held the same belief, constrasting to the teenage years, when the sentiment is more, "Don't you know anything?"

The Cotswolds

The vistas were fabulous but Matthew, who was already suffering from a cold, reacted badly to all the pollen that was stirred up by our drive.  By the time we returned to the house, his nose was streaming and his eyes were red and partly swollen shut.  It was the worst allergic reaction he had ever had.  Nevertheless, in true British fashion, he carried on and bore up well with his discomfort, managing to enjoy a delicious light vegetarian lunch that Leonie had prepared while we were out.  We were joined at lunch by an old friend of Andrew's (and Nick's godfather) from Scotland, who regaled us with hunting stories as well as the tale of an unfortunate and serious injury sustained by his wife, which, at the time, he did not take seriously enough.  I was simultanaeously appalled at his cavalier attitude and amused with his pacing of the story and turns of phrase.

Matthew, Katya, Leonie, Aurelia, Olivia, Nick, Andrew, Sherri and Peter at Hall Grove

A few hours passed by pleasantly and quickly, and it was well after 4:00 when we departed, facing a long drive to the Lake District.  (Long by British Isles standards, at least; it was only about 200 miles.)  The predominant English weather--rain--set in shortly after we began, so the beautiful countryside was somewhat obscured by gray mistiness.  Our hotel in Ambleside was warm and welcoming, however, with large and comfortable rooms.

We slept well and on Monday morning (June 20), we enjoyed another large English breakfast in a swish dining room before setting off to explore the town.  The dark stone buildings lining the winding streets are covered with old slate roofs which were carefully constructed with the size of the slate tiles decreasing as the roof ascended. Flowers overflow from window boxes and gardens.  And occasionally, we saw artistically created sheep, colorful sculptures in storefronts and along the streets that are part of a public art  program called Go Herdwick, in Cumbria, that is giving local artists a venue for artistic expression.  We only saw a few of the flock of 60 ewes that have been commissioned for display this year.

Ewegenie Baathsheebaa

We walked a mile down to the head of Lake Windemere, the largest lake in England, where beautiful and highly varnished old wooden rowboats lined the shore and elegant steamers came and went from the dock, taking tourists on excursions.  This area was one beloved by William Wordsworth, the Romantic poet, who opposed the introduction of steamers in the 19th century, believing they would be intrusive and disruptive within the rustic landscape.

Wooden rowboats and a small steamer on Lake Windemere in Ambleside

We took another road back up the hill, past some real sheep, and stopped in St. Mary's Church, a Gothic Revival structure, the spire of which soars above the other buildings in the central part of Ambleside.  The stained glass windows were vivid and richly hued, providing elegance to an otherwise simple interior design.

Stained glass windows in St. Mary's

After checking out of the hotel, we pick up some lunch items and walked from the center of town along the rambling course of Stock Ghyll (stream), stopping by an enchanting weir for our picnic.  Luckily, we decided to explore a bit further, following the signs to the waterfall, Stock Ghyll Force, which tumbles down 70 feet in several white cascades.

Stockghyll Force

Perhaps the path used to be a toll road.  Peter discovered an interesting tree stump that must represent the self-serve toll collection booth.  We can only assume that toll trolls lay in wait to harrass anyone who tried to sneak by without inserting the correct coins.

Toll collection stump by Stock Ghyll path

Again we headed north, driving by the lovely lakes nestled among the rugged crags and fells to arrive at the larger town of Keswick.  While the three others napped in the car (Vacationing can be exhausting!), I explored the center part of town on foot.  It has a large pedestrian-only area with a lovely ambiance.  With miles to go before we could sleep, we continued on through intermittant sun and rain toward Glasgow--unfortunately, not on winding and scenic country roads but on the M6, an efficient but boring stretch of highway through the North.

We are quite far north now, so the days are longer than we are used to--but that means that we arrived well before sunset, to be greatly warmly by Liz Tanner, Peter's longtime friend from Oxford.  She lives, as I mentioned above, on a pleasant street with flats and houses constructed of large red sandstone blocks, sitting behind sandstone walls separating lovely, lush little gardens from the pavement (sidewalk).  It is an ideal location from which to explore the city of Glasgow.  After enjoying a delectable dinner--including fish for the omnivores and cheese souffle for me--we talked for a while and then retired for the night.

