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| Gretna Green |
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| Ruth on Hadrian's Wall |
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| Looking towards a section of the wall (running diagonally across the green field) from the Roman Fort |
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| The Agricultural Hotel, Penrith |
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| The ruins of Penrith Castle directly opposite the Agricultural Hotel |
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Gretna Green, Hadrian's Wall and Penrith
After taking one wrong exit on the motorway through Glasgow and asking for directions, we made very good time and were at Gretna Green by lunchtime. Rain was still with us and we spent some time sightseeing and shopping before setