Our Last Day in Scotland- Ireleand Here We Come!

Pit stop approaching Cairnryan

The next morning we arose very early to our last day in Scotland. It was going to be another long day, as we were going to travel from Edinburgh to Belfast, Ireland, and eventually to our hotel in Dublin. We put our bags out at 0600, finished breakfast, and boarded our bus which has become an integral part of our tour, having spent the majority of our time riding around on it. We left Edinburgh at 0700 and headed through the Scottish lowlands on a southerly through Ayrshire until we reached the coast along the Irish Sea. As we traveled along the coast toward the port of Cairnryan, we encountered some very heavy winds and a lot of rain. Cairnryan has a new, modern ferry port, and we boarded our ferry which would take us to Belfast, Ireland, almost as immediately as we arrived. Our ferry was unlike any we had ever been on and was very modern with beautiful passenger lounge areas, restaurants, a gift shop and several bars. We had a delicious lunch aboard the ferry as it sped us across the Irish Sea to Belfast and everything made for an enjoyable trip.

Overlooking the Irish Sea

We disembarked in Belfast, boarded our bus (which came over with us), and were taken to the shipyard where the Titantic and her sister ships were built.

Jane says goodby to our bus driver

Group hug!

A museum is now the major focal point of the yard, and after some photos with our departing bus driver (he had worked the maximum number of days allowed) and fellow travelers, we toured the museum which is touted as being the largest Titantic museum in the world.

The Titantic Museum

The architecture of the museum follows the lines of the Titantic’s hull and is a beautiful site to see. The museum focused less on the ship’s disastrous sinking, as it did the engineering and construction of the Titantic, and modification of the shipyard necessary to build this class of ships. Very little was devoted to the actual sinking and human interest stories pertaining to this tragedy.

A Belfast memorial mural

An Ulster neighborhood

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An Irish Republic mural

Barricade separating the parties

Another barricade shot

We left Titantic Belfast and were driven through the districts of Belfast that experienced so much fighting and terrorism during the three-decade conflict between Ulster British loyalists, who were primarily protestants, and Irish Republicans who were predominantly Catholic. We saw many memorial murals dedicated to those who died for a cause, and even found a still-standing barricaded that separates Ulster and Irish Republic neighborhoods. We were told that, while some violence still erupts, a somewhat lasting peace was established on Good Friday, 1998.   As a result of this settlement, Northern Ireland has remained part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and the rest of Ireland is now the Republic of Ireland. To the tourist there’s not much difference except the British pound is the medium of exchange in Northern Ireland, and the Euro in Ireland. We drove to the Royal Marine Hotel where we would be spending the next two nights. The hotel overlooks Dublin Bay and is a beautiful hotel and setting. We arrived around 1800 and were so tired that we elected not to go out that night, but had a light dinner and turned in for the evening.

Edinburgh and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Castle tower

The castle on Castle Rock

We were going to be spending two nights in Edinburgh, so we thought that this day would be a little less hectic, since we would not be traveling to another city. We did get to sleep in a little later than on the days we traveled and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (haggis for breakfast?), but after we had eaten, we boarded the bus for a tour of the city. Our driver drove us to the old historic inner city, which reminded us of the French Quarter, where we saw some impressive, old architecture and landmarks that date back to the 11^th and 12^th centuries. Edinburgh plays an important role in Scottish history both as a very old major city and as the country’s capital.
We drove along the upscale Princes Street and through the gracious, wide streets of 200-year-old Georgian New Town. We walked along part of the “Royal Mile,” the name given to a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city that runs from the Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace.

Chapel exterior

It is the busiest tourist street in Old Town and is home to medieval houses reaching over 11 stories in height.

Castle grounds

Chapel entrance

We then wound our way through some interesting neighborhoods before being dropped off for a tour of Edinburgh Castle.

The castle sets high atop a very large, steep hill, actually named Castle Rock, and naturally, our tour was a walking tour that began by clambering to the top. Edinburgh Castle was built sometime in the 12^th century, and is a very formidable fortress.  

Jane in the guardhouse

Free time was extended to allow us to roam through various parts of the castle. We went into the National War Museum of Scotland, a Scottish war memorial which commemorated Scottish soldiers who died in different wars. Our tour guide took us into a high security building to view (no pictures allowed) Scotland’s Crown Jewels which had Jane panting. Next we went into the castle’s Great Hall where the king would entertain and conduct banquets. We saw Stone of Scone or the Coronation Stone which is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and later, the monarchs of England and the kingdom of Great Britain. The stone was last used in 1953 during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Great Hall

We climbed onto the castle’s outer wall where we were treated to spectacular views of the city and the harbor the castle protects.  We hopped the bus and returned to our hotel and chilled out during the afternoon with Jane taking a nap and Capt. Larry doing some reading.

Harbor view from the wall

Castle and esplanade at the tattoo

One of the military bands

Bagpipers playinig

After dinner in one of the hotel’s restaurants, we headed back to the castle to attend the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands and display teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.

Ever-changing lighting

Drummers drumming

It was originally a form of military music, but the practice has evolved into more elaborate shows involving theatrics and musical performances. The tattoo is held each August as part of the annual Edinburgh Festival, was first staged in 1950 and combines the traditional sounds of bagpipes and drums. This year over 46 countries were represented, and the event is televised to over 30 countries with a worldwide audience of over 100 million. http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/the-experience/.  We thoroughly enjoyed the bagpipers, drummers, dancers, and bands that performed on the esplanade as well as the constantly changing light show displayed on the walls of the castle. While we have seen tattoo YouTube videos that have been sent to us, there is no comparison to seeing it firsthand. After the tattoo, we boarded our bus and headed back to our hotel where we crashed after another really long day.

