It been a wonderful 5 weeks in Scotland. Lots of planning – after booking 3 years ago. Thanks covid. rebooking and here we are
We’re been to Iceland , Shetland , the Borders, Edinburgh, Skye, the Outer Hebrides, the Highlands.
And the last day is spent getting to Edinburgh.
First exploring the coast of Fife.
Then lunch at Fettykill Fox, a very old pub, with our friend, Jim Chisholm’s cousin Irvine.
We had a lovely long lunch chatting like old friends. He has Jim’s dry sense of humour.
Then it was off to farewell Edinburgh.
A small shopping trip which ended in a navy linen shirt.
Beautiful old town Edinburgh afternoon light
A drink on the terrace of where we are staying. Right on Princes St with a view of the old town. We sat in the late afternoon sun just the two of us until…… a man in a pale linen suit , braces, a glass of champagne in hand with a look reminiscent of Rumpole of the Bailey began talking to us.
Turns out he is a retired barrister. Now does voice overs and with his accompanist performs Noel Coward and Flanders & Swann performances. Google Flanders & Swann!
John & Gillian share a drink.
What an entertainment he was. His partner Gillian joined him. Then his accompanist, a lawyer during the day and pianist by night, joined us.
The show John is recreating.
We had a fun hour before they left for a dinner and we went to Elements, a lovely wine bar for dinner.
We discussed our holiday so far deciding what we would change, if anything.
Very few changes I’m happy to say. Maybe one extra day or two in the Hebrides. One less in Edinburgh the end of the festival or no Hebrides, a day more in Skye and in the Scottish Highlands. But minor details. We’ve loved it all.
Now to the USA.
With a night in Frankfurt which didn’t go according to plan. Our plane was late. The luggage took ages to come through and we got on the wrong train to our ‘airport’ hotel.
By the time we were in our apartment we didn’t want to go too far. We didn’t go all the way into the city centre. Still, we had a good dinner, and a nice evening reading, and trying to work out how the automatic curtains worked in our studio apartment. Then regretting the first thing I’ve left behind. My tshirt nightie. Yeeks. Going to the USA with no nightie. I guess they have shops.
We crossed on the 3 hour ferry from Lochboisidale to Mallaig
Mallaig is a lovely little town with lots of shops and cafes and a railway line that ends right in the centre of town.
The famous Jacobite train runs between here and Fort William and it would be great to fi it. We have trusty black hire car.
The viaduct
The drive to Fort William is magnificent. Seeing so many trees after being on fairly tree less Hebrides.
We stopped to view the viaduct – made quite famous through Harry Potter.
The afternoon light is beautiful.
View from our window
We arrived into Fort William and to our BnB Myrtle Bank. Run by a very friendly Dora the place is beautiful. Opposite the loch it’s a mass of flowers. Quite a standout amongst the other BnBs. Our room on the ground floor is big and beautiful. Dora is a character. During our several emails to secure a booking she said no credit card needed. She just took the booking and when we got there said we could pay by PayPal or cash.
Myrtle Bank BnB
We went for a walk through the town and chose somewhere for dinner.
Breakfast is as good as expected. And then we were away driving alongside the sparkling loch. We stopped at Glencoe which was much smaller than I thought. It has such a reputation for being the centre of the battles.
Continuing on, the area is so stunning. And the gorgeous weather certainly helps.
The land is so distinctive
Arriving at Stirling it is the castle and the William Wallace memorial that dominates the skyline. Sitting a top the hill the castle in imposing.
Stirling Castle
We took the audio guide self guided tour. These are so good these days. They bring history alive as you walk area the rooms of the castle. It is a very special Castle. It was added to over the years but it was the Mary of Guise the French wife of James V who made some significant changes.
Theres got to be an advantage to having a sore knee, and with my crutch which I only use now if we’re doing lots of walking on cobbles, I get special access to lifts to avoid all the stairs. Very helpful.
The William Wallace memorial
William Wallace was a knight and a leader in the first Scottish war of independence. he was nicknamed Braveheart.
We drive to St Andrews. famous for its golf courses and the fact Prince William went yo University there.
It’s a lovely lively student town fairly overrun this week with golfers. There’s a big tournament on.
The students were all wandering around looking handsome and wealthy. And we watched as quite a few headed down to one of the ocean pools for an afternoon dip. Very brave I’d say.