As the forecast for Tuesday, June 21, indicated that rain was unlikely, we chose that day to visit places outside the central city.  First we went to Stirling Castle, constructed on an easily defensible volcanic plug from which the surrounding countryside can be seen for miles in all directions.

View of the surrounding area and the Wallace Monument from Stirling Castle

We wondered around the outer fortifications, the grounds and the museum displays in the castle, the palace, the Chapel Royal and the Great Hall, all constructed by different Scottish monarchs from the 12th through the 17th centuries.  It was a place where the kings and queens and their courts enjoyed security, comfort and various entertainments in the highest fashion.

Exterior of the Great Hall of Stirling Castle

The buildings are arranged around an Inner Close.  One of the earliest still intact is the ochre-colored Great Hall, completed in 1503 by King James IV of the Scots for celebrations and state occasions, the largest secular space in the kingdom.  High leaded glass windows in two bays at the head of the room allow light to stream in.  Each window represents a noble family or clan of the time.

Windows in the Great Hall

James V, married a French noblewoman, Mary of Guise, and build an ornate and expensive palace with separate chambers for himself and his wife.  Each of these sections include a large bedroom, an outer chamber where guests waited and hoped to be admitted into the inner chamber for an audience with the monarch.  James V died in 1542, before construction and decorations were complete.  The infant Mary Queen of Scots was coronated in 1543 in the King's Chambers.

Of particular interest is the ceiling in the King's Inner Chamber, which is decorated with the Stirling Heads.  (The present array are recreations of the original boldly painted carved wooden discs.)  James V specifically designed this ceiling to convey his status, his right to rule and his connections.  Included are likenesses of other monarchs, including his uncle Henry VIII, indicating his relationship to this dynasty; the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, a powerful ally; heroes of fables and ancient myths such as Hercules, representing virtue and honor; and Roman emporers.

The Stirling Heads in the King's Inner Chamber

A recent project at Stirling Castle has been to create new tapestries modeled on the half-millenial old Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries located in the Cloisters museum in New York City.  Tapestries such as these would have originally been hung on the walls of chambers in the castle as insulation and as a means to show off wealth and power.  Historic records indicate that King James V had a large inventory of sets of tapestries (although perhaps not the Unicorn Tapestries).  The newly created tapestries now hang in the Queen's Chambers, visually complemented by the deep greens, reds and purples of hanging brocades, plush Persian carpets and furnishings and the gold  leaf motifs on the ceilings.

The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries

The Renasissance architecture and sculpted details on the outside of James V's palace were the first of their kind in Scotland.  These also were meant to impress upon the subjects and visitors his place among European royalty.  The palace stands in contrast to the earlier Great Hall and the later Chapel Royal, which was constructed in less than seven months in 1594 for the baptism of James VI's first son, Prince Henry.  A painted interior frieze connects emblems of royalty with fruit and flowers and culminate in a trompe l'oeil window above the altar.

Interior of the Chapel Royal

Having soaked up so much Scottish history, we ate lunch in the cafe within the castle walls.  We were then ready to take on more history so we walked part way down the hill to Argyll's Lodgings.  Many of the nobles kept houses outside the castles fortifications in addition to the country homes. This house was originally constructed in the mid-1500's and additions were made in 1629 by Sir William Alexander and later in the 1670's by Archibald Campbell, the 9th Earl of Argyll.  The first room entered is Laigh (Lower) Hall, which was simply decorated and served as a dining room for the senior servants of the household.  Connected to this is a small kitchen and two vaulted rooms that are part of the original house.  Above the ground level are the rooms used by Argyll and his famiily.  The High Dining Room would have been the most important reception room in the home.  Through this room, we entered the (with)drawing rooms of the Earl and Lady Anna Mackenzie, where only their closest associates would be entertained.

