But on this side of Hadrian's Wall I can do my own part. Saturday was a full day of Scottish goodness, starting with a ride through the countryside which landed us near the town of Alford (pronounced "Afford" since they like to make everything more difficult here) and the 13th century ruins of Kildrummy Castle.
Kildrummy, we learned, from the Historic Scotland ticket saleswoman, has something of a treacherous history... torched by a servant, seized through forced marriage, and finally dismantled during a Jacobite rebellion. We were awed by what remains and our cameras got a workout.
We'd already paid our entrance fee to the castle, so it seemed a shame to have to pay another four quid to visit the castle gardens. Fortunately we found an easilly hopped fence (they were practically INVITING us to see it for free, really) and spent another hour admiring the grounds, which brought me back to pages of Frances Hodson Burnett.
To appease our consciences we paid a visit to the Kildrummy Castle H'teel for afternoon tea. Maybe it was just the hunger after a full morning and climbing and chatting, or maybe it was the fresh cream and berry compote, perhaps it was the spectacular view or delightful company, but scones have never tasted so good.
On a whim while driving home, we took a side road to visit a distant church-yard on a hill. We were well rewarded. I figure the church yard is so much higher than the surrounding pastures because of so many generations burried there... no one else liked my conclusion as much ;)
[the bottommost photo is for our Scottish friends who have kindly informed me which words are not appropriate for use in mixed (or any) company.]
7 comments:
Ok, a) your photos are making me long to be there to such an extent that I briefly considered that perhaps I should do a Ph.D. there, but somehow I doubt that Aberdeen has a Clinical Psych program; b) Amanda, you're hair looks fantastic! Egads woman! c) You two are missed.
You guys are having altogether too much fun! I'm appreciating your frequent updates.
Your new Scottish friends appreciated the last photo very much ;-) love Claire
Lovely pics! the place really reminds me of Ireland
looks like scotland is so much fun! old churches, gardens, scones, friends, new marriage. hum, why are we in langley again?? ;)
Great pics. Looks lovely!
scotland is becoming more and more appealing. i think i need to come over there.
Post a Comment