Conditions were beautiful if not a little cool
We continued on along the coast – it’s a great area for holidaying. There are lots of holiday parks. Little cottages all lined up. They do have caravan parks but they also have many little cabin type places.
Our hotel The Waterfront.
We arrived at Anstruther in the late afternoon when the sun was dipping before setting.
The little harbour is a gem.
The theme in these little coastal town is the decorated dog.
And ice cream shops. And after our fish ‘n chips dinner we had our first ice cream.
We woke in our little attic apartment to wind blowing and rain beating. So a little sleep in !
It’s also Sunday so nothing much happens on a Sunday. We did not think of this too much when planning and booking. We probably should have. Nothing is open. Except our lovely old hotel.
So down time morning. A great Scottish breakfast. Followed by time in the lounge area looking into the garden drinking tea, reading and catching up on emails.
By 11am the conditions improved and we headed off. I love going off the beaten track so directed Steve off the main road as we headed south and went along the little road down near the waters edge.
It was peaceful. Not a car in sight. In fact I was hoping nothing happened to the car as no one was around to help. People were either at church , still in bed or watching the tv. Probably sport!
The water an extraordinary colour. The landscape is moon like. The beaches are beautiful
The beaches here are renowned for their beauty, colours, and remoteness. Even on a dull windy day it was a great colour ( hard to capture in a photo) a kind of milky blue. The wind surfers were having a ball
Exciting to watch. Lots of little cabins for holiday makers.
We wanted coffee. Nothing open. Until….. we saw a sign. Followed it to the cutest little yurt style building. And it was super busy.
Door to the yurt coffee house Best coffee stop
We had noticed quite a few roadside shops! Honesty cupboards or cabins. With a variety of home baking from the owners of the Croft houses nearby. Our favourite was the chocolate hut.
Jill, this is for you my friend.
We pottered and admired the scenery and eventually got to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to the next island. The Hebrides are a chain of islands. Several need ferry crossings. This one needed an hour to cross.
We crossed from Harris to North Uist and found our accommodation The Fisherman’s Snug . Run by fisherman’s wife Anne it is a perfect little studio place. A separate lounge area. Big bathroom and comfy bed. We could have stayed a week. We keep saying that about places we are visiting.
Anne left the best welcome basket I’ve ever seen.
Help yourself the welcome sign said.
We went for dinner ( lobster!) to a local tavern / pub and met a few other characters. A bike rider from Edinburgh – he was a combination of funny, mad and manic. But entertaining. And a couple from outer London. We had fun!
We are so very lucky. The weather is perfect for Skye. The sky is blue. No breeze. And fortunately for us , not as crowded as we thought.
We set off for the Fairy Pools. We’d heard the roads were super busy but we had no trouble. We parked and then the trouble began. It’s a 1.5 km walk in and 1.5 out. A lot of it downhill to start then flat then uphill.
I started but just couldn’t do it. So sat patiently in the sun while Steve headed off.
He saw little fountains bubbling, A lovely water fallAnd rocks & pools.
He made it in good time so off we went through the most beautiful countryside.
We took note.
Coffee called and we found a lovely little cafe. There are not too many villages. They are small little places but lots of farm houses around. More populated than Shetland or The outer Hebrides will be.
Coffee stop.
Next stop ……. Another castle. Dunvegan. It belongs to the MacLeod clan. By other castle standards it’s little – but it’s a little beauty. I could stay there – in summer.
Dunvegan CastleInside the entrance the stairs climb to the main castle rooms. The dining room is intimate. Only seats 16There are several old cannons for protection.
And the gardens are beautiful. There’s a walled garden, a water garden , a rhododendron garden and a wild wood.
A small part of the walled garden Beautiful hydrangeas
Portree is the capital and is a buzzy hub compared to the rest of the island. It boasts a cute harbour with coloured buildings.
This is a photo of a photo. There are no clouds today.
There are lots of ice cream shops, little shops with the usual tourist offerings. But it’s the boats and water we are drawn to.
We drive north and stopped at The Storr. Storr’ means ‘big’ or ‘giant’. In Celtic mythology, Skye was once the island of warring giants. After a particularly vicious fight, an enormous giant was slain on the Trotternish ridge. I love all the myths and legends from these islands.
It’s hard to photograph this Rocky outcrop. The coastline here is stunning. Especially in this weather.
