Day #24 – Alnwick Castle and Heathrow

Getting ready to leave – sorta

Wow, Day #24.  Not sure any of us were going to make it this far, but the trip has been fun and different at every turn.  We are ready to go home, though, I think.

One last jump

This morning was a combination of finishing packing, getting dressed, and tidying up.  Breakfast was as simple as it gets, cereal, toast, coffee, juice.  We had hoped to be gone by 10, but we were actually gone by 10:40.  Oh well, we tried!  The caretaker showed up and we turned over the keys. She wished us well and we were on our way.

Our castle is on the left of this photo – Bye castle!

It was a 3 hour drive from Darsie down to Alnwick (pronounced Annick).  I must take a moment to mention that two days ago, the plan had been to say goodbye in the morning, turn in the car at the Edinburgh airport, fly to Manchester, hire a car to take us to Heathrow and spend the night in Heathrow.  Two days ago I realized that the Jagi were going to Alnwick Castle, which is a place I had tried to work into our trip 6 months ago, but dropped it as it was too far south and east from where we ultimately were headed. 

Our view for about 3 hours - the back of the Jagi-mobile!

I realized that if we gave up our flight from Edinburgh to Manchester and just drove to heathrow (keeping our car for one more day) we could make Alnwick work for us!  I just only wished I had this thought 6 months ago as it would have saved us loads of money in that stupid flybe flight (no refunds, no returns).  The extra day on the car is pennies compared to what I lost on that flight.

Harry Potter?  No, Andy!

Oh well, we were excited to fit Alnwick in as it is the castle that Hogwarts is based on.  This has been quite the Harry Potter themed vacation this year!   After a quick stop at Morrisons to pick up some sandwiches, we made it to Alnwick around 2pm.  This place is much bigger and more of an operation than any other castle we’ve been to on this trip.  Choices for tickets were Castle, Garden or Castle and Garden.  Since we were on limited time we chose just the castle option.

Flying lessons

Had we had time, however, the gardens looked like a child’s playground.  There was a splash pad, a huge cascading waterfall, and a treehouse to end all treehouses!  If we ever find ourselves back in this part of the world, it will be worth it to explore the gardens.

Heading to the inner courtyard

The castle was impressive, however information on getting around was horrible.  First we wandered into the courtyard and found a guide giving “broom flying” lessons to a group of kids close to where the first broom flying lesson was filmed in Harry Potter #1.  We watched for a bit, and then headed further into the center of the castle where the actual living quarters and state rooms are located.  They did have something fun for the kids as we walked through the state rooms.  They told kids as they entered that there was a hidden owl (actually a tiny Hedwig stuffed animal) located in every room.

That’s who owns it now!

So, while we toured the castle, the kids had a good time looking for the owl in each room.  What was amazing with touring the state rooms is that this castle is still owned by the same family that has owned it since the 1200’s (the Percy family)!  Ralph, the 12^th Duke of Northumberland now owns Alnwick, and his family actually lives in this castle, amongst all that amazing regal décor, from fall to spring.  The family leaves in the summer, and Alnwick becomes open to the public.  However, when we were there the Dutchess was actually there, as we saw her car in the courtyard.  I just can’t imagine that being my home!

Pointing out the forbidden forest

Hagrid's Hut! (really a shed)

Anyway, after we walked out of the castle, a Harry Potter tour of the grounds was just beginning, so we joined up.  He pointed out how the forbidden forest was filmed, how they made Robbie Coltrane look like a giant and where different scenes were filmed and how.   It was really fun and informative (and the guide was really silly so he held the kid’s attention)

See that metal in the arrow slit window? They put that there to put torches while creating Hogwarts, and now they can’t get them out!

Our last group photo snif!

After a quick trip to the gift shop, we said our tearful goodbyes to our friends, the Jagi.  They were staying on to do a few more things, and we needed to get going.  It was already 5 and we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us!

