Scotland!

Alas, our final full day in Scotland has arrived! Today features a leisurely journey north, from Gatehouse on Fleet up to Glasgow, over a number of winding roads and past a number of Scottish coastal towns. Here’s a quick break we took after reaching the coast (thank goodness we got some fresh air after the multitude of vomiting kids!).

Further driving north took us through Alloway, the hometown of Robert Burns. After a late lunch at the cafe, we still had a few minutes to run through the exhibits and around town. Leila and I used the museum map to run a quick scavenger hunt through town. Here’s the tombstone of Burn’s father, with Robert’s poem enscribed onto the back. The same church ruins at this site were the subject of the infamous Tam O’Shanter witch ceilidh.

 

Our last night in Scotland was spent in Glasgow. Not surprisingly, the kids crashed at the hotel, exhausted after a long multitude of days playing with cousins and running around every corner of Scotland.

 

It’s funny how even the big girl looks like she was still a baby when she’s asleep.

 

On the way back, both kids were remarkable well-behaved on both flights. For Leila, I credit the Inside Out-themed Thought Bubbles app, which a) drained 100% of my phone’s battery, and b) is surprisingly addictive. For Nica, I credit the skills we had honed over the previous weeks helping her fall asleep on the bus.

 

That’s it! I can’t believe I’ve finally posted all of our photos from the trip. It’s even harder to believe how well the trip went, even with so many people, so many kids, and so many adventures. Thanks for your patience!

 

Hold on to your hats, because I’m going to break some world-shattering news here.

Kids–young girls in particular–love staying in a palace.

Not that the parents were any better. Both of us, as mentioned in previous posts, felt like we were staying on the set of Downton Abbey. But when your dining room looks like this, and the 13 pieces of silverware arrayed around your placemat look like they’ve been meticulously aligned by the head footman just before your entrance, can you blame us?

Of course, at the end of the day, the kids care less about decor and more about the finer details with greater relevancy to their romp-age potential. Enter the climbable bunk beds, much to the amusement of both girls.

Yes, there’s even a drawing room outside the dining room. Not a living room, mind you, but a room where you apparently draw your tea. (Not that it forces the kids to

 

After dinner, we enjoyed a rousing game of 500 on the back lawn, which melted nicely into the huge golf course green we saw in our previous post. Muddy grass didn’t stop dozens of kids and adults from running around and screaming, despite a few rough spills.

 

Here’s Leila striking her best Lady pose at the dinner table. I couldn’t believe how well-behaved both kids were.

 

Veronica got in on the fun, too. Her running skills were put to the test on a multitude of slippery surfaces, none of which slowed her down.

 

The next morning, while dad was playing golf, mom and the kids got a chance to walk around the grounds. This gave them an excellent chance to capture a few photogenic moments.

 

It also gave the kids one more chance to burn some energy running around on the wide expanse of grassy grounds before boarding the bus for Glasgow.

See you tomorrow for our final post!

You can’t go to Scotland without playing a round of golf, and boy let me tell you, we stayed in the right place to do so. Here’s a course map:

Though time constraints (we needed to finish before the bus left that morning) forced our group of five to take a shortcut.

 

 

 

That didn’t change the fact that this course, though, is gorgeous. Here’s a picture right before we tee’d off from the first hole.

 

Green, green, everywhere… It’s not hard to imagine why golf was invented in this country; the landscape is basically one big golf course just waiting to be partitioned and groomed. Yet even more greenery awaited us as we finished the second hole and played up the side of the adjoining pasture. Damn, but Geoff’s swing is good.

 

We then took a shortcut over to the 13th tee, which played up and down before bending around the lake and hopping across a stream to finish where we started. The whole time, the palace itself loomed in the distance like some golf player’s version of a fairy tale.