We head up the Quiraing. This is a land slip on the northern part of Skye. You drive up a winding road to the summit and stop to look back at the spectacular view.
Today being a beautiful blue day I spotted some locals removing the hay bales and the wooden wreath from where Alan married Sophie. I’d seen a banner as we drove up. And there at the top saw Alan himself. Newly married moving the hay to the wedding reception or Ceilidh ( kay-lee)
The groom moving the hayThe best man in kilt moving the flower arbor Us in front of the view.
The best man stopped and chatted and had the best legs in a kilt I’ve seen.
We could have continued over the Quiraing but headed back from where we’d come to continue up the coast.
The drive was beautiful. We were listening to radio Skye and they gave instructions on how to drive. The roads here are narrow so there are little passing bays every 300 metres.
The manners of driving. If you are slow like most of the vans then pull over and wave those behind you on. Some people didn’t get the message. But here it’s best to go with the flow. Which we did. It wasn’t very busy and we passed little townships , lots of sheep , beautiful coastlines , a beach with some hardy souls swimming and despite the blue skies the water would be cold!
Sitting comfortably in the house where they brought up 10 children.
We arrived at the Museum of Skye. A series of Croft houses showing how people lived. A little similar to those on Shetland. We’re becoming quite knowledgeable about Crofting here on the islands.
From here we continued around the top of Skye to the Fairy Glen.
Fairy Glen. Pretty pools and rocky outcrops.
We arrived at our Hotel Uig. A great place with a beautiful view and we had a lovely garden room with table outside our door where we could have a drink looking at the sunset ( and dry some washing. ) It doesn’t get dark here until around 8.30!
Our hotel view.
Dinner was in the dining room and I had the most delicious caprese salad which is my favourite Italian salad which was good as straight after we got got talking to people I’d met in the car park earlier.
Turns out they are from Messina in Sicily. We shared a drink and lots of conversation. Such a lovely couple. They love to travel and we suggested they come to Brisbane and they invited us to their beach house in northern Sicily.
This is why travel is so great. It opens the world to people and places.
We caught the ferry at 9.50 after a big breakfast at our hotel. If breakfast is included we eat up and skip lunch.
Beautiful morning for a two hr crossing
The ferry takes 2 hours from Uig in the nothern part of Skye to Tarbert on Harris around the middle part of the Hebrides.
From the top of Skye to the dot – Tarbert
It’s around 11.30when we arrive so after a look at Harris Tweed we head north to Stornaway the capital of the islands.
Arrived in Tarbert for the ladies craft fair. Not much else happens here Distillery in Tarbert.
The drive up is via the only main road and takes about an hour. Stornaway is much livelier than Tarbert with its harbour, narrow streets, little shops and cafes.
The castle and museum is the draw card in this town. We make our way there and like all museums it’s is free.
The castle is old and the museum extension new but have been sympathetically joined together
The museum tells the history of the Hebrides from the earliest inhabitants to the present and how the land and sea have shaped them.
Entering the very renovated castle Main staircase
They have a very good screen section with people from different parts of the Hebrides talking about their lives. I learned a lot about island life and by the end felt I knew Sophie, Callum, and some of the other residents. One thing is clear. Living here gets under the skin.
It may look remote ( it is) lonely ( it’s not) but they are definitely a community who pull together. People leave but often come back.
The museum also houses 6 of the 12th century Lewis chess men found here. They are in perfect condition and each piece is constructed to tell a story.
The buildings in Stornaway are old and mostly dark on a grey day they look particularly dark
We drove out of the town towards the Calanais standing stones. they are dated to be 5,000 years old, older than Stonehenge and many stories surround their erection.
You can walk around them and touch them.
I thought if I touched one I might be transported back in time. A bit like Claire in Highlanders.
We continued driving, stopping here and there to admire views or houses. These islands are about absorbing the land.
Our hotel the Harris is an old world one with staircases going up and off in different directions. Creaky floors , doors that stick just a little, hot water that takes 15min to travel up to our attic apartment and of course no wifi in the attic.
So we spent time in the comfortable lounge before a lovely dinner in the lovely dining room . I seem to only eat seafood here. Salmon, cod, scallops or prawns. No haggis for me.
We are in the land of highlands, tartans, clans, whiskies, castles and palaces.