We managed well on our own on the highway, however we did miss one turn which added about 30 minutes to our drive.  Around 6:30 the kids started talking about being hungry, and Steve said he really wanted one more proper pub dinner.  We got off the highway at Scotch Corners, and passed the Burger King truck stop and headed into the tiny town about ¼ mile in.  <80024>We stumbled upon a gastro pub called the The Shoulder of Mutton and boy was it good!  It was a really great last meal in England, but it added 2 hours to our trip.

Bed at LAST!

We finally made it to the hotel at 1:30am.  We went around in circles a bit around Heathrow, and I was glad the roads were pretty empty then.  But we did finally make it and were happy to fall into our beds and be asleep by 2.  But I decided technically it was 7pm at home, so I chalked it up to getting on Chicago time.

Tomorrow we have a leisurely morning, we’ll return the car (as we got in too late to return it tonight) and be on our way home.  It’s been fun.  It’s been wonderful.  It’s been expensive!  But most of all, it’s created memories we’ll never forget.  And if you’ve read all of this trip’s blog, then thank you for making the trip of a lifetime with us.

Day #23 – Hangin’ at the Castle

Two pretty things (Waterfall and Emily!)

Today started of wet and never stopped.  Really, for this to be the only rainy day in Scotland is quite remarkable!  Steve and I started the day with a run while everyone slept (I think I’ve gained at least 50 pounds on this trip!)  We ran through a light rain, along the creek that runs past the castle.  It was a beautiful run.

Once back home, we saw that Chris was up.  He headed up to Dairsie (in the car this time) to get some milk while we hopped into the shower.  Once clean and ready, we had some coffee and just took it slow.

A castle photo

As everyone else began to rise, we started thinking about a nice big breakfast.  We ended up making eggs in the Aga stove, bacon, baked beans, and toast.  Another proper English breakfast!  As it was noon, everyone was up for “breakfast.”   We finished, cleaned up and then just hung at the castle.  At one point, Steve, Andy, Emily and I headed into St. Andrews for a  bit to get a map of England for our drive home, as well as a few things at the Tesco for dinner, and some wi-fi for Andy.  He sat at a café enjoying their wi-fi while the rest of us ran around in the rain getting things.

Another Castle photo!

When we were done, we headed back to the castle.  When we got there, Isobel was babysitting Peter, Anya and Isaac while Chris and Nicola had gone to see the air force base nearby as well as a local old church.   We all met back home to relax some more, and start organizing/packing for the trip home tomorrow.  We started a fire in the fireplace, and then the kids (and some parents) started to participate in a massive game of hide and seek.  Do you know how awesome hide-and-seek is in a castle?  There were some hiding places where people actually gave up and came out of as they would never have been found!

A silly girl!

At some point a few of us started working on dinner while others continued to play.  It was a great game, and I must tell you that when you hide across the chairs under the medieval dining table, NO ONE can find you without help!

One of 6 bathrooms!  I didn't discover this one for days!

Dinner was mostly leftovers as we are leaving tomorrow.  We did our best to eat up as much as we could.  We sent the kids to bed, and Chris, Nicola, Steve and I played cards until 1am.  Not sure we should have stayed up so late, but it’s our last night together, so it was worth it.  Tomorrow we have quite a drive!

Day #22 – Doune Castle and a Whiskey Tour

Finally got a group photo in our jumpers!

Today, wile we didn’t get out super early, we did try to get going around 10:00 so that we had plenty of time to make it to Doune.   It started off cloudy, but turned into a beautifully sunny day as we headed west towards Sterling.  It was about an hours drive before we entered the small village of Doune.

Swamp Castle/Castle Anthrax (for Holy Grail fans)

Just outside of the town was Doune Castle.  Not only is this a medieval castle which is still partially intact, but it is also the location for a majority of the scenes filmed for Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie!  We paid for tickets, and were given personal audio tour guides for everyone, narrated by former Monty Pythoner Terry Gilliam.

"Are you sure he's got one? Oh yes, it's vereh naace"

Moooo!