 

Here’s my tee-off from the 13th (and final) tee. I didn’t trust myself with a driver, so I played a 5-iron that led me straight and true without overshooting into the pond. Can’t say much for my stance, though…

 

Our last golfing shot for today takes place during the 13th fairway as we are skirting around the lake. I managed not to fall in, but wasn’t so lucky when I reached the stream and smaller pond at the far side. Oh, well.

 

A quick bag-grab-and-loading session later, we were on the bus and headed north. More to come detailing both more shenanigans at the palace and our final journey north to Glasgow.

 

Farewell, Edinburgh! Today, we voyage south. A pleasant drive down through the lowlands included a nice stop at the Melrose abbey, where Leila and dad went for a walk and grabbed some snacks.

 

When we finally reached Closeburn, the ancestral home of the Kirkpatrick family, Leila was super-excited to see that it was raining outside. This gave her a chance to try out her new umbrella!

 

On a more somber note, the family wandered the graveyard next to (and in some cases within) the ancient church ruins, shown below.

 

Nica and dad wandered around to find the oldest headstone they could. Result: 1846. The vast majority were 20th-century, interestingly enough.

Nearby (and after a very adventurous drive through a rocky and muddy pasture road), the Kirkpatrick family tower house is situated among fertile fields. It doesn’t look like it’s in too much use now adays, but it is still occupied at least part-time.

 

That evening we arrived at the Cally Palace just west of Dumfries, and let me tell you, this is a fancy place. The building–inside and out–made me think we were walking through a Downton Abbey set. We’ll have more details tomorrow, but here’s a picture of a delighted Nica standing in front of the marble columns spaced among the entrance stairs (and, if you look in the background, papa ascending said stairs to avoid looking at the grandchild standing on a velvet-surfaced chair).

After breakfast, we head to St. Giles for Sunday morning services. It’s hard to describe the significance of this church to died-in-the-wool Presbyterians, except by analogy: Muslims have Mecca, Catholics have St. Peter’s, Lutherans have Wittenburg. The church itself is an appropriately-austere Gothic cathedral that pre-dated the Reformation by nearly four hundred years. It’s survived everything from multitudes of wars to Knox himself (buried in the parking lot behind the building), and measures up well to any other Gothic landmark in Europe. Here’s a few from the outside, though not taken by myself–when we visited, it was surrounded by the Fringe festival and multitudes of vendor stalls.

 

From the inside, it’s a simply magnificent maze of ancient stone pillars, arched ceilings, and minimalist decor (thanks, Calvinists). We were too busy actually attending the service to take interior pictures, but here’s a nice one with what looks like it might be Christmas decorations.

 

After services, we went separate ways. The four of us walked two blocks south to the National Museum of Scotland, a surprisingly well-designed and family-friendly establishment with a couple of really neat displays. One of my favorites was the medieval Scotland exhibit, which–much to my shock and surprise!–the majority of the Lewis chessman off to one side. You know, no big deal.

 

Here’s an advertisement from the second of our favorite exhibits, documenting the history of Pringles of Scotland, a ground-breaking knitwear manufacturer. I had never realized how much detail-oriented and ground-breaking ingenuity it took to develop processes for mass manufacture of something as delicate and finicky as knitwear. Between the topic and the engineering, very Scottish (and very interesting for everyone in the family).

Afterwards, it was a VERY tasty lunch at a steak-and-mussels restaurant. It was a dream-come-true for Mercy in particular, whose favorite dish in the whole entire world is mussels and french fries. A glass of wine (or beer!) on the side sure doesn’t hurt, either.

 

One very pleasant big-city nap later, it’s back out into Edinburgh! This afternoon, we’re on the north side of the castle (the “New Town”, because, you know, something that’s “only” four hundred years old is considered “New” in a country this ancient. Our first stop was a great, kid-friendly park at the end. It was a very nice change from a heavy, serious, Presbyterian-laden Sunday.

 

 

The best highlight: a genuine old-school merry-go-round right next to the playground. Oh boy. Dad sacrificed his own participation in the thrilling (yaaaaay) experience to take pictures from the outside.

 

This calls for an ice cream snack!