Along the road there are signs pointing to the castles that each area seems to have. And if you’re a Highlanders fan and love Jamie you should come to this country.
We drove on towards the Isle of Skye through beautiful scenes of mountains , green fields , heather , trickling streams, lochs, but no Loch Ness monster, waterfalls and camper vans. There are lots here.
Had a little walk through the bush to find the waterfall.
Our first big castle was Eilean Donan castle on Kyle of Lochalsh. Before you cross over to Skye. It was getting late. Around 4.30 – we were able in for free. It’s a moody, dark castle in the most beautiful spot.
Guarding the castle door.
Walking around I like to imagine the people who lived here back in the 15thC. The life they had and here are we today with our cameras on iPhones walking the same ground.
We crossed the big bridge to Skye. This has made it easier to travel there leading to overcrowding. The number of small vans on the road is pretty amazing.
The island in ceramics
We booked at the Guesthouse in the first town over the bridge. Kyleakin. Our guest house is newly renovated and quite comfortable though I do wonder if owners ever actually stay in the rooms themselves. We rate it 2 🛌 🛌 Nicely fitted out room with a comfortable bed . But tiny bathroom, no toiletries, no shelf over the sink or in the shower. Breakfast was a tray in the room with packets of cereals , tea etc. not much really. It was really impersonal. All keyless no contact with owners only the sounds of other guests.
That night we treated ourselves to a special dinner at Kinloch Lodge. It’s a beautiful old house with bedrooms facing a large stretch of water and st sunset was magnificent.
The dinner was expensive but so delicious. Our waiter was from Terrigal in NSW Aus.
Such a beautiful setting at Kinloch Lodge
We’d heard there were loads of midges on Syke but I risked it and left the window open. It’s lovely weather and not as cool as I thought it would be. We’ve been lucky!
A little sleep in today. Lots of late nights trying to see everything is exhilarating but tiring. Steve headed off to two sessions of the Writers Festival. I’ll be going tomorrow.
With plans to meet at Holyrood Palace I set off to the Royal Mile and after getting off a bus made my way down the hill. The Royal Mile connects Edinburgh Castle with the Palace. And along the way you pass every tourist shop. Tartan galore, kilt making shop ( which I thought was very quirky) fudge shops, cashmere, a Scottish Christmas shop, Celtic jewellery , just to name a few.
Call in to get your kilt made. Inside the kilt shop.
I called into the a Museum of Childhood and tripped down memory lane. All the games and toys I remember using. Oh how old I feel. It was a fun interactive place for children. Further along was the museum of Edinburgh. This tell the story of the history of this fascinating town.
I made it to the bottom of the hill and into Holyrood we went. A very good audio guide with pictures on the hand set made touring the various rooms of this smaller palace just right. No photos allowed.
It brought history alive particularly with the reign of Elizabeth of England and Mary of Scotland, married to Lord Dunbar. I’m listening to a book called The Last Tudor by Philippa Weir. She’s a great author for retelling historical stories and this one is about Lady Jane Grey and her sisters Catherine and Mary.
Holyrood with Arthur’s seat behind.
Deciding to head back to our apartment I caught a bus to the Museum of Scotland for another quick look and Steve went home via the Museum of Edinburgh.
Main Gallery at the Museum of Scotland
We had a quick turn around and out to Usher Hall. This is our third visit to this place. The orchestral type music is here. It’s a very comfortable theatre. Plenty of room for legs to stretch tonight was the Festival’s Closing Concert.
It featured the BBC Scottish Symphony with a dynamic American conductor Karina Canelakis . She had such control and was so expressive in her conducting. The program included a Rachmaninov Symphonic poem sung by a Soprano, Tenor and Bass with the Edinburgh Chorus. A full sound!
The Festival’s Director Nicola Benedetti.
After the concert, yet another bus back to the city for a quick dinner then into a line up for the Jazz Club. While in line we spied the cutest BMW bubble car.
A bubble car with band for tonight sitting waiting to go on .
I recognised the band sitting in the bar next door. Even they have to wait. The shows in these little downstairs bars are pretty much back to back! And if you get there late you might be standing. This is for the fringe shows. The big shows get you a numbered seat!
Tonight a fabulous performance by Valery Ponomarev on trumpet with a bass, sax , drummer and piano. It was a great night of jazz including some very funny chat by Valery. He’s 80. From Russia he has lived in the US for years. He’s played around the world including at this festival for 23 years.
