Throughout yesterday's interminable drive to the highlands and back, we heard multiple mentions of the Pope's planned visit to Glasgow and Edinburgh today. We considered attending, until we realized that very expensive tickets were required, that protesters would be in large supply, and that nearly half a million people were planning to come to the small park where the Pope was going to say a brief hello. As former New Yorkers, the chance to stand in a big crowd of people wasn't exotic enouugh to appeal to either of us.
But, before we heard of the Pope's visit (which was, by the way, his first visit to the UK since 1982), we had planned to spend the day in Edinburgh and take back the rental car later in the day, upon our return. However, the Pope was planning to visit Edinburgh in the morning and Scotland in the afternoon, so many of the attractions and roads were going to be closed the entire day. This put a minor dent in our plan, and caused no end of consternation to James - who was worried he wouldn't be able to return the car to Enterprise before they closed promptly at 6pm - or 1800 hours, as they say in the UK. We instead planned to rise at the crack of dawn (1am EDT) and return the car to Enterprise as soon as they opened. If this sounds like a well-laid plan that wouldn't, it shouldn't - we were entirely successful. Erin was a terrific navigator, and we pulled into Enterprise at 8:05 am, 5 minutes after they opened.
One additional note on driving in the UK. We know this is well-trod ground, but for those unfamiliar with gas prices in the UK or in Europe, our price - per litre of gas - averaged around £1.19 throughout this trip. There are approximately 4.5 litres per-U.S. gallon. There is approximately $1.56 per £1.00. If you do the math, and if we did it correctly, this equals 1.19 x 4.5 x 1.56 = or nearly $8.35 per-gallon of gasoline. Now, the small cars (including our beautiful gray Corsa) are built for gas efficiency, but we reckon we spent - well, a lot - on gas for our trip up north.
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| Some of the banners in downtown Glasgow in preparation for the Pope's visit. |
We successfully returned the rental car without additional charges, even after a fine-tooth inspection. This was despite Erin's concerns that James had (a) run off the road into the shoulder and kicked up a stone into the car, and (b) that James had backed into a BMW in a parking lot. Sighing with relief, we took the Queen's Station train back to Mary's townhouse so we could shower, grab a bite to eat, and visit with some of Erin's family who was eager to meet us before we left. We had a nice visit with Linda, (Erin's cousin), her husband John, their daughter Lynsey, and one of their many foster-children, Ann Marie. After a group discussion about what we should do today, we decided to head to Stirling, a city about 30 minutes away from Mary's townhouse. Stirling has a beautiful castle and it was accessible by public transportation – which we needed as we no longer had a vehicle.
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| Erin, Lynsey, Mary, John, Ann Marie, and Linda |
John explains Scotland to Tabitha.
Lynsey, who is 32 weeks pregnant, offered to drive us to Stirling. We happily, and unsurprisingly, took her up on the offer. After we were dropped off in Stirling's bus station, we headed for the hills - and Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle is at the top of the city, so getting there was no easy feat. Erin strode up the hill, happy to get some exercise; James gamely followed as quickly as he could. The tickets were expensive, and James wished he had taken Erin's advice at Castle Urquhart, when she insisted we get the Scottish Explorer package. Erin did manage to talk the clerk into giving us the student discount.
Our portly, bearded, bald, bespeckled and be-earringed guide started our tour at the Castle's well. Stirling Castle housed many Scottish kings and queens, including Robert the Bruce, Robert Stewart, Mary, Queen of Scots, and the King Jameses. The tour guide was obviously passionate about but a touch eccentric regarding his job, taking moments here and there to polish doors, or remove cobwebs. He explained how Stirling Castle had been razed to the ground when fighting with Robert the Bruce, and how it was rebuilt during Robert's grandson's reign. We also heard how a French palace was built within the Castle grounds, and we also toured the Chapel Royal, the Great Kitchen, the Tapestry Studio, and the Great Hall (where we sat in the Great Hall's thrones - all of them, really, as we discovered the only non-line bathroom in the entire site, tucked away in a hidden alcove).
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| The French Palace on the edge of beautiful Stirling Castle. |
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| The main entry of the castle, known as The Forework. |
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| James standing in one of the courtyards in the castle, posing as a namesake. |
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| James near the top of the castle grounds |
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| The Chapel Royal, which was built in 1594. |
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| The view from the top of the castle - you can see the tribute tower to William Wallace in the distance. |
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| The Great Room of the castle - with James and Erin sitting in the King and Queen's thrones! |
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We saw another amazing rainbow while we were on the castle grounds.
The grounds were under considerable construction - hence the pylon. |
We also toured Castle Stirling's nearby companion site Argyll's Lodging, which is a seventeenth century town home restored to its original state. We ended our historical tour at The Church of the Holy Rude, where King James the VI was crowned.
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| Argyll's Lodging, which was originally built in 1633. |
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| The Church of the Holy Rude, where John Knox and Mary, Queen of Scots, once worshipped. |
In addition to the castle, Stirling also has a considerable shopping district (further evidence that the Scots love to shop). We wandered around the town a bit to people-watch, and eventually took the bus back to Mary's house where we did a load of laundry, ate a quiet dinner with Mary, and worked out the details of our trip for the next few days.
Tomorrow we are off to Edinburgh. We purchased the train tickets already - so this means our plans are no longer flexible, and there's no excuse. We'll tour the city, and then plan to take an overnight bus to London, where we will have a four-night apartment stay until we leave on Wednesday morning.