 

An evening stroll down the park underneath an ancient castle came next. We also wandered through the commercial side of the New Town, but ended up having haggis and scotch pies from the shop near our hotel. Get ’em while you can!

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After the kids went down, dad got to join some siblings across the street. Grassmarket, the neighborhood where we stayed, is not only right under the castle, but home to multiple hundreds-of-years-old pubs–former genuine watering holes of people like Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson (most of whom, in grand Scottish tradition, were seriously experienced drunks). Most of this evening’s jollities took place at the nearby White Hart Inn, which claims to be the oldest pub in Edinburgh. With a founding date of 1516 (that’s a year before Wittenburg, for those of you keeping track, and one year short of a FIVE HUNDRED YEAR ANNIVERSARY), I’m willing to take their claim seriously.

 

Among other highlights, we shared a tasty Scotch flight. This was really one of the first opportunities I had to sample multiple distilleries side-by-side, and it was really enlightening. Long story short: those on the left were “meh”, those on the right were pretty good. It’s really hard to argue against a 18-year Glenlivet (turns out, there’s a reason it’s so popular in the States), but the 12-year Auchentoshan was a really, really pleasant surprise: complex, strong but not overpowering, full-bodied, and savory all the way through to the aftertaste.

 

Sadly, this concludes our stay in Edinburgh. It really is one of the world’s great historic cities. Tomorrow, though, we head south! Kirkpatrick motherlands, here we come!

Posted from Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom.

You know what happens when you drive from Inverness to Edinburgh? I’ll tell you what happens: You drive through one of the most densely-populated distillery landscapes in the world. Our lunchtime stop concluded with a tour and tasting at the scenic Blair Athol distillery in Pitlochry.

 

Not my picture above and below, by the way. Ironically, you can’t buy 99.9% of their product, which is immediately sold from the warehouse to Johnny Walker for use in one of their higher-end blends (don’t ask me which). The single malt they do keep, though, is aged in sherry casks and can certainly hold it’s own–rich, mellow, and sweet, maybe a little too much (but just a little).

The rest of the drive was primarily scotch-induced naps, after which we arrived at Edinburgh, the cultural and political capitol of Scotland. No rest for the weary, though! Time for a quick dinner before tonight’s tattoo. We tried the Indian/British street food hybrid restaurant at our hotel, which (while reviews were mixed) we found to be quite tasty (if a little overpriced). Nica didn’t object!

 

We wore Nica out by letting her run around our new hotel room. She liked exploring every little nook and cranny. Keep your eyes on that girl!

 

After Nica crashed, we left her with Nana and joined the rest of the family in line for the tattoo. Great seats! Leila was a real trooper and stayed up for the whole exciting evening, despite the rain and very late hours.

 

The backdrop for the tattoo is the majestic and ancient Edinburgh castle. The performance itself takes place in the courtyard before the front gates. Temporary stadium seating and flawless execution make for a great performance setting (not my photo…).

 

I was too mesmerized by the performances to take great photos, but here’s a marketing picture of one of our favorite acts, the Top Secret Drum Corps from Switzerland. Not only are they a great group of drummers, but their act is just crazy. Those drumsticks? They’re also piccolos. And fireworks. Yeah, it’s nuts. More than once, a family comment was made regarding the wonderful things you can do when you don’t have to worry about fighting actual wars.

 

The next morning, we hunted for the hotel breakfast restaurant (a different place than the previous evening’s meal, actually), and were pleasantly surprised to enjoy our meal with a fantastic view right underneath the nearby castle where we enjoyed the previous evening’s performance.

(Sorry for the backlight washout, but it’s a great background.)

Meanwhile, Nica was packing away what had to be nearly a thousand calories. This girl is heading for a growth spurt, and (like the rest of her family) also seems to have acquired a taste for Scottish butter.

 

Much more to come as we explore one of the world’s greatest historical cities!