He has written a book ‘On the Flip side of sound’ which he showed us and made many jokes about.
The whole night was great – also because we met some people in the queue. They are friends – one from Edinburgh and a couple from near Chester England. We had a fun night together.
Saturday. The sun is shining. Everyone is out. Locals as well as tourists are making the most of this beautiful day. The festival officially ends this weekend so it’s a good chance to see things.
We chose to do a quiet activity. No loud musicals or street theatre. We caught the bus 26 to Roseburn Just a few km from the city centre. It’s a world away.
We got off the bus and crossed an old stone bridge which lead down the slope to the Water of Leith , a small creek which winds around the city to the port of Leith.
We started walking along a softly padded path under trees alongside the water. Immediately I felt relaxed and a million miles from the busy festival city.
There were Saturday joggers, lots of dog walkers and a few tourists like us.
We followed a few ducks as they splashed along and admired the luck of the people who lived on the opposite side of the water.
I was imagining being invited to a garden party in summer drinking a gin and listening to the splashing water.
Gin on the lawn anyone ?
It wasn’t long before we came to a bridge crossing the waterway then climbed about 80 steps to the Museum of Modern Art.
We arrived at it garden entrance. Set up with tables we stopped for coffee.
People sitting in the warming sun were locals with dogs : what a great place to walk to and meet friends.
Graduated paint colour as you walk down the hall.
We took the lift up to the gallery floors. A special exhibition was on. It was colourful and meaningful.
The main doors took us to the sculpture gardens and the main gates.
Crossing the road we arrived at the Modern 2. This was a school going back years. In fact I read a book where the school had a mention as some of the plot took place there! So I was ready for the beautiful building with the turrets.
Following the path down through the gardens we turned left through some iron gates and continued on the Leith Walk.
Around the next corner- a little waterfall.
The water meandered along coming to the very picturesque Dean Village.
Dean Village
Taking a break in a children’s playground we found another piece of history.
If you come to Edinburgh you really must do this walk. You can do a long version or this section.
We arrived at Stockbridge which was jumping.
It’s a little village with pubs, restaurants & cafe and yet another charity shop. I’ve noticed these charity shops everywhere . A bit like our St Vincent’s de Paul. But lots of different types of charities. With some great looking clothes and items in their windows. If you like vintage these shops are for you.
Approaching Stockbridge.
We rested our feet at Hectors with a beer and a fish cake for me and a pie for Steve. Not just any old pie. A pie that won an award. every pie seems to have won an award.
Did I say we love our apartment. It’s so handy to everything including buses to all parts of the city. So home we went for an hours rest before dinner with Bill & M-F at the Brassiere near us.
But first another bus ride and a laid back guitar player. Very cool.
Delicious prawns and a gin and we were off to Usher Hall again to hear Simon Bolivar.
This is a world renowned orchestra from Venezuela. And it’s a young orchestra. Aged up to 28.
They started with a piece composed by a Venezuelan Paul Desenne, a man who helped establish the orchestra.
The next was a composition by another Venezuelan Gonzalo Gray-who was in the orchestra and it featured the cuatro. This is like a small guitar.
Jorge Glem came on stage and had wonderful presence.
The conductor obviously knew him well and boy could he play. It was such a lively piece. The Venezuelan people in the audience were on their feet cheering. It was infectious.
The audience demanded an encore and he played the most amazing arrangement-based on a Viennese waltz which turned into a Venezuelan bear. Maracas were out. Feet are stamping. Fabulous.
After interval they played a more Mahler Symphony 1in D Major. Beautiful energy in the playing. And then the audience demanded more.
So they delivered. The musicians brought our their symbolic medals on a Venezuelan coloured ribbon hung them around their necks. And the rhythmic beats started. The drums, cymbals the hand clamping. The shouting, the standing , sitting. An in stage party!
The orchestra wearing their medals and ribbons
You couldn’t help smiling when it was all over. We met our friends again outside and said a fond farewell. For 2 weeks. We’ll be seeing them in NY for our Galapagos swim trek reunion.
Fans of the Royal family or not there is always a fascination with their castles, palaces and this ship.
Decommissioned in 1997 as a working ship for the Queen, it’s clocks were stopped at 3 minutes past 3 when she stepped off the ship for the last time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. As usual everything was well organised. No crowds to battle. Tickets are sold in entry times to stagger the people coming on board.