Writing a letter to the Queen

The tour guide took us through the courtyard, into the kitchens, bedrooms and up to the top along the castle wall.  We would enter an area, hear the background on the castle and the room, and then press an additional button to hear Monty Python info.  The courtyard Monty Python info talked about the scenes where the cow was hurled over the wall and the Frenchmen were standing on the top of the east wall as well as the Trojan horse gift that went so horribly wrong (they used audio clips as well, so we just stood there laughing!) This was also the place where Sir Lancelot was killing people while he was coming down the stairs as he was attempting to stop a wedding.

“Some day this will all be yours”

The kitchen Monty Python info talked about how they used the huge kitchen fireplace as the scene where the girls were holding one of the Python crew captive.  Upstairs in the great hall above the dining hall was the scene where the father said “Someday this will all be yours” and his son says “What, the curtains?”  The view out that window was beautiful.  Too bad it isn’t all mine!

Kinda done

Apart from movie history, we did hear about the Mary Queen of Scots bedroom as well as King James and the usual stories of plundering, backstabbing and triumph.

After a very successful trip to the gift store, we were on our way to lunch.  There was a wonderful walking path through a field to get to the center of Doune (it was only ¼ mile walk)  Once in the town, we found a cute little café called the Butterfly Café.  We sat and had a lovely lunch outside as it was still a gorgeous day. My sandwich had bacon, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and pesto mayonnaise on “arctic bread” which was really a flatbread.  It was so good!

At the Butterfly Cafe

<70851>After lunch, we headed back to our cars and started back towards home.  We stopped in Tullibardine to check out their whiskey distillery.  It was about 4pm, and everyone was interested in the tour except Emily and Isobel.  They toured the shops nearby and hung out in the nice weather until we were done.

The tour was very interesting.  This distillery has been in operation since 1488, but started as a brewery.  In 1993 it was closed entirely, but was purchased and reopened in 2004.  It’s a small distillery, so the tour wasn’t very long, but it was very informative.  They keep the spirits in wooden casks.  Different casks give different flavors.  The oldest cask they have with whiskey in it right now is from 1958.  They created a cask in April as a gift to the new Royal couple, William and Kate, but they haven’t heard what William and Kate will want to do with it.

After the tour, there was some tasting and the kids got chocolate for being patient.  In their gift shop they also had a Starbucks, which was kind of funny, and sad.  Starbucks is everywhere!

Always needing more food!

We left Tullibardine and headed towards home.  A little less than an hour later we were in Cupar.  Steve and Chris went to the local Tesco to get items for our Italian feast, and the kids went to the park to play.  Andy and I went to a café to find wi-fi so that he could answer some email from DePauw.  We all met back in the park around 7 and headed for home.

Park fun!

Two different sauces were made, as well as an antipasti tray and a tomato salad.  The meal was very good, and we were all very full by the time we were done.  We aren’t sure what we’re doing tomorrow, but everyone seems to be interested in just hanging close to home.

Day #21 – Back to St. Andrews because we love it so

Today we started off slow as Edinburgh had exhausted us the day before.  Chris, Steve and I decided we needed milk, and the small mart in Dairsie was not too far away, so we set off on a walk.  It was a lovely walk, but took a bit longer than I realized.  It was about a mile there and back.  We bought three pints of milk, and proceeded to carry them back the way we came.

The University Cathedral

Once home, Nicola and her kids were ready to go.  They took Chris and headed on into St. Andrews.  I proceeded to wake Andy up and get our gang going.  Once out the door, we headed into St. Andrews ourselves and found a parking spot right on the golf course.  We walked into town and stumbled upon the University.  The buildings are beautiful.

Walking the grounds

After a quick walk through (and a search for a toilet for Peter), we headed further towards the sea until we were at the Cathedral.  We contacted the Jagi who said they would like to see the Cathedral with us, so we found a quick spot for some sandwiches and met them back at the site.

The gravedigger left his shovel

The Cathedral was once a beautiful, huge catholic cathedral, but during the 1500’s, John Knox gave a fiery sermon in nearby Holy Trinity church, that the congreagation left the service and destroyed the catholic cathedral.   Within 40 years it looked much as it looks today, completely in ruins. 