Today’s adventures in the Inverness area feature a diverse collection of sites and sounds (and smells and tastes…). First, we go north to Dunrobin castle, home of the not-so-nice-historically-speaking Sutherlands. Bad history, beautiful palace with amazing gardens.

 

One of the high points for Nica and Leila was the discovery of a fully-hedged croquet courtyard. The girls and their cousins were huge fans. Nica in particular was puzzled at first, but quickly caught on to the general idea.

 

Next up was an amazing falconry exhibit. We had great seats, and at one point the falconer let the owl rest between two cousins while showing off one of his high-performance hunting birds.

 

Before departing, we took one last family picture in front of a beautiful wrought-iron gate that featured prominently in Dunrobin’s sea-facing entrance.

 

We were fortunate to be able to take a quick pit-stop on our way back into Inverness at Glenmorangie, a fantastic distillery of Scottish spirits. It was Leila’s first opportunity to test out her new umbrella, which she was very eager to share with her cousins.

 

Here’s where the magic happens! Dad’s just a LITTLE bit excited.

 

After a fantastic tasting, we headed back into Inverness for a leisurely afternoon that began with a walk along the riverbank right in front of our hotel.

 

From there we joined the cousins for a crazy-fun adventure at a nearby park. Much dad-propelled merry-go-rounding took place.

 

Nica and mom took a few minutes to relax in the tiny kid’s playground…

 

…but it wasn’t long before Nica insisted on moving to the big kid’s area. She was all over everything from rock climbing…

 

…to big ramps and slides.

 

The next morning featured a fantastic breakfast…

 

…and some always-appreciated nana hugs before we started our journey south.

Fort William is a lovely town, but alas, it is time to depart. Our first adventure consists of a drive across the so-called “Great Glen”, the valley (actually, a geologic fault) that connects Fort William on the west side of Scotland to Inverness on the far northeast. But first, one last farewell run up to the Ben Nevis trailhead!

 

From Fort William, we drove northeast and soon took a quick break at one of the only features in today’s post that ISN’T a castle–the Commando Memorial, commemorating the unprecedented training and sacrifice of the original highland-based WWII commandos (and many since then).

 

From there, we continued northeast past Loch Lochy (beautiful place) and Fort Augustus. It was interesting to learn just how much of the area was developed from the initial Hanoverian dynasty’s efforts to establish control over the north end of the country (hence, the name of all the forts). This brought us to the west end of the infamous Loch Ness. Keep your eyes open!

This brought us to Urquhart castle, one of my favorite castles in Scotland. Now adays, it’s a well-maintained set of fascinating ruins along the shore of Loch Ness, but it’s nonetheless beautiful and the setting is quite majestic. The ruins themselves have an almost enchanted-like quality that makes the contrast between emerald green grass and reddish-brown stone particularly striking.

Here’s a shot of Leila with some of her favorite cousins, standing in front of the castle gate.

 

Even the little one had fun running around the lakeside ruins with mom, dashing from courtyard to courtyard with all the enthusiasm of a one-year-old who has just learned to make the most of her new-found running skills.

 

From the castle’s lakeside dock, we boarded a boat that returned us to a nearby Nessie tourist trap. Still, the boat ride was nice–I was amused by the real-time sonar readings displayed on the wall for the benefit of those seeking a more scientific approach to hunting the fabled beast. Here, though, we are topside and greatly admiring the view.

 

From there, we continued on our drive past the loch and straight through Inverness, shooting through traffic to venture out east to one of my other favorite castles in Scotland at Cawdor. It’s a beautiful landmark, so we stopped for a number of very serious Kirkpatrick family photos in front of the building before we went in.

 

After touring the castle (no photos allowed inside, sadly), we strolled through the beautiful adjoining gardens. This, needless to say, proved highly photogenic. First, the happy couple underneath a tunnel of flowers:

 

All all four in the middle of the gardens…

 

It had been a busy day, so we headed back into Inverness to check into our hotel and go for a peaceful stroll along the bank of the Ness. Aren’t those some great, rich Scottish clouds in the background? =p

 

Tomorrow, the adventure continues with yet another castle and some tasty tastings!

Posted from Inverness, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Today starts out in Fort William, one of my favorite places in Scotland. A small town on the edge of the highlands, and with a uniquely scenic setting in and of its own, Fort William is a charming town with a great and walkable High Street and fun character.

Today’s events begin with a trip on the Jacobite steam train, most well-known for its appearances in multiple Harry Potter movies as the Hogwarts Express. First, a disgustingly mushy shot of the young couple at the train station.

While none of our kids are huge Harry Potter fans (a bit young, but I’ll start the five year old in a year or two), it doesn’t take any pop culture familiarity to appreciate a good train ride through the positively gorgeous scenery of the western highlands.

While the eldest is typically easily distracted (and spent most of the trip playing cards with her cousins), she still managed to appreciate the experience when forced to take a break.

Here’s what one corner of our train car looked like for most of the trip.

The interior, while a little plain for us folks in the back, was still part of a neat train of cars. Those further up–including the Potter-like compartment cars and the obligatory Potter-/highlands-themed gift shop–were pretty neat.

You can’t tell me this train doesn’t look cool, even if you aren’t a big Potter fan. As you can tell, the little one somehow seems to be managing to enjoy herself.

On the way back by coach, we stopped at Glenfinnan monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie, which also overlooked the famous Glenfinnan viaduct (again, best known from Potter–this time from the flying car scene in the second film). Here’s father and son, with the monument in the backdrop.

This stop gave us a great chance to walk through some of the fantastic scenery we had been admiring for most of the day.

Upon our return to town, a large group decided to hike a ways up Cow Hill, a small bump just behind Fort William.

I must confess, I thought my eldest would have turned back long, long before this, but she made it to the highest point with only minimal whining and a lot of cousin-chasing.

More cousin-chasing occurred on our way back down the hill, where we somehow found our way–nearly randomly, and by way of a trail we didn’t know existed and whose outlet we could have only guessed at–straight to the hotel.

After much hiking in highland wind and rain, there was only one thing to do upon our return (at least, once the kids were safely settled in with some hot chocolate).

See you tomorrow for highlands trail running, the Great Glen, and much more!

Welcome to Scotland!

Our first day in Glasgow was the usual haze that surrounds between six and nine hours of jet lag (depending in the group) and having survived up to your third flight of the day. Still, a few lucky souls were able to catch a few hours of sleep on the flight, and believe me (as someone who was not sufficiently fortunate to belong in that group) that seems to have made a world of difference.

Here’s nana and Nica playing with a drawing kit that someone’s grandmother brought for her granddaughter.

Once in Glasgow, our sleep-deprived souls were driven about town, from landmark to museum until the hotel could check us in. Here’s our small family’s hazed expressions in the hotel elevator.

The next day, we started our drive north by coach. One of our first major stops was the town of Luss, alongside Loch Lomand, just north of Colqhoun territory. We busted out of the coach into some light drizzle and a pleasant walk across the nearby creek.

The girls ran ahead, one exploring while the other tried to keep up with her big sister, in the small trail park nearby.

Sadly, someone seemed to develop a temporary aversion to dad kisses.

Fortunately, that didn’t keep her from enjoying a shoulder-ride.

For our next stop, a boat ride across Loch Lomond! Here, Cam tried to share his umbrella with his cousin.

Sarah and hers pose in this picture in front of a waterfall off Loch Lomond that is somehow associated with William Wordsworth.

Somehow, with all the craziness involved in chasing two kids across two countries and an ocean, there’s still a little bit of love in air.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Kirkpatrick vacation without a little craziness in the air, too.

I do love it when Nica decides to really get into the whole picture-taking thing, as it doesn’t happen that often.

Our last shot for today comes from north of Lomond, looking back just before the moor outside of Glen Coe. See you tomorrow for our adventures from Fort William, today’s destination!