Balerno and Edinburgh

On Friday 6 May after brunch of haggis, black pudding, bacon, tomatoes, potato scones and egg, we set off in our rented Astra for Maggie's place in Balerno. We'd had fine weather until then but it was raining as we left Dumfries. Steve had printed off directions for us to follow and we drove through all types of roads, from high speed motorways to roads through farmland and quaint villages, the most beautiful was Carnwath. Wind farms are very common - we've seen them from the air and often when driving through farmland.

By the time we reached Balerno the weather was fine and, after a minor loss of direction, we phoned Maggie and she came to meet us. She also made us very comfortable and we spent the afternoon catching up on family news, including the research she has done on the Watkins family. Her partner John and her son Innes arrived during the afternoon and joined in the discussions which carried on during the rest of the day and long into the night. Innes left late in the afternoon to meet friends in Edinburgh before going to stay with his father. Maggie and John prepared a lovely meal, including very tasty strawberries (from Spain), and afterwards we went for a walk through nearby fields with a view of the Firth of Forth.

On Saturday after breakfast of porridge with raspberries (Ros introduced me to this and Maggie kept it up - I think I'll also be doing it when I get home), the four of us took a bus to Edinburgh. John has worked in Edinburgh for some years and was a great tour guide on the bus trip and after we arrived in the city. We walked along Princes Street to the gardens and art galleries in the new city before taking another bus to the old city and walking past the Art Shop that featured in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Greyfriars Bobby's Bar and memorial, the cafe where Harry Potter was 'conceived', the Cow Gate and up to the Royal Mile. We had lunch in the cafe behind St Giles Church of Scotland before going our separate ways to the strains of Scotland the Brave from a busking piper.

Brian and I spent the next 2.5 hours exploring Edinburgh Castle. We met Maggie around 4pm and while we were having drinks in a pub near Gladstone's Land, a tenement that has been fully restored and is now a tourist attraction, it started to rain. So we stopped at Marks & Spencers for dinner ingredients before catching the bus back to Balerno. After dinner, Maggie produced several packets of photos that her mother, Nancy, took during Mabels' (Ros's mother) and her visit to New Zealand in 1987. We spent the rest of the night reminiscing and labeling photos. I was amazed at the range of sights, people and activities she'd captured and Maggie gave me 2 photos of dear friends from Kawhia who are no longer living.

Edinburgh landmarks - The Balmoral Hotel (with clock),unfinished  Parthenon (Edinburgh's Shame) and Nelson Monument (top right)

Brian, John and Maggie with statue of Walter Scott and St Giles Church of Scotland in the background

 

Gladstone's Land in middle of photo with 2 arches in front

Busking, Edinburgh style

Edinburgh Castle

After breakfast this morning, John gave us directions from Balerno to Stirling and we set off after another lovely time re-establishing links with our Scottish family.