It took us first to the Captains bridge. All the important equipment for driving this ship! Beautiful shiny instruments now looking outdated.
We explored the crew’s areas. The mess for the officers, the seaman’s quarters.
Of course the Royal bedrooms were understated elegance. The Queen and Prince Phillip had adjacent rooms with single beds. Mmmm.
The Queen’s bedroom Prince Phillip’s bedroom.
The only Royal bedroom with a double was the honeymoon suite. Charles apparently requested a double when he and Diana married. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for them.
The sundeck room was fun with its bar and games and great views.
Formal dining room
We followed the numbered trail around the ship with our little audio handheld set pressed to our ears.
The officers’ dining room looked quite formal except for the wombat sitting in the fan ! Thrown there at one drinks session and never taken down.
As we moved around the ship there were lots of family photos. I think the Royal family loved being on board.
We saw the laundry, the hospital and the formal dining room room where many Presidents and Heads of State have been entertained
The sitting room.
By this time Steve would have enjoyed a beer. So he sat at the Officers bar. Unfortunately these were fake beers.
The ship is docked at Leith – the port about 20 minutes by tram from the centre of Edinburgh. Such a great tram system. One tram does a route from Leith through the city and then out to the airport.
And a big applause for the buses. We have worked them out and you can get a tap-tap-cap fare where after 2 rides the fares are capped for the day at £4.80 in total. So we’ve been jumping on and off the buses. Great bonus with a sore knee.
Being in Leith had me singing the Proclaimers’ song ‘Sunshine on Leith’ – it’s beautiful and is one of my choir songs. This clip shows scenes in and around Leith filmed in a cafe there.
There is so much on in this Festival city. Everywhere you walk someone puts a brochure in your hand.
One of the Irish comedians. It was F#^#%ing funny.
We went to The Best of Irish Comedy. In a basement with a bar, of course, and a very funny MC who reminded the people in the front row perhaps they should have chosen seats further back. Lots of ribbing for them.
There were three comedians. The first a young woman who was great – very funny.
The second, a young man, a bit of a storyteller in a very funny way.
The last act was a man with a stammer I thought he was pretending. But no, he had quite a stammer. Which became the theme of an ongoing joke. He was funny but I found it a bit excruciating. I kept wanting to give the words to him.
Deciding what to see is the problem. When we got the program a few months ago we were choosing blind! That is, we didn’t know anything about any of the Fringe shows.
We knew the Oslo Philharmonic, the Simon Bolivar Orchestra. But with the Fringe it’s pot luck. We booked a few winners and a few we should have left alone. Not that they were bad. They just weren’t us. It’s probably better to come and check out things here. There a much more to take in than looking in a programme!
Today we saw Big Fish. an American short musical. It had appeal, but for us in a crowded theatre we felt out of it for young people loud, music thumping and actors singing loudly. And the most uncomfortable seats!
We fitted a drink in on the roof terrace of Harvey Nicholls. Beautiful views. Nice gin.
Then off to the a Royal Mile. Across to the Old City.
Yes, the Tattoo. We were looking forward to this so much. There were so many people. But we managed to find a little Mexican (!) place for a quick bite. Then a slow walk up the Mile …..
It was very well organised. Thousands of people. They have little mobile bars set up in the Castle forecourt. So people were milling around. We made our way up to our seats. Nice & high so we could take everything in.
Then the show started. Bands of all kinds from Norway, Switzerland, USA, Scots College Sydney, Irish fling dancers, drummers and dancers from Trinidad, more Pipe bands, precision marching. And all the time projected colours and images into the castle walls.
Each year there is a theme. This year “Stories”. Unfortunately there was no commentary like you get on the tv version of the Tattoo. It would have been good to have someone tell you who was on. I was right as Steve knows about bands and which countries they were from. Our friends found the theme Stories hard to follow.
I tend to just go with the flow. And loved it. The whole experience. We chatted to the people around us. There was quite a party atmosphere. We had New Zealanders, Sydneysiders, English, Japanese.
The show finishes with all the performers on the forecourt. Marching , singing, dancing. And fireworks.
We made our way down from the Castle. It was so busy but orderly and friendly. And home by midnight! Poor Bill and M-F had a 40 minute drive to their little village outside of Edinburgh.
frans travel tales 