Private drawing room in Argyll's Lodgings

Sumputously decorated in royal purples, these three interconnected rooms consist of the drawing room, smaller but much more elegant than the High Dining Room; My Lady's Closet, where she kept her most prized possessions including portraits and her Bible; and the Lord and Lady's Bedchamber, where they not only slept but entertained (although the heavily canopied bed takes up most of the space).  Not only were these rooms appointed and decorated with the rich and elegant furnishings, carpets and musical instruments, but they had all the modern conveniences.  Both My Lady's Closet and the bedchamber had "closed stools," or upholsteried toilet boxes.  In My Lady's Closet, the toilet is placed directly beside her escritoire. (In my current condition, that would be quite convenient!)  In the bedchamber, it actually is discretely located in its own tiny closet.

My Lady's toilet

Pleased that we had taken the time to stop in Argyll's Lodgings, we then drove to Abbey Craig and the National Wallace Monument, dedicated to the memory of William Wallace, considered to be Scotland's first national hero.

Wallace Monument

We climbed the 246 step spiral staircase of this Victorian tower, stopping at the Hall of Arms, the Hall of Heroes and the Royal Chamber until we reached the Crown Spire.  This open-air and windy space commands a panoramic view of the countryside and the winding River Forth, where the knights William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297, during the Wars of Scottish Independence.  We were tired when we arrived and hesitated about making the climb up the narrow stairs, but we were glad we did when we reached the top.

Katya, Peter, Sherri, Matthew and Liz at the top of Wallace Monument

Our next stop was Glengoyne Distillery, where we took the last tour of the day, everyone except me enjoying a dram of 12-year-old single malt whiskey.  The tour guide provided us with more information about whiskey than we had ever had before as he showed us the mashtuns, washbacks, copper stills and casks as well as colorful displays of the difference made by the type of wood in the cask and the amount of time the whiskey is left to mature.

Exterior of Glengoyne Distillery

On our way back to Liz's flat in the West End, we stopped in Bearsden to see the ruins of a Roman bathhouse from the first century A.D.  Located near the Antonine Wall, this seven-room, spacious structure included a changing room, a cold room, a cold bath, two warm steam rooms, a hot steam room a hot bath and a hot dry room.  The surviving foundations also include part of the system of pipes and drains.

Ruins of Roman Baths in Bearsden

After this full day, Liz managed to prepare another scrumptious dinner while we lazily relaxed.

The following morning (Wednesday, June 22), we enjoyed croissants and pan au chocolat for breakfast (and, of course, tea) and then set off on a walking tour from Liz's flat.  Our first stop was the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  As we entered, we were greeted by the sight of the enormous pipe organ of the central hall.  We wondered around to see some highlights, including natural history displays; a 1940's Spitfire; Salvador Dali's dramatic and famous painting, Christ of St. John of the Cross; a mobile of floating heads; and some works by Scottish, French and Dutch masters.

Floating Heads Installation, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Our next stop, at noon, was Liz's office in the Engineering School of the University of Glasgow, where we left Peter and Matthew with her colleague Iain Thayne, who spent an hour giving them a tour, in their bunny suits, of the nano-fabrication center, which they found fascinating.  Meanwhile, I went to the Hunterian Art Gallery and Liz and Katya went to the anatomy museum to see gruesome body parts while I enjoyed paintings by the Glasgow boys, James Whistler and others.

University of Glasgow

We all met up again around 1:30 and together visited the "Comic Invention" exhibition at the Hunterian.  It had an interesting juxtaposition of drawings for modern comics such as Superman and
Scooby-Doo with an Egyptian stele, a Rembrandt oil study, a large Roy Lichtenstein (In the Car),  and wo Andy Warhol prints.  The exhibition attempted to give the background for modern comics, supply a definition, and present the early history of "true" comics from the 19th century.

We took the noisy and little Glasgow subway from the university area to downtown, where we continued to admire the architecture.  Sightseeing had delayed lunch again, so we were all quite hungry when we chose a restaurant called The Social.  The food was good, but I couldn't eat all my pizza.  I was surprised when I asked the waitress to package my leftover pizza to go and she told me the restaurant did not have a take-out license so could not allow food off the premises.  However, she did wrap it in foil so that I could put it my shoulder bag.  I had to sneak it out!