The walk around the cathedral, with signs helping you to envision what it once looked like, is wonderful.  At the far end of the grounds, there once stood a small church, the predecessor to the cathedral.  The tower still stands, and so we took the 157 steps to the top.  It was a great view!  We could see all of St. Andrews and the beach.

After 157 steps back down, past a large group of kids trying to get up, we made it back to the ground.  We headed off to the beach once more so that Andy could body surf.  This day wasn’t as nice as Sunday, but it was still nice enough to get in the water.  The kids changed and soon were playing in the surf.

We didn’t stay too long as the wind was cold.  ½ hour in the water was enough for everyone.  We headed back into the city center, and split into two groups:  those that wanted to go to a pub and get a drink, and those that wanted to do a little shopping.

I was one of the shoppers, and had a good time looking at the cashmere, bags and jewelry for sale in the town.  St. Andrews has a lot of lovely boutiques, and we enjoyed many of them.

After we all met back at the pub, we headed home to freshen up, change and go out to dinner.  Again, we split into two groups: those who wanted to walk to dinner (it was in Dairsie on the same road as the mini mart) and those who wanted to drive there.  I felt it was smart to drive as it would be dark when we would be heading home, and I thought the little ones would want to ride.

We had a very good dinner at the Dairsie Inn pub called Rumbdethumps (which is also a local Scottish dish).  In fact, some of us ordered Rumbledethumps as an appetizer, and it was very much like a potato and cabbage pot pie without the top crust.  This was the night to splurge as we had steaks and salmon for dinner.  Dessert for me was a millionaire shortcake sundae.  Have I mentioned that I hae discovered millionaire shortcake and it is amazing??  I must find a recipe.  Anyway, headed home in two groups.  Everyone in the car except for Chris, Nicola and Anya.  We got home and I got Pete to bed as he was very tired.  Chris, Nicola and Anya showed up about 15 minutes later and she looked very tired as well.

Hopefully tomorrow won’t be really early because tonight was really late!

Day #20 – Edinburgh

Edinburgh is on a hill!

This morning had to start quickly as we needed to make a 10am train out of Cupar for Edinburgh.  We didn’t have tickets, so we needed time to figure it all out.  It was a mad dash, but we made it with minutes to spare!

The train ride into Edinburgh was a little over an hour, and the cost was quite expensive!  Thank goodness for our Family Rail Card (thank you Doric!)  We made it into Edinburgh around 11:15 and were on our way.  We headed over to the Royal Mile and decided to go uphill first, then make our way downhill.  In retrospect, we really didn’t handle the day very efficiently, but I guess you live and learn.

Look at that queue!  No thanks!!

First we walked up towards Edinburgh Castle.  It’s mostly ruins, but it’s on one of the highest points in Edinburgh.  The guide book said that while it was nice, it might not be worth the price of admission, and the line to get in was INSANELY long, so we looked, ooh’d and ahh’d, and headed back downhill.  There are stands set up all around the outside entrance of the castle for the Military Tattoo which happens during the Edinburgh Festival which is in about two weeks.  That’s when Edinburgh gets REALLY crowded (which is amazing as it was too crowded for me today!)

Look at that queue!  No thanks!!

As we turned back, we passed a camera obscura, which looked like a lot of fun, but everyone was hungry.  We also passed a tartan mill and couldn’t help but step inside to see how tartans are made, and I did end up purchasing some various Macmillan clan items (my grandmother was a Macmillan.)

Where J. K. Rowling wrote her books!

Anyway, after that brief shopping we headed back downhill and turned off part-way to have lunch at the Elephant House.  It’s a café where J.K. Rowling wrote a good portion of her books.  It’s really very nice and cozy inside with a view of the castle in the distance, which I think would be very inspiring for a writer.  Anyway, we weren’t very efficient in how we handled the ordering of our food, and they were really slow, so it ended up taking MUCH longer than anticipated for lunch.

We were finally out of the café and on our way back downhill in mid-afternoon.  As we wandered the streets we stumbled across a comic book store called Forbidden Planet.  Emily had hoped to see it!  So the Bumba’s went in and took a look around, and, of course, bought stuff.

