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After a bit of a restless nights sleep and taking Ibuprofen for sore backs (thanks to hard matresses) we moved on to the beautiful little seaside town of Oban. This place is renowned for the best seafood in all of Scotland. Naturally we had to sample some and after having a walk through this lovely seaside village we rewarded ourselves with an early lunch! Judy had Scallops, Robin had Salmon and Len and I had the Haddock. I think we made the best choice! Our fish was one inch thick and about eight inches long, and it just fell apart and was very moist….cooked to perfection!
From the town centre you could look up and see an old structure that looked a bit like the Colosseum in Rome. I had just said that it what it looked like when we read through a tourist info sheet and it described it exactly the same!!! It was built as a memorial to this mans family. During a time when there was no work for the stonemasons, he decided to give the men some work and commissioned then to build the structure. It took them 7 years to build it from 1895-2002. Sadly the man died before it was finished. We drove up to it and took some photos. There was a great view of the little town from the monument.
Our next stop was a power station called ‘Cruachan – The Hollow Mountain’ This power station is built throught the mountain and water comes from a lake at the top of the mountain. Robin asked heaps of questions as it is one of the only reversable ones. It also pumps water back up to the lake once a week. But it flows down every day! It was very interesting and we went for a ride into where the start motors are about 1 kilometre!
While flying along the road to Doune Castle, I saw a sign that mentioned falls. Looking them up on my iphone app it said that they mustn’t be missed. But we had passed them and had kept driving. It took awhile but I did manage to convnce Robin to turn around and go back to them. We were all so thankful we did. Not only were they great to see but we also had a lovely afternoon tea at the little pub/cafe.
Next was Doune Castle..a ruins – but also good to see. We met a NZer there from Invercargill. She was great to chat with, had been living in England for a year and loves it! The Castle was very big and high but had closed for the day so we just walked around it.
Now we are at Stirling. Have walked across the road for a lovely dinner! Have all showered and the other three are in bed while I finish off loading these photos. This homestay is lovely. We are upstairs, it is quite new and clean and tidy. Robins bed is under a ceiling window. He decided to sleep upside down so he can look at the stars. I think he was in bed about 5 minutes and was asleep! We gave up the double bed tonight for Judy and Len….so tonight I will be cooler..the nights are so hot over here! The ear plugs will go in and all will be quiet…even though the snoring will go on!
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What a lovely nights sleep and stay at Inverness. We went down to the ‘Local’ and had the most amazing tea! The best of the whole trip so far….I think! Scotch Mist again this morning but it cleared quite quickly until we got to Urquart Castle and it rained the whole time. We had a BIG discussion about going through the Loch Ness Information centre. I had seen a BIG green Nessie model on the way there and wanted Robin to stop the car for a photo..but was convinced that there would be another at the information centre. To see the display there, it was SOOOO expensive and we all decided it was a waste of money. So I missed my photo opportunity! Urquart Castle made up for my disappointment though. It was well worth the visit!…and to make it even better we got in free!!! It was great to walk around the castle and see how big it was. We were even able to climb up into the towers…and they were high!
From Urquart Castle we drove on to Fort Augustus and just by chance we saw the lock gates being opened up and the boats moving through the canal. These gates were amazing as the locks water levels were all at a different height and the boats travelled through a series of 8 locks to get down to lake level. It was great! From there we went to the Isle of Skye. Yay…another thing off the Bucket list! We drove down to the port to catch the ferry back to the Scotland mainland…enjoying the scenery all the way! It looked very much like driving along the desert road! The Ferry ride was for 30 minutes, and it was a neat experience. Lots of photos taken and fine weather as well! From the ferry landing we drove on to Onich for our nights sleep. This place was a little different…sort of like a camping ground with chalets, bunk rooms and motels. We had a room with a double bed and 2 singles, 2 toilets and a shower room. The entry was like a ski lodge with places to put all your gear and hang out wet clothing. The beds were hard and the room was very hot! I started off in the double bed with Robin but cooked! A half hour later while the other 3 were snoring I crept into a spare bottom bunk bed…put my ear plugs in and slept!!!
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We left Edinburgh with another Scottish Misty morning! Arrived at Perth to have a look at an Abbey and ruins. After wandering through the connected church and taking some photos (we couldn’t go right in as there was a funeral being held there), we ventured down to the ruins and continued to take photos….until some ladies came out and advised us that we need to pay an admission fee to be able to explore the area. Oops we had already taken the photos we needed, so we politely said that we didn’t really want to go any further and said our goodbyes! Wow…we saved about 20 pound. We had parked on the main street and walked through the church instead of parking in the information centre car park..so we missed all the signs…phew! We decided to then have a visit to Scone Castle…a local Castle that is well worth the visit! As we got closed we noticed heaps of locals lining the street and wondered if there was a special event? Arriving at Scone Castle gate there was a sign saying it was closed as the Queen was visiting it today!!! We couldn’t go to the Palace in Edinburgh as the Queen was ‘in residence’ and now we can’t go to Scone Castle as she is going there as well. We turned the car on and decided to carry on with the day…..until we were stopped by the police patrol. We had to wait for the Queen to pass before we could drive any further. Amazing! The Queen passed right by our car!!!
We travelled on and our next stop was Balmoral Castle. And this time the Queen wasn’t there! We did the tour and loved being there! Another thing off the Bucket list. We were a little disappointed that we were only allowed in the Ballroom. The rest of the palace isn’t open to public! From Balmoral, we continued driving on the Inverness where we are staying for the night. The place is a home stay..but we have a whole house to ourselves!!! It’s great!
