St. Andrews and Another Day in Edinburgh

After arriving back in Edinburgh, we overnighted and headed out on a day trip to St. Andrews.  St. Andrews is on the east coast of Scotland and getting there takes an hour and a half, either by bus or by a combination of bus and train.  We took the train/bus on our way out.

View of Calton Hill in Edinburgh

Crossing the Firth of Forth on our way out of Edinburgh. 

Suburban housing across the Firth from Edinburgh

Some farmland on the way to St. Andrews

St. Andrews is a wonderful little town.  Not only is it the location of the Royal St. Andrews golf course, it is the home of St. Andrews University, which is the 3rd oldest university in Great Britain.  There are also very interesting ruins of a castle and cathedral. 

Stalked by SAS wherever we go

On the streets of St. Andrews--the house is probably from about the 14th century.

Ruins of St. Andrews Castle, dating from about 1400.

Graveyard and ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral, dating from the 1100's.

Another view of the Cathedral ruins

St. Andrews University.  They clearly ripped off Duke.

As we were walking through the University of St. Andrews, there was a sign pointing to a private garden, so we took a detour.  We were rewarded by a wonderful garden, right on the coast, with spectacular views.

A view of the garden

Another view of the garden

View from the garden across a North Sea inlet.  The beach is where the opening scene of Chariots of Fire was filmed.  The green area just behind the beach is the Royal St. Andrews Golf Club.

View from the garden in the other direction--St. Andrews Castle.

Another view of the Chariots of Fire Beach (officially known as West Sands), on our way to St. Andrews golf course.

Even though I am not a golfer, the Royal St. Andrews Golf Club was a must see.  It turns out that the club consists of about 7 courses, with the "Old Course" being the most famous, and where the British Open is often played.  The courses are actually open to the public, and you can walk on the cart paths.  You can't go in the main club house, but there is a second club house that is accessible to the public, and we had afternoon tea there.

Clubhouse (on the left) and first fairway of the Old Course at Royal St. Andrews Golf Club.

The new club house.  The hilly area is a putting practice area called the Himalayas.

Part of the Old Course as viewed from the new club house

Another view of the West Sands

18th green of the Old Course and the old club house

The old club house and part of central St. Andrews.  The course is right on the edge of the center of town.

Hope Park Parish Church in St. Andrews

The Firth of Forth Rail Bridge, which was built in 1890

Back in Edinburgh.  This is part of the New Town, built in the 1700's and 1800's

A building at the University of Edinburgh

The next day was devoted to seeing the sights in Edinburgh that we missed on the first day, which was basically everything that wasn't on the upper part of the Royal Mile.  Our first stop was the Scottish Parliament building, which was completed in 2004.  The building looks like it was designed by an architect on LSD. 

The back of the Parliament building

Front of the Parliament building

The Parliament building is just across from the Holyrood Park, which is a very large hill at the end of the Royal Mile.  At the bottom of Holyrood Park is Holyrood Palace, which is where the Queen stays while she is in Edinburgh.  (Not to be confused with Hollywood Palace, which I was forced to watch on Saturday nights when I was a kid.) Most of the palace was built in the 16th and 17th centuries, but the abbey (on the right side of the picture below), dates from the 12th century.

Holyrood Palace, viewed from Holyrood Park

View of Edinburgh from about halfway up the hill in Holyrood Park.  Edinburgh Castle is in the upper left, next to the crane.

Close-up view of Edinburgh Castle from Holyrood Park

We took a tour of Holyrood Palace, but unfortunately they don't allow photography inside, so you'll have to settle for some exterior views.

Entrance to the Palace

Interior court of the palace

Abbey ruins at Holyrood Palace

Abbey ruins at Holyrood Palace

After visiting Holyrood Palace, we wandered up the Royal Mile towards (but not reaching) Edinburgh Castle.

A courtyard off the Royal Mile

Canongate Kirk (church) on the Royal Mile

Tollbooth on the Royal Mile

After dinner (another Indian meal), we wandered the streets, and I took a few nighttime photos.

Statue of Adam Smith, near St. Giles Cathedral

St. Giles Cathedrel

Radisson Blu Hotel (where we did not stay)

Edinburgh Castle

And that was it for Edinburgh.  Next stop: Reykjavik.

Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye

Today we embarked on a 3-day tour of the Scottish Highlands and the Isle of Skye. Normally we don't take "tours" as such, but this was a small group (about 10 people) in a van, not one of those massive bus tours. We left Edinburgh on Saturday morning, and headed to Glasgow to pick up one of the tour passengers, so we got our second view of Glasgow, which was not any more impressive than the first.

Glasgow--George Square

 

Glasgow--Another view of George Square

After picking up our passenger, we headed towards Loch Lomond, the southern part of which is fairly close to Glasgow.  As best I can tell, we took the low road.   We stopped at a small village (Arden?) on the shore to get a look at the lake.

The village of Arden (I think)

More of the village

Still more of the village

The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond

We continued north from there and encountered some classic Scottish scenery, as pictured below.

Eventually we passed through Fort William, and stopped at the Old Inverlochy Castle.  The castle dates from the 13th century, and is a ruin, but a very nice one.

Old Inverlochy Castle

Old Inverlochy Castle

From Fort William, we headed west, towards Skye.  Just before Skye, we got a view of Eilean Donan Castle, which is described as "the most romantic castle in Scotland".  We were scheduled to visit the castle on the way back to Edinburgh, so I settled for a couple of long-distance shots.

Eventually, we crossed the bridge to Skye, and arrived in our home for the next two days, the town of Portree.  In Portree, we stayed at the Pink Guest House, which was right on the harbor in Skye.  As it turns out, one directly enters our room from the street, but fortunately there isn't a lot of street traffic at night.

Bridge to Skye

The harbor at Portree.  Our B&B is the pink building.

At the Pink House.  That door is the entrance to our room.

Up early Sunday morning for a tour of Skye.  Here are a few shots from the tour:

 

Somewhere near the town of Uig

Duntulm Castle, home of the MacDonald clan.

18th century houses at the Skye Museum of Island Life

"The Kilts" along the northeast coast

Kilt Rock Falls

We returned to Portree for lunch, where we dined at an authentic Scottish pizzeria.

Portree Harbor

Portree Harbor

Cappucino's in Portree--home of authentic Scottish pizza

More of central Portree

After lunch, we headed to the west side of Skye.  The first stop was at Dunvegan Castle, where we encountered our first rain in Scotland.  (4 dry days must be some sort of record).

Gardens at Dunvegan Castle

Obligatory flower closeup

Dunvegan Castle

Rain in the gardens at Dunvegan Castle

After the castle, we went to visit the Talisker Distillery, the only one on Skye.  By "visit", I mean that we sat in the van and took a picture of it, because it was Sunday and the distillery was closed.  Bummer.

In the town where the distillery is, there is a custom of putting out stuffed dummies (kind of like scarecrows).  Below is one of the better ones.

We drove back to Portree in the rain, which meant nothing of interest from a photography standpoint.  That night, we ate in central Portree, and I ordered roast lamb.  I believe they began roasting that piece of lamb in 1958.  Haggis is still the best stuff I have had in Scotland, followed by piece of toast I had that morning.

The next morning, we checked out of the Pink House and headed back to Edinburgh.  The weather was only slightly better than the previous afternoon, but still appropriately Scottish.

A very old bridge on Skye

Another view of the bridge.  Those are the other people on the tour.

The town of Dornie, near Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

Good advice in English and Scottish Gaelic

Scottish Highland Cattle

Eventually we arrived at Fort Augustus, which is at the south end of Loch Ness.  Apparently Nessie was vacationing at the north end, because we didn't see her.  However, Fort Augustus was a very nice town, and the beginning contains part of the Caledonian Canal, which connects Inverness with the west coast.  There are several canal locks in the middle of the town.

Looking (in the wrong direction) for Nessie

Fort Augustus and the Caledonian Canal

Another view of the canal locks.

Lunch time in Fort Augustus and another hockey puck of a hamburger.  I am not 10 feet tall--the building is short (and partially below ground)

 

MacDonald's restaurant in the town of Pitlochry.  I did not have one of their hamburgers.

Eventually, we made our way back to Edinburgh in time for dinner.  This time, we did what we should have done from the beginning--we went to an Indian restaurant. 

Next: St. Andrews