Our weather luck has run out.  A mostly rainy, at times windy, day, with a bit of sun.  After our breakfast of fruit, porridge and homemade bread, we drove to Mount Stuart, the home of the Marquess of Bute.  A massive, beautiful home in the Gothic style. We walked through the kitchen garden,  which had huge beds of thyme, mint, rosemary and sage, amongst many other growing things.  The rosemary was almost as tall as me!  Unfortunately, no photos allowed, so you'll have to look it up to see what it's like.  Then we proceeded to drive right round the island with a few side jaunts off the beaten path, the most memorable of which was to St. Blane's Chapel, which was the site of a monastary built in the 700's.  It was the worst weather of the day and we took the wrong track from the parking lot.  When we finally got to the site it was very quiet, protected from the wind, beautiful and peaceful and wild.  I took no pictures because it was raining,  but you can probably look that up too.  Finished up with dinner in Port Bannatyne, which is just north of Rothesay.

We were relaxing in the living room, organising plans for the next bit of our trip, when our hosts came in and offered us whisky and/or tea.  We said yes to both, and Joan mixed my whisky with Drambuie.  It's called a Rusty Nail, and I must say was very tasty!  Andy stayed out and chatted for a couple of hours - Joan has a cold so didn't want to socialise.  Also met Winston the cat, and Flute, Meg and Freddy the Black Labs.

Must get to bed, tomorrow is a big day in Dunoon for the Worlds. I'll be thinking of Sarah competing in Saanich!

Here is Ettrick Bay, on a sunny day the water is turquoise:

This is Port Bannatyne:

Wow, I am really getting behind here!

Monday I walked around Lanark again.  The museum was closed,  but I sat in the sun at Castlebank Park for a while. Walked to the train station and picked up schedules for when I leave on Wed.  I walked back to the hostel to read for a while, then went over to the hotel for a pot of tea and some internet.  I had a nice long text conversation with Brad, then a nice Facebook chat with Mallory.   Absolutely no rain today.

Tuesday I walked a woodland trail that took me through some farmland.  The ponies looked at me with some suspicion,  but didn't kick or bite as advertised.  I tried to sit outside in the sun again, but the wasps were too bad no matter where I went.   Came in to do laundry and pack.  No rain again!

Wednesday I left the hostel at 8:30 and after taking a bus, two trains and another bus, I arrived at Glasgow airport at 11:15 to meet Brad.  We picked up our car (a Vauxhall Astra) and made it to the ferry at Wemyss Bay around 1:20.  Grabbed a quick lunch and caught the 2:05 ferry to Rothesay.  It is really beautiful here, lots of Victorian houses on the waterfront, palm trees and gorgeous views up the Kyle of Bute.   We are staying in a nice B&B in a house that was built in 1850.  When we got here Brad went down for a nap and I walked back into town (about 1/2 hour).  Did a bit of exploring,  then walked back to wake Brad up. Went out for a nice dinner.  No Rain for the 5th day in a row!

Today was a research day at the museum and the library.  Got one obituary,  and found the record of a memorial stone in one of the graveyards.  Drove up to the church, but the stone wasn't there.  It was a flat stone, so the grass could have grown over it. We also had time to tour Rothesay Castle,  which was built in the 1200's and is right downtown.  After dinner we drove north to the other ferry (only about 20 minutes).  And I drove back!   I haven't driven a standard in 20 years, I impressed myself.  I even backed into our parking spot!  No rain again!!  Ok, it rained in the night,  but that doesn't count!

The suspicious ponies:

 Brad on the ferry:

The view out our window:

The Serpentine Road on Canada Hill:

Looking up the hill:

The view from the top of the hill:

Finally, internet!  I'm sitting in the pub at the New Lanark Hotel drinking a Strongbow and waiting for steak and ale pie.  It's my reward for hiking up the river this morning for about 2 1/2 hours, on a trail remarkably like the Canyon View in Campbell River.  Made me miss my walking partner, Cathy!

Now to summarise the last few days.  Got to New Lanark no problem, though the train from Edinburgh to Motherwell was running 35 minutes late.  No problem getting a seat either this time.  Switched trains to head south - it was absolutely pouring when we arrived in Lanark.  Didn't last long though.  Caught the bus for the ride down to New Lanark,  it dropped me right at the hostel.  Settled in for the night.