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We woke to a very misty morning…Scotch Mist they call it…but that didn’t stop us! Off we went on foot until we could catch the on-off bus! We did the whole round but the crowd and cars were taking over the place! The reason why…Prince William was Knighted today at St. Giles Cathedral! We tried to get the best view from the top of the bus but didn’t actually see them. But we did get into the Cathedral later on in the day…the same day they were there!!! That excitement didn’t really compare with our walk around Edinburgh Castel. It is amazing and towers above the town of Edinburgh. Once the mist cleared we had a great view from the top. We also went out to see the Brittannica Ship with is docked at the port. It was going to cost nearly 40pound for us to go a through it and we only had a half hour before it closed. We didn’t thin we could do it justice in that short time…so maybe next time. I also spoke to a NZer on the bus and she recommended that we go to this ‘amazing’ castell near Aberdene…once again we just won’t have time as we are heading for Balmoral Castel tomorrow. I will just have to come over again!!! Anyway here are some photos from today 🙂
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Another big day of travelling but once again saw some amazing sights! Firstly we drove around the Lakes Districts and sampled the wonderful sights that everyone talks about. You have to drive these roads to understand the experience….stone wall fences, narrow roads, steep hills, green land (well this time of the year anyway), lakes…just wonderful sights! We woke up to no rain but it was like we were in the clouds, quite misty, so it didn’t make good photography opportunities. We drove on to Penrith and visited an underground shopping centre! This wasn’t normal shopping so don’t think we had time to shop….this was a place built to attract tourists. It was a hill covered with grass…that you walked into (through a door of course) and the whole shopping centre was inside. It was great! We then moved on to Carlisle and did a tour through Carlisle Castle…man is that place BIG! A fabulous experience as well. From there we had our first view of Hadrians wall and then moved on to the next place to view it. Talk about being in the middle of HISTORY!!! New Zealand is so young in comparison to England/Europe! And Europe is so big! Hadrians wall crosses the border between England and Scotland…and was build stone by stone by hand….about 2000 years ago!!!! Incredible. At one of the places Archeologists have dug up a whole Roman city and have a museum there with all the findings! We weren’t allowed to take photos through the museum but we could outside. They are still digging up artifacts and there is heaps more to go! Another wonderful experience. We are now in Edinburgh after a long 2 hour drive! The last half hour was in nose to nose traffic! The 3 lane motorway ends up at a round-a-bout…what a bottle neck to sort out….but Robin drove straight to our apartment (which is brand new by the way!) without any problems…..phew!!!
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WOW!! What a big breakfast! No need to stop for lunch today 🙂 I am sure I have doubled my weight!!! Today we left Leeds to travel to the famous town of York…and we were not disappointed! What an amazing place. We took the on/off bus to see the main sights of the city and then got off to view some places closer up. York Minster is huge and fabulous…we loved it! I have put up some photos from the inside and the outside. We also did the Viking museum but haven’t added photos as it was too dark inside. It was really interesting! From York we travelled to Haworth. Now that is a must visit for everyone who travels these roads! Just getting to Haworth was an ecxperience. It’s roads were barely wide enough for one car let alone two. Haworth has one street filled with shops that you have to walk up…and down. It is at about a 45 degree angle if not steeper and has very cute shops and cobblestone roads. I was in awe of it…such a neat little place. We ended up at Windermere which is a lakeside place. A very pretty town and also a must see ! Unfortunately for us it started to rain…well continued to rain. But we had a neat place to stay so who worrries about a little water.
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Now it is just us four together! The expert driver Daniel is now back at work and Robin and Len have taken over the driving. Today we headed for Leeds, stopping at Nottingham and a few other places. Robin did great with the driving! We only had to go around a couple of round-a-bouts again to get to the right exit…just a few scary moments! We arrived at Leeds and our accomodation is great. The man running the place was really friendly and helpful and we all had a good nights sleep. So if you are looking for a good place to stay the Boundary Bed and Breakfast would be a great choice.
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Well the 10 days with Daniel and Marysia went way too fast. Before I knew it we were back at Windlesham and packing for our holiday North! But we had an amazing time and have fabulous memories of our holiday. And….boy did we travel some miles! Have a look on a map and see just how far it is from Windlesham (near Windsor), England to Poznan in Poland! We went there and back in 10 days!!! Below are the last few photos of those days 🙂
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Marysias parents are lovely and their home is amazing! They made us feel so welcome! We visited 2 castles (or palaces) near their home. One by car and the other we biked 8kms to and then 8kms back home. What a laugh! I loved it and am determined to buy myself a bike when I get back home. Robin and I, or Judy and I can bike our walkway every week! We need to get fit and lose all this extra weight we have put on! We were at Marysias place when they had a party to celebrate 35 years of marriage. It was a suprise party and was a fabulous evening! We also visited Poznan and walked through the town square, wher Marysia spent most of her university time. She loves Poznan and it brought back many happy memories for her 🙂
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You have to see this place to believe it! And then you probably won’t want to ever go there again. I can’t believe that humans could be so cruel and inhumane to other humans! We did the tour of the camp in the town where horrific things were done and then the Consentration Camp hidden away from public eye…the place where so many people were killed and tortured and lived in disgusting conditions! People arrived here in train carriages..thinking they were being relocated to a ‘better place’ only to be immediately separated from loved ones, elderly people sorted out along with the sick and handicapped, and then the women and children. Most of the latter were gased and cremated straight away. It is so horrible to think about! But it is now history and we must never forget these dreadful things that were done and never let them ever happen again!