The warm jacket Katya brought on this trip has a stain on the back that I cannot remove, so she was in the market for a new jacket (particularly after I told her I thought her jacket was as ugly as sin).  We stopped in a couple stores on Buchanan Street in Glasgow.  Most did not have warm jackets, and the one we found which would have been acceptable was 80 pounds, and I was not inclined to pay nearly $120 for a basic outer jacket.  Unsuccessful in our shopping, we got back on the subway in order to return to Liz's neighborhood.  Along the way, we stopped at Waitrose for prepared food for a picnic dinner and came across a thrift store where we found a denim jean jacket for less than 10 pounds that will serve Katya's purpose in keeping warm.

Back at the flat, Liz busily prepared afternoon tea and packed up everything we needed for a picnic dinner while we lay around like sloths.  Around 7:15, we all grabbed some of the kit and headed off for the nearby Glasgow Botanic Gardens for an evening of Shakespeare outdoors, the first night of the 2016 season of Bard in the Botanics.  This stunning production of Twelfth Night faithfully used the dialogue, humor and plot twists of the original Shakespeare but spiced things up with costumes and music from the 1960's.  All of the actors were superb in their performances, and the simple set focused the audience's attention on the characters, their foibles and their fantasies.  We enjoyed our picnic dinner at intermission, chatted with one of Liz's students and left the Botanic Gardens having been sated in appetite and thoroughly entertained.

Conservatory at Glasgow Botanic Gardens

The walk back to the flat was pleasant, and then dis-ease set in.  Today, after Peter, Matthew and Katya left, I finally made it out of bed around 1 p.m., enjoyed a good, hot shower and got dressed.  The sun continues to stream through the Art Nouveau windows, which cheers me.  Liz and I just returned from a short walk around the neighborhood; it is actually a warm day outside!  I do not feel too badly, but eating is just not appealing.  I think I will be well enough tomorrow morning for Liz and I to be able to depart for the Isle of Arran to meet up with the others, so we are booking our ferry crossing for 9:45 a.m.

More Fun in Oxford, Then on to Wiltshire and the Cotswolds

On Saturday morning (June 18), after having another huge English breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we returned to Tim and Rosemary's to spend time with them as well as their daughter Helen, who had come to visit for the weekend.

Rosemary, Helen, Katya, Matthew, Tim and Peter

The four of us plus Helen (after a cup of tea, which can be and is offered at any time) took a bus into downtown Oxford to explore.  We walked along the Broad, strolled through the covered market, peeked into the green courtyards of various colleges, and stopped to admire the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian Library from the outside.

Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

We ended up at Magdelan Bridge over the Thames, where we rented a punt for an hour.  The streets of Oxford as well as the river were full of revelers as the term had just ended.  After getting away from the dock, which was the greatest challenge since punts were going in all directions, we floated along on a fairly regular course.  Peter was in charge most of the time, but Matthew also gave maneuvering the boat a go and did not do badly.  At least neither he not Peter fell in.

Matthew and Helen with Peter punting on the Thames

Despite the amount of food we consumed in the morning, we were quite hungry by the time we got around to having lunch in the mid-afternoon.  We chose the Eagle and Child on St. Giles Street as it was the gathering place for the Inklings, a group of writers who included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.  We sat at a varnished wooden table beneath photos and a signed document commemorating a toast that the Inklings made in the 1950's.

Matthew enjoyed a beer in front of photo of Tolkien at the Eagle and Child pub

Returning with Helen to Tim and Rosemary's home, we enjoyed another cup of tea and then departed for Wiltshire, where we had plans to spend the night with Peter and Sarah McCluskie at their lovely home in the Old Rectory at Winterbourne Bassett.  Peter and Peter have known each other since the late 1970's, when they were part of a group led by Andrew della Casa who set off on an expedition across the Sahara through Algeria, Libya, Sudan and Egypt--and made it!  The trip is legendary among the group members and their families at least.

Peter and Sarah showed us the old church of St. Katherine and St. Peter by their house, a place where, it was recently discovered, pilgrims stopped and left markings on their way to the Avebury Stone Circle and by ship from Bristol to travel the Camino de Santiago in Spain.  At the time of these pilgrimages, churches had dirt floors and were overnight refuges for those unable to pay for lodging.