Friday I walked up to the town, about a 35 minute walk. Connected to the internet at the library, but the server wouldn't allow me to access my blog.  Wandered up and down the High Street, then picked up some groceries at Morrisons.  Got lost on my way back, but eventually figured it out.  Curse my sense of direction!

Saturday I toured the heritage site.  The hostel is in one of the old buildings, but they also have the old schoolroom, store, one of the mills and a couple of homes set up how they used to be, in various other buildings.  This was a very progressive place to live and work in the early 1800's.  It was still a very hard life,  but the owner of the mill didn't allow children to work until age 10, whereas in other mills they started at age 6.  Children went into nursery school at age 18 months and had to attend school full time until age 10.  Classes were offered in the evenings for both adults and older children.   There was healthcare for all, and Robert Owen planted the forest around here and encouraged the residents to take their excercise on the paths he built.  Of course this all benefited the running of the mill, but he believed that everyone should be treated kindly and have the benefit of education.   He cut back working hours to 10 1/2, and his mill production didn't suffer.  He tried to get his measures passed into law, but the government (pressured by other mill owners) wouldn't do it.  His ideas were the basis for the co-op movement.

This photo is of Corra Castle,  at the end of my hike today. It dates back to the 14th or 15th century.

I'm staying in the building on the far left.

Another view of the town from the path to the graveyard.

One of the falls on the Clyde - called Corra Linn.

This afternoon I'm sitting in the tea room on the Royal Yacht Britannia, waiting for my whisky cake to be delivered.  I thought that I would take advantage of their free wifi while I'm here.

I love how, in the fancier places at least, you don't get sugar packets, or even perfectly formed sugar cubes, but rather lumps of both white and brown sugar that look as though they've been chipped off a larger block.  The only thing is, they don't provide tongs, or an extra spoon, so I've been reaching in with my fingers.  It feels wrong, but I see no alternative.

Turns out whisky cake is a fruitcake, very delicious.  Feels like Christmas though!

Anyway, the day started out sunny, so I put on my capris optimistically.   And then, because I did all my laundry last night, I promptly spilled oatmeal on them! It doesn't really show, so off I went, walking to the Britannia, since it was so nice; it took about 35 minutes.  The tour is very informative, includes an audio guide, and is full of bits of trivia about the royal family and the crew (you know how much I love trivia!).  I wandered for a good two and a half hours, and yes boys, I read everything!

It's clouded over now, but I have my fleece, so I'm going to walk back up past the hostel to the National Portrait Gallery.  If it starts to rain, I may hop on the bus.

Well I've decided, if I ever win the lotto, a really big one, I'm going to hire the yacht for a private function and invite everyone I know!

Got to the Portrait Gallery too late to see the whole thing, but saw the entire top floor.  In addition to the portraits, they tell you the history of the period you're looking at, so I learned a lot about the Reformation, the Restoration, the Jacobites, how women were viewed and how this changed over the years, and how Scotland was romanticized.  When the gallery closes, no one says a word to disturb, the staff just let you go on looking until you're done.

Now for photos:

A couple from the Tattoo on Monday

My hike to Arthur's Seat - where I've been

And where I'm going (the top of that hump in the middle)

I didn't do the last scramble to the top

The only double bed on the Britannia,  brought on board by Charles for his honeymoon with Diana

The state dining room

My favourite portrait from the gallery, because the blue is so bright, but I've forgotten her name. She either was French or married a Frenchman.  It looks small but it's a full size portrait.

Well today is laundry day, so while I wait for my clothes to dry, I'll update you on my adventures.

Last night was the Tattoo, and it certainly did not disappoint! We could hear the fighter jet fly over, but unfortunately couldn't see it because of the low cloud.  Morgan Bamford (world champion from New Zealand) is the featured dancer, and she and all the other dancers were amazing.  I think there was much more Highland dancing than last time, in addition to the dancers from Singapore,  India (must be from northern India, as they looked more Nepalese), Trinidad and Tobago and New Zealand.  Not to mention the pipes, drums and marching bands.

Today I decided it was time for some excercise, so I started the day by walking up Calton Hill, which is quite close to where I'm staying.  There are some nice views of the city from there, plus a half finished replica of the Parthenon.  Then I cut across the old town at Holyrood Palace, and climbed up to Arthur's Seat.  This is the top of an extinct volcano behind the palace, and you can see across the Firth of Forth to Fife, as well as the whole Old Town and New Town.

