Episode 8: In Which Our Heroine Inherits A Mansion

Okay, so maybe I didn't "inherit" a mansion so much as pose meaningfully in front of one.  The name of the mansion?  Why, "The Manse" of course.

My actual quote upon seeing this photo? "This photo reeks of wealth and privilege."

Now...back to reality!  Over the past weekend, I visited another spot on my Edinburgh To-Do list and that place is Cramond Village.  Located to the north west of the city, it was only about a half hour long bus ride from the city center.  Chicagoans, can you believe that??  It takes 30 minutes to get from the near south side of Chicago to downtown some days, so it's crazy to me that I'm able to access so many beautiful natural landscapes either within the city or right on the outskirts!  But I digress...Cramond Village is another historic area in the city and it is significant for a few different reasons.

 

First of these is the super cool Cramond Island which is located really close to shore and is actually accessible at some parts of the day via the tidal causeway.  Now, I know most of you are thinking, "Liz, just what in the high-heck is a 'tidal causeway'."  Well, dear friends, it is a walkway that is cross-able depending on the tides.  Unfortunately for us (due to a birthday celebration the night before), we did not get up early enough to walk the walk, but we were still able to go a ways out and it was very, very cool.  The island is significant because during World War II it was used as an outpost to secure the coast against invasion and a number of the buildings that were built are still on the island.  Also...in modern times people throw some pretty bitchin' all-night parties out there!

 

Cramond Village also has a few awesome old buildings, including the Cramond Kirk, Cramond Tower, and Cramond Inn (they weren't real original in their building names, but that's neither here nor there) which are pictured below.  Especially noteworthy is Cramond Inn where my flatmates and I enjoyed delicious food in a warm cozy environment that served as inspiration to Robert Louis Stevenson, the famous Scottish novelist, poet and essayist (remember when people used to be "essayists"?  Yeah, me neither).  His most famous works include the "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" as well as "Treasure Island".  Was he talking about Cramond Island????

 

 

I doubt it.  But it was fun to pretend for a sec.

Another highlight that I think a lot of other people (more normal people) would've missed was this stone table in the back of Cramond Kirk that very obviously was the location of Aslan's sacrifice for those of you who are familiar with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (which I assume is ALL of you).  On a more historical note, the back of Cramond Kirk also shows evidence of old barracks from WWII and especially terrifying trees that from a distance look totally normal....

But close up look like they have people tied to the bottom of them???!!!!  So. Scary.

Now that's some Halloweeny stuff right there!  Hope you all enjoy this next weekend as much as I know I plan to and if you get too scared of the creepy trees, just scroll back up to the top of the post where you'll be reminded of my impending inheritance of "The Manse". 

The Local Flavor

So recently I've been wanting to explore Edinburgh itself more. I've been all keyed up about going to other areas of Scotland and into England and it's made me neglect the city that I'm actually living in!

As a result of this completely obvious revelation, I've made an epic To-Do list and I've been checking things off over the last couple weeks (sorry for the silence, by the way).  Now, one of the areas that I've been fascinated with since my arrival is the Princes Street Gardens.  Located drop-dead in the center of the city, they are a sunken wonderland.  Bordered by Princes Street to the north and the Royal Mile, set high on the hill to the south.  You have to walk down stairs to get to the gardens and there are actually two gardens down there - the east and west gardens.  A few of my flatmates and I went to the West gardens on the Saturday before last because they were having Oktoberfest and we wanted to check it out.  Before we even walked through the equally enchanting and creepy cemetery, we could already hear the music.  But, instead of German music (as we were expecting), we heard some American classics - including a surprisingly fantastic dance mix of "Take Me Home, Country Road" by John Denver.  Unfortunately, "Oktoberfest" ended up being one tent filled with people getting drunk at 4 in the afternoon and wearing lederhosen.  Yeah, not exactly the culturally rich experience we were looking for - though an experience of a different kind, I'm sure.  Fortunately for us, this led to a beautiful and scenic walk through the gardens in fall, which was really relaxing and fun. My favorite part from the west gardens was the picturesque little cottage set in the shadow of the national gallery high above.

 

 

The other local place I visited this past weekend was Dean's Village!  One of the Edinburgh World Heritage locations, Dean's Village was the center of water mills in the city and it lies along the river Leith.  The most recognizable building in the village is Wells Court which was built in the 1880's as model housing for local workers and was recently restored.

 

 

After leaving the village, we were able to walk for about a mile along the Leith Walk, which runs right through the middle of the city and on through the Pentlands (which is another place I'll be checking out soon, too, because it's a nearby national park).  The river is 22 miles long and because Edinburgh is really built on upper and lower levels, in most areas of the city you won't see it unless you look for it!  Despite getting rained on multiple times, the walk along Leith River was one my favorite things I've done since coming here. It's just so wonderful to see the design of the city and how important incorporating wild life and natural areas are to the local people.