Pilgrim markings at the church of St. Katherine and St. Peter

Church of St. Katherine and St. Peter in Winterbourne Bassett

We enjoyed tea around a cozy fire--yes, a fire for warmth in mid-June!--before sitting down together, along with their youngest daughter Millie and a friend of hers from Pembrook College, Oxford, for a fantastic meal of vegetarian curry and naan.  Most of the evening was spent with Peter and Peter reminiscing about the great Sahara expedition.  Peter M. pulled out a file he had kept with fund-raising documents, receipts, minutes of planning meetings and photos as well as a cassette tape containing a recording of an interview three of the expedition members had done on the BBC before the trip.  (It was hilarious, revealing the naivity of youth!  We had to listen to it twice.)

Sarah, Matthew, Katya, Hector, Peter and Peter

In the morning, after breakfast, we repacked the car and said goodbye as we set off for our next social engagement, lunch with Andrew della Casa and his family at their weekend home in the beautiful green rolling hills of the Cotswolds.  Their house is in a lovely rural setting, nestled amidst 3500 acres of fields and woods used for partridge and pheasant hunting.  

More later!  Off to see the sights around Glasgow.

Blenheim Palace, Then Friends and Family in Oxford

On Thursday morning (June 16), we got up, packed up, had breakfast and drove away from Rob and Susan's house at 9 a.m., ready for our first bit of real sightseeing on this trip.  Just over an hour later, we arrived at Blenheim Palace near Woodstock, just north of Oxford.  Living up to my reputation among my family for being highly organized, we parked and were set to go in the front doors of the palace entrance just when they were opening.

The palace, set in the midst of a huge, beautifully designed and maintained park, is now part of the National Trust but is also still the residence of the the Spencer-Churchill family, now headed by the 12th Duke.  Most famous today, perhaps, as the birthplace and home of the grandparents of Sir Winston Churchill, the palace and its sprawling grounds were a gift to the First Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, the military commander who led the Allied forces to a decisive victory against the Franco-Bavarian forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, on August 13, 1704, in the Battle of Blenheim.  The palace was constructed between 1705 and 1733.  Between 1764 and 1774, the renowned landscape architect Lancelot "Capability" Brown redesigned over 2000 acres of the parkland.

Blenheim Palace from the Italian Garden

We took a tour of part of the first floor of the palace containing the State rooms and learned a great deal of detail about the Dukes of Marlborough.  Over the 19th century, the palace fell into disrepair and the family fortune was squandered.  Charles "Sunny" Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke (and first cousin to Winston Churchill), is given credit for restoring the palace to its former glory and wealth to the family.  Prevented from working to earn money by the social protocols of the era, he gained access to cash by wooing a 19-year-old American heiress, Consuelo Vanderbilt, who objected but was forced into a loveless and unhappy marriage.

The rooms we saw, of course, are lavishly decorated, with 24-carat gold gilding the ceilings and impressive period furniture throughout.  In some of the drawing rooms hang the series of ten Belgian tapestries commissioned by the First Duke of Marlborough between 1706-1710 to celebrate his stunning victories in the War of Spanish Succession. The details and vibrancy of the colors in the wool and silk after 300 years is truly amazing.

Tapestry of the Battle of Blenheim

Although the Duke and his family have always lived in the east wing of the palace, they continue to entertain in the State rooms.  The dining room table was set for only a few people in preparation for a gathering, although it can be arranged to seat over 40.  Beside the table sat an enormous solid silver centerpiece depicting the First Duke on horseback.  During the 11 years that Consuelo Vanderbilt stayed with the 9th Duke, she always had it placed in the center of the long table so that she would not have to look at or converse with her hated husband.

State Dining Room with the silver statue on the right in the photo

Another interesting tidbit of information we gleaned from the tour guide's talk was that the Duke of Marlborough has been required from the beginning to pay rent in the form of a white silk flag decorated with a design of three hand-painted flour-de-lis, in representation of the flag the French presented when they surrendered at Blenheim in 1703.  Apparently, should the Duke fail to do this by August 13 each year, the property is forfeited to the Crown.  So far, the Dukes have not missed a payment date!

After the tour (which Peter missed because he had forgotten his raincoat--an absolute necessity here in England--at Rob's and had to rendezvous with Immie, who was driving that morning to Sheffield, to collect it), the four of us enjoyed lunch on the patio above the Water Terraces on the west side of the U-shaped palace.  