We then headed the rest of the way down the hill to Holyrood Palace, which is still in use as a palace.  This was a place I really wanted to see!  We bought tickets, got the audio tours, and went inside.  The queen occasionally does stay at Holyrood, and in fact, her granddaughter Zari Phillips will be getting married in Edinburgh next weekend, and the reception is to take place at Holyrood!  It was fun to think that we were in a place where members of the royal family would be in just under a week.

The palace was beautiful, and the walk around the gardens was lovely.  The palace is next to the ruins of an abbey. The abbey was there first, the palace built later.  We were able to see Mary Queen of Scots bedroom, as this was one of her residences.

The Debating Floor

After our tour of the palace, we headed back outside.  Nicola really wanted to see the new Scottish Parliament building, so we all went in and took a tour around.  The architecture is really different and fun.

After a quick tour around, we headed back up the hill towards the top to see the Camera Obscura (built in the 1800s!).  The camera is on top of the building but the rest of the floors have fun items that trick your eyes.  We had a lot of fun on each level and the presentation at the top was really fun.  If you don’t know what a camera obscura is, look it up.  They are really cool.

After that, we headed partway back downhill towards the train.  It was a quiet train ride back as everyone was exhausted.  Once back at the castle, we had soup (Nicola made homemade soup from the leftovers of the feast the day before!)  and bread.  It was a nice, yummy end to a very busy day.  We’ve told the kids that tomorrow is a lay in day.  They were very excited to hear that!

Day #19 – St. Andrews

Shhh

This morning it was the American’s turn to cook a “proper breakfast.”  We took over the kitchen and made bacon (we found some that was more American style than English style), and French toast.  Unfortunately, you just can’t get maple syrup over here.  The syrup we had was just made from sugar, but it was okay.  Our friends weren’t quite sure about having something so sweet for breakfast, but they were nice enough to choke it down.

St. Andrews Golf Course!

After breakfast we were on our way to St. Andrews.  It was a Sunday morning, so the town was a bit slower than usual.  As we entered the town, a C.L.A.N. meeting was just ending, which was something related to a gathering of various religious churches.  It would have been fine except that we had to get past all the people heading to their cars!

We made it to the car park, and were on our way.  Our first stop was the beach.  Well, Steve and Chris headed over to the St. Andrews golf course so that Steve could at least see where golf all started.  He did stop into the pro shop, but he said everything was priced ridiculously high.  I told him I thought it was nice that he is visiting all the great golf courses of the world, taking photos and moving on (last year was Pebble Beach.)  The poor guy.  Perhaps some day he’ll get back to playing golf.

On the beach

Anyway, the rest of us headed over to the beach for some fun.  We hadn’t brought our suits, so Pete just stripped down to his undies and went in.  The other two got in as far as their knees, but couldn’t go any farther (it was quite cruel, actually.)  The time on the beach was beautiful and fun (except for a spell of fear looking for Anya who had disappeared.)

Soon we were done and heading into the main part of the city.  We passed a park where a brass band was giving a concert.  A lady told us they were some of the best teenaged brass players in Scotland.  We had some ice cream and enjoyed a bit of the concert.

Medieval Feast!

We then headed into the city center to do a bit of looking around.   We were looking for a grocery and a butcher so that we could get what we needed for our evening medieval feast.  We found a butcher, but it was closed,  so we headed over to the local Tesco.  After another whirlwind shopping trip, we were headed back to the castle.  We also had a Tesco order being delivered to the castle between 6 and 8 (stuff that Nicola and I had ordered back on Isle of Man so that we’d have the basics on the first day), so we wanted to be here by the time it was delivered.

The boys got started on the meal and the ladies sat outside enjoying the sun.  It was quite a pleasant way to spend an evening.  Once the meal was done, we all sat down to our feast!  It was all finger food, as it was a medieval feast, and very very good!  There was roast chicken, venison and even some haggis!! After stuffing our faces and laughing a lot, we cleared the table and sat around the fire visiting.  It was a very successful day.

Silly cooks!