When I climbed back down I headed up the Mile to the North Bridge,  then up Princes Street to Charlotte Street.  Oh the shopping!  If only I had room in my backpack...

Walked through the Edinburgh Book Fair, where Herself was giving a talk yesterday.  Then toured Georgian House, which has been restored to its original late 1700's glory.   Then back to the hostel for dinner and laundry.

I'll post photos later!  Oh and I've booked myself into the hostel at New Lanark for 3 nights after I leave here, if any of you care to look it up.

Sorry I couldn't post yesterday, but I was experiencing technical difficulties with my internet connection.  Before it cut out on me I got to Skype with Brad, Tyler and Shadow.  It was nice to see their faces!

Yesterday I made my way from the hostel to the subway to the train station.  I bought a train ticket to Edinburgh and jumped on the train with 5 minutes to spare.  I would have been better to wait half an hour for the next train though, as I ended up standing for the entire hour.  Oh well, I was standing across from some people from Edmonton, so we passed the time discussing the forest fire situation in central BC and Alberta.  Conclusion - the smoke is bad in both places.

Got off the train and found the hostel no problem, it's about a 15 minute walk.  I put my pack in a locker and headed back to the Mile to wander.  Edinburgh has such a different vibe than Glasgow, especially with the Fringe on.  Glasgow seemed more quiet and dignified, whereas Edinburgh has hundreds more tourists in the streets, different performances of street theatre every few feet and lots of people handing out flyers trying to get you to go to the shows.  I booked myself a tour for later in the afternoon at Real Mary King's Close, then walked back to the hostel to check in.  I've got a nice room and it was such a relief to be able to unpack and spread out a bit.  I walked back to the Mile for my tour.  It was an hour long and quite interesting, about the closes that have been blocked up by the surrounding buildings, but they still exist underground. We actually went down between 2 and 3 floors underground.  I walked back to the hostel, then on to the Tesco up the block.  They must have a theft problem, as they had two big east indian bouncers keeping an eye on everyone in the store.  Was going to eat, but the kitchen and dining room were overrun by French teenagers.  Went back up to my room and logged on to check my email, skype, textplus and facebook. Had a little FB conversation with Sarah, then my long skype with home.  Went back downstairs to have dinner around 8:30, but there was another round of French teenagers cooking and eating; I didn't want to wait so huddled in a corner to make dinner and eat.  Some of them were quiet, polite and cleaned up after themselves, and some were not and did not. Like teens everywhere I guess.  The ones who had to clean up after their friends who left were not impressed to say the least! When I came back to my room, I couldn't get on the internet, so I read a bit more then went to bed.

Today I got to Scotlands' People just after 10:00 and researched until 3:30.  Found lots of birth, marriage and death certificates and printed them off.  I walked over to the Tattoo ticket office to pick up my tickets.  Then back to the hostel to have an early dinner and try to avoid the French hoards.  Now I'm up in my room blogging for you.  I'll leave around 8 for the Tattoo,  which I'll write about tomorrow,  as it will be quite late when I get back.

The weather was a real mixed bag yesterday.  It was sunny and very hot on the train, but rained later in the afternoon.  Today is quite breezy,  mostly sunny, only spit rain for a couple of minutes this afternoon.

I have 20 minutes of internet left, so let's see if I can keep this short and type fast.

Fifty thousand spectators watching ten thousand pipers and drummers.   That's who I spent the day with.

And this is what I looked like.  Use your imagination - that's what the weather was like.

It was televised live and broadcast on a big screen.

This is a small part of one of the Bus Rows:

I took the subway back to the hostel and this is what I saw on the walk from the station:

I can truly appreciate what it takes to play the pipes in that weather.   My fingers were stiff with cold, I don't know how they do it, but good on them!

Yesterday I met a man from Dawson Creek, and today I ate lunch with a pipers' mom from Edmonton.  And when I say I'm from Vancouver Island, I've had a German lady tell me she's been to Victoria, and a Swiss lady who has camped in Tofino.  I remember the days when no matter where you were from in BC you had to say you were from Vancouver because no one had heard of anywhere else.

Tomorrow - the adventures of Donna getting herself to Edinburgh!