Grand finale

To see photo galleries and learn more about the program, follows this link:

Best Day Yet! Scotch Whisky and a Distillery Tour

We anticipate that we will really enjoy this day. After breakfast we again boarded our bus and rode to the charming Victorian town of Pitlochry. Pitlochry is burgh of about 2500 residents in the council area of Perth and Kinross. The town has two local distilleries and we were taken to the Blair Athol Distillery for a tour.

Our "hotel" in Narin

As we left the parking lot and walked to the distillery entrance, we noticed that the tree trunks were black.

Black trunks and angel's share

We were told that this is caused by the “angel’s share” which is ethanol that escapes from oak barrels as the whisky is aged in nearby warehouses. Specifically, a black fungus grows where the fermentation product is aged in oaken barrels. The barrels breathe over time and up to 30% of the alcohol contained in the whisky is lost to the atmosphere over the years through evaporation. This is affectionately called the “angels share,” and it is this airborne ethanol that stimulates fungal germination. We entered the distillery and viewed the Blair Athol museum while we were waiting for our tour to begin.

Blair Athol Distillery

Our guide finally finished a previous tour, and we were taken to a building where the grain is malted.

The distillery museum

Scotch whiskey can be divided into 5 categories: single malt Scotch whisky; single grain Scotch whisky; blended malt Scotch whisky; blended grain Scotch whisky; and blended Scotch whisky. At Blair Athol they distill a single malt whiskey named Blair Athol, but this whisky is also used in a blended whisky called Bell’s.

Scottish water for the whisky

We also learned that there are legal requirements that must be met for a whisky to be called a Scotch whiskey.

Sniffing for the "angel's share"

First the whisky must be distilled in a distillery located in Scotland (duh!), and be produced only from Scottish water and malted barley (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added), and must be distilled twice. We then proceeded to fermentation building where the mash and yeast in a controlled environment produce the alcohol.

Barrels in the warehouse

The distillery courtyard

Next was the first distillation building where we were amazed at the volume of alcohol coming off the stills. The distillery has an annual 2.5 million liter capacity which to us is a whole lot of booze! Our tour ended at the warehouse where the whisky is aged in barrels in a controlled climate warehouse. Blair Athol single malt is aged for 12 years, but some of the whiskey that goes into the Bell’s blend is only aged for 5 years.
We were then taken to a gift shop where we were given a taste of Bell’s (they save the good stuff to sell) and a chance to buy some souvenirs. We walked around the distillery courtyard while we waited for our bus to pick us up.

Downtown Pitlochry

Main Street in Pitlochry

A Scottish pharmacy

Collecting the Royal Mail

Holy Trinity sanctuary

Lighted pulpit- Holy Trinity

Our bus took us to downtown Pitlochry where we could grab some lunch and view the sights. We had lunch with Frank and Carol Ann and then began a walking tour of the town. We were charmed with Pitlochry and felt that it was a place we would definitely like to return to.  After finishing our tour, we boarded our bus for a ride to St. Andrews, renowned as the “Home of Golf,” and for its university, Scotland’s oldest. Incidentally, it was at the university where Kate and Prince William met and started their relationship.  The tour guide would just get giddy talking about this.

St. Andrew's entrance arch

St. Andrew's Cathedral ruins

While we were on our own, it was suggest that we visit Holy Trinity Church, the ruins of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, and if you were in for a long walk, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club which exercises legislative authority over the game worldwide is home to The Open Championship, the oldest of golf’s four major championships.

Part of the huge cemetery

We started with the church which was starting to look like so many of the churches we have seen.

At the ruins

It was, however, a beautiful structure. Next we walked to a coffee shop where we could pee. Public restrooms are non-existent in Scotland (at least when one needs them!), so the only option is to use the restroom in one of the businesses and make a purchase to pay for the use. We got two coffees to go.

Another cemetery shot

Defunct tomb

We strolled along the street, undoubtedly one used by Kate and Prince William, heading for the cathedral ruins. When we arrived we were quite impressed with the size of this compound. St. Andrew’s was built in 1160 and was the most important pilgrimage center in medieval Scotland and one of the most important in Europe.

OMG! Could Kate and Prince William have been here?

Scottish Reformation and several wars that laid siege on the cathedral caused it to lose its ecclesiastical status in the mid-1500. As we gazed and walked among the ruins, Capt. Larry wondered if he was looking at some detail that Kate and Prince William had seen… Being quite a distance from the golf club, we decided to skip that site.

Get your kilts here

We found our way to the appointed pickup spot, which may have been frequented by Kate and Prince William, and waited for our bus with some folks from our tour group.

As we left St. Andrews, we passed by two famous golf courses which we were told were recently purchased by Donald Trump. Guess the "Donald" figures there is some money to be made in golf resorts.

At dinner with Frank & Carol Ann

We had a fairly long bus ride to Edinburgh and arrived at our hotel around 1800, making for a pretty long day. Barely after just checking in, we were heading out for dinner at a popular restaurant.

Ghost tour "scary" place

After dinner we were treated to a walking ghost tour where we discovered the haunts of Edinburgh’s eccentric characters in the Old Town district. We walked through cemeteries and places where they performed public executions in medieval times. We were tired so we found this tour a little cheesy, not very scary nor entertaining. We were glad to return to our hotel and get some rest