winifredcreamer

Scottish Castles and then some

Southern Scotland is full of castles. How do you choose which ones to visit? After I realized that we couldn’t visit them all, we chose a couple from a range of time periods to see whether we can see any changes over time. What I found is that castles didn’t change much between the 12thContinue reading “Scottish Castles and then some”

Why here? A ten-second economic history

We drive down narrow roads, rarely passing anyone, heading for the shore. Our only company is the landscape and the sheep and cattle grazing. We arrive at the end of the road a few steps from the rocky beach. The tide is out so far that you can’t see the water. This is a hugeContinue reading “Why here? A ten-second economic history”

Men on plinths, Part II

It turns out that men on plinths is not just an Edinburgh phenomenon. Surprise!, it’s Robert Burns (again). This is in the center of Dumfries. There is really a passion for Robert Burns. In Moffat, the Black Bull pub that has a plaque on it because Robert Burns wrote a brief poem on a windowContinue reading “Men on plinths, Part II”

Sheep Races

Every town in Scotland has a summer festival or agricultural show, meaning that on any given weekend you are within an hour’s drive of at least two such events. We had the Dalbeattie Civic Day on Saturday, culmination of a week-long series of events. The parade started at 1 pm, led by a pipe band.Continue reading “Sheep Races”

Ruby Cottage

Our present outpost is Ruby Cottage, on the High Street in Dalbeattie (some say “Dal-bee”), Scotland. The High Street is not the busiest street in town, and our bedroom overlooks the back garden, so it is quiet at night. The back garden is a long stretch of grass, with picnic table and chairs, charcoal grillContinue reading “Ruby Cottage”

Tea in the country

At the Stewartry show, we met a member of the local Royal Scottish Forestry Society. We chatted a bit and the next thing you know, William invited us to tea on Saturday. It sounded like fun, we’d had an enjoyable chat, and it was a chance to get to know someone from the area aContinue reading “Tea in the country”

The Stewartry Show

We jumped right in to life in southern Scotland. During August, every town and region holds an agricultural show and a town fair. We went to the Stewartry (historically, a region within what is now Dumfries and Galloway) show, and watched animal judging A woman I spoke to said “Are you here for the congress?”Continue reading “The Stewartry Show”

Get in the car.

These may be the scariest words on the planet for someone approaching a right hand drive vehicle for the first time. The day before we left Edinburgh, with our rental car awaiting us in the morning, we took a driving lesson. One hour each behind the wheel with Michael, the most unflappable person I’ve everContinue reading “Get in the car.”

Good to know about Edinburgh

THE Festival If you plan to attend the Edinburgh Festival, I can’t help you. We are leaving the city before it begins, in part because the cost of housing skyrockets and we can’t keep to our budget and stay in an apartment. Perhaps another year we’ll come for a Festival week and listen to lotContinue reading “Good to know about Edinburgh”

Other fun in Edinburgh, ancient and modern

Some of the places we’ve visited and things we’ve seen in Edinburgh haven’t fit in to my comments until now. By joining Historic Scotland, we were able to visit Edinburgh Castle multiple times, Linlithgow Castle and there are 75 sites they manage. Not all have admission fees, and I enjoyed visiting one of these thatContinue reading “Other fun in Edinburgh, ancient and modern”