 

 

Another thing I'll add is that the weather in Edinburgh is finally starting to live up to its reputation!  On Saturday alone it was sunny, rainy, windy, and many things in between. But, on the up side, I've seen a rainbow every day for the last 3 days because it's often raining while sunny around here.  It's a little disorienting and I've basically giving up on trying to predict the weather and instead I keep a small umbrella with me at all times!  Otherwise...you get the picture below. :)

Wet rats hiding from the rain under a tree

Crossing the Firth of Forth into Fife or...the Highlands!

Yesterday I took an epic jaunt into the highlands and it was, in a word, magnificent!  After some hiccups earlier in the week where our tour group got cancelled because they thought such a large group (we had 11) would "affect group dynamics". Right. Not a real thing at all.  Luckily, most of us just rescheduled as individuals for the same day and it was fine. So, with my name on the list two of my flatmates (Rita and Alyssa for anyone who is keeping track of these things - aka my stalkers) and I woke up at 7:30 am on a Saturday.  Which just should NEVER happen.  And it was raining and cold and we were a little worried about if we'd even be able to see anything on this tour.  We met up at the departure location on the Royal Mile and also met some of the friends I've made from my International Marketing classes.  So the group was good and enthusiasm was high, but the weather was...well....crap.  However, the weather here never stays in one mood for long and before we knew it, the rain was slowing, then stopping, and the sun was coming out!  

 

During our first stop at the Forth Bridge it was a bit cloudy still, but by the time we made it to the Wallace Monument near the town of Stirling (yes, like stirling silver), the rain was completely gone and the sun was warming things up quite a bit.  Now, the Wallace Monument is on top of this big hill (also known as a mini mountain), which, in normal circumstances would not be at all pleasant for me.  But, the area was forested, with dew still on the leaves and vapor still rising in the air around us, giving it a bit of a magical quality.  So, I arrived at the top about 20 minutes or a half hour later with a rather amazing glow and a sense of accomplishment for which I was soundly rewarded by a gorgeous view!  We were still in the lowlands at that point, but you could see an idyllic little town below, with a winding river and the hills in the distance.

After the monument (and the longest story about William Wallace EVER from our tour guide who was determined to give us the "real" story, as opposed to the Mel Gibson atrocity shown in Braveheart) we headed to a location from which we could see and take pictures of Stirling Castle.  Much like Edinburgh Castle, it's located on top of a rocky hill that towers over the town of Stirling.  We didn't go in because you could spend about half a day in there and we had much more to see!  

 

 

From the castle, we went to our first lake: the beautiful Lake of Monteith which was at the base of the highlands and, with the sun sparkling off of it and fishermen in a tiny boat in the middle, looks like something out of the Lord of the Rings movies.  After the picture stop at the lake, we went up into the area known as the Trossachs, which is part of a national park and are absolutely gorgeous!  The views were stunning and we were very happy to be there during fall when all of the beautiful colors were on abundant display.  

Next, we stopped in the quaint town of Aberfoyle where our tour guide grew up for a quick lunch at a local place that served a truly delicious bacon cheeseburger (not to mention the black pudding and cheesy haggis mash pies).  Our next stop was the Hairy Coos (hairy cows) that are native to the Highlands of Scotland and we were super lucky because their were two baby coos that were only about 11 months old!  Plus, we got to feed them, which was actually a little scary because those horns are HUGE!  

 

Lake Katrine was next, and we got to stay there for a bit longer (about 45 minutes).  This was my favorite location of the day and it's where Sir Walter Scott wrote one of his most famous poems - the Lady of the Lake.  The lake was preserved because it is used as a source of pure water for Glasgow, so the area was virtually unchanged from the time Sir Walter Scott wrote about it in 1810!  The lake itself is sandwiched between verdant, green hills on the left and boulder littered forest on the right.  The combination was stunning and we were able to walk around about half of the lake during the time allotted.  

 

The final stop on the tour was Doune Castle which has become quite famous in current times because it was featured in Monty Python and the Holy Grail!   It was also used for the first season of Game of Thrones as Winterfell and in Outlander as Castle Leoch.  We arrived too late to go in and have a look around, but the castle is set alongside a river and we were able to walk all around it and see the area.

That's all the nitty gritty details of the locations on the tour, but part of what made it great was the tour guide and his truly impressive knowledge of Scottish culture.  He talked about awesome victories Scotland has had and delved into the conflict between Scotland and England throughout the years, much of which was cemented during the time of William Wallace and King Edward the 1st.  

 

Overall, it was a truly awesome experience and, if you can believe the dream life I live, while we were driving back to Edinburgh, a rainbow started forming in the sky in front of us.  It was the perfect way to end the day! 

In conclusion, I would HIGHLY recommend the Hairy Coo tour to anyone who comes over here. It was a great way to see a lot of different terrain and cover a lot of ground in a day.  For me, it just served to further whet my appetite for doing more exploring in the north, so expect more posts about other trips to areas in the highlands throughout the year!

Also, and on a completely unrelated note, I just got back from Archery!  I did end up officially joining the Archery Club through school and have been going twice a week.  I am happy to say that my form is improving and my shooting is getting pretty deadly - so, yes, I'm Katniss Everdeen. :)

Love, Fairies and Kilts,

Liz

P.S. - there will be a lovely video of me doing the coconut arrival from Monty Python on my Facebook Page, along with more photos!