Water Terrace of Blenheim Palace

Afterwards, we strolled along the Great Lake to the Grand Cascade (a man-made waterfall which is part of the pumping system for the man-made lake), then to the elegant Rose Garden and across the South Lawn to the Roundel, a lovely little round pond with a beads of light-reflecting water arcing from the edges to form an umbrella over a statue of the childlike Three Graces.  

Roundel with the statue of the Three Graces

The whole place--palace and parkland--is so enormous that we could have spent days there, but we left around 2:30, just as rain was beginning to fall, in order to visit one of Peter's engineering professors, the man who hired him for his first position after graduating from St. John's, Oxford.  David Clarke and his wife Lynda were most hospitable and the six of us enjoyed lively political discussions about Brexit and the American Presidental race as well as sharing information about our lives over the past few years while enjoying tea and lovely homemade scones.  

David Clarke and Petee

We arrived at our hotel early in the evening with the intention of taking short naps before finding some dinner.  Peter had to eat alone as Matthew, Katya and I were much more tired than hungry and chose to continue to sleep through the night.  

Today (Friday, June 17) we ate entirely too much food.  The buffet breakfast at the hotel was generous and appealing, so we started out full.  We made a brief stop at Wolvercote Cemetery to pay homage to J.R.R. Tolkien by visiting his grave, where several people had left flowers, notes and tokens of respect.

Peter and Matthew at the grave of J.R.R. Tolkein

Our next stop was the home of Tim and Rosemary Bravington, Peter's uncle and aunt on his materal side.  After spending a bit of time at their home, where Tim shared some of his photos from the 50's and 60's of Peter and his family in East Africa, we went to one of Peter's old haunts from his days at Oxford, The Royal Oak, a centuries-old pub near the Engineering School.  Katya and Matthew had both looking forward to British pubs since Katya just recently passed the legal drinking age in the US and Matthew is below the age in the US but legal in the UK.  Katya tried a glass of bitter and Matthew had a local ale.  

After lunch and goodbyes to Tim and Rosemary, we drove through Oxford--illegally at times since Peter, without realizing it, turned into a street for buses and taxis only and we couldn't get off it for a few blocks--to find a parking place near the boathouses on the Thames.  We took a brief walk--not enough exercise after a big lunch--along the river, watching oarsmen and punters on the water--before heading to our next social engagement, tea with Pam Vandermann, an old friend of the Bravington family.  We were delighted to find her in fine form even though she is approaching her 92nd birthday, using a walker and living at home only because she has a live-in caretaker.  We asked her about Bletchley Park and her work there running the machines (which is where she met and became a lifelong dear friend of Peter's mother Anne).  She said it was hard work, particularly since they realized that if they didn't do it thoroughly they might be jeopardizing the lives of family or friends at sea, and it was difficult not being able to tell even her own mother what she was doing.  Regarding The Imitation Game, when asked, she commented that she found much of it inaccurate but modified her statement by stating that her work was in a small part of a large operation, and secrecy kept the staff from being cognizant of the whole picture.  Pam and Katya enjoyed a lively conversation in which Katya attempted to convince Pam to try to live to 100 and suggested that an animal companion would be a good addition to her life at the this point.  I am not sure Pam was convinced.

We went directly from Pam's to the home of Peter and Stella Wood, whom Peter has known since his earliest childhood days on Kilimanjaro, when they and their children lived nearby.  Even though Peter has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, neither he nor Stella seemed to be much different from when we last saw them four years ago.  We sat on their balcony for a while, enjoying the expansive view of open meadowland populated by cows and horses, before walking down the lanes to the center of the village of Wolvercote and a fine establishment, Jacob's Inn.  There we enjoyed great food and great conversation, while Katya had a large glass of red wine and Matthew consumed an entire pint of hard cider, not stopping even though he whispered to me part way through the glass that he was feeling a bit dizzy.  Peter also had a drink, leaving me the only one fully sober and alert.  Returning to the Wood's home, despite drowsiness, Peter and Matthew did not refuse South African brandy!  Katya was falling asleep on the couch, and Peter was sinking lower in his cushy armchair, and I had to insist at 9 p.m. that we depart.  All in all, they are handling their liquor well!

Peter Wood, Matthew, Peter, Katya and Stella Wood