Edinburgh Walking Tour

We finally saw our first piper, working a busy corner for tips.

Only in Scotland!

The start of the Royal Mile

St. Giles Cathedral, which isn't actually a cathedral but a Presbyterian Church

The city is full of statues of all kinds,
but this was the one Clay wanted a picture with. 

Edinburgh Castle perched upon Castle Rock

Greyfriars Kirkyard
(The building on the right--The Elephant House Cafe--
 is where J.K. Rowling wrote the first of the Harry Potter books.)

This would have been similar to J.K. Rowling's view from the cafe.
It is said that the school in the distance is what she used
as the inspiration for the creation of Hogwart's.
She also borrowed a few names off some of the gravestones for some of the characters.

Mortsafes, such as this, were used in Greyfriars to deter body snatching,
which was quite popular in the 18th and 19th centuries,
 due to an overwhelming need of the medical department
at Edinburgh University for bodies to dissect.

Adventures in relocation

Full of happy memories, we left Kenmore behind this morning. We were to make our way to Edinburgh, but we made a couple of stops along the way, just to make things more fun. Our first order of business was to take the whole group over to the Birnam Wood, for a look at the mighty Birnam Oak and the Young Pretender. After that, we headed over to Cairn O' Mohr Winery for a tasting and lunch. This was a place we read about in a random and hilariously written brochure we found in our Kenmore house. We decided to visit because of the uniqueness of the products--wine made with every fruit except grapes--and because of the wittiness of the brochure writer, as we literally laughed out loud when we read it. Though we didn't really love any of the wines, we did have a great time. We finally made it to Edinburgh in the middle of the afternoon, and, after settling into our roomy apartment, Mom and I decided to go exploring. We wandered around the city streets for a while and finally found ourselves at Calton Hill. So, up we went. The top of the hill is covered in a variety of interesting monuments and offers spectacular views of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth. It was a wonderful welcome to the city, which we will look forward to exploring further over the course of the next couple of days.

Our group was able to wrap about half-way around the ancient Birnam Oak

These two silly guys were delighted to find a "cave" inside the old oak.
(The oak is hollow for about the first ten feet.)

A last look at the River Tay

We were greeted by some friendly faces when we arrived at Cairn O' Mohr.

The winery where everything is a little different

Tasting choices included strawberry, elderberry, elderflower, citrus,
currant, bramble, and meadowsweet, to name a few.
They also had three types of non-alcoholic juices for the kids.
We didn't try all of them, and, honestly, we didn't really love any of the ones we tried.
But, it was definitely a unique and fun experience. 

Our Edinburgh home under the street, which is truly lovely, despite its unassuming entrance.

A peek at the Firth of Forth from the top of Calton Hill

A good look at Edinburgh

That's Edinburgh Castle on the hill in the distance

Date Day

Jeff and I had another opportunity to go out today. We're feeling so spoiled! Our first stop was the Pitlochry Festival Theatre, where we saw a very fun play called Improbable Fiction. After the show, we walked along the Tummel River, down to the dam and salmon ladder. The salmon weren't on the move, but it was still very cool to see. From there, we drove over to what remains of Birnam Wood, of Macbeth fame, which was an appropriate stop, since we just finished listening to the book this morning with the family. There we saw the Birnam Oak, a several century-year-old oak tree, which is said to have given Shakespeare his inspiration for the Birnam Wood scene in the play. It stands more than 90 feet high, has a 24-foot diameter, and is truly majestic to behold. Next to it stands the "Young Pretender," which is a 300 year old sycamore tree. Both trees are absolutely beautiful, to say nothing of the surrounding wood and the River Tay running along beside it. A short drive brought us to The Hermitage, where we were able to take a nice walk through the autumn-outfitted woods and along the river, to yet another spectacular Scottish waterfall. We made it back to our car just as the sun was going down and then drove over to the Logierait Inn for a fantastic dinner. It was a wonderful afternoon, and we are so thankful we got to slip away for a while.

On the drive to Pitlochry

Pitlochry Festival Theatre

The Tummel River

Pitlochry Dam and Salmon Ladder

Birnam Oak

A beautiful walk in The Hermitage

Black Linn Waterfall

The Logierait Inn, est. 1710

We're sort of addicted to the sticky toffee pudding!

Meanwhile, the kids had a date with Nana here in Kenmore. 

The Birks at Aberfeldy and Dinner at The Croft

There is no way I can do justice to this day with a few pictures, which themselves don't do justice to our experience, but I feel like I need to commemorate our outing nonetheless. We chose to go to The Birks of Aberfeldy as an afterthought, really. We had previously explored much of the area, and we already had a dinner reservation in Aberfeldy, so we thought, "Why not?" But, Oh! what a treat awaited us! It was one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever taken, with a multitude of waterfalls, an abundance of fall color, and some amazing vistas. I'm pretty sure this is what happiness looks like!

After hiking for a couple hours in the cold, we were glad to settle in at The Croft restaurant, to warm up with a delicious meal, a fantastic wine, and several fabulous desserts. It was a truly wonderful day!

One of many splendid waterfalls

Big tree and a little boy

There's a fungus among us

The bark of this beech tree was absolutely stunning!

There were so many wonderful photo ops

Beautiful vista near the top of the trail

Another lovely waterfall

Nana and the kiddos

I love every part of this!

Looking down on a recently traversed bridge

A feast for the eyes, a balm for the soul

Ruth imitating Robert Burns, as he writes "The Birks of Aberfeldy"

A Max Statue

Dinner at The Croft

To-die-for sticky toffee pudding

More Fun in Kenmore

Life in Kenmore is slow and easy and peaceful and beautiful. It is a pleasure to be here! 

Looking down on Kenmore from the end of our street

Loch Tay

Boys can be pretty happy for longish periods of time
 with nothing more than sticks and rocks.

Max's collection

One side of the bridge...

...And the other

Hidden treasure

Clay spotted this statue while having ice cream at the little general store.
He declared he must have a picture with it
before he could play on the playground!

This afternoon we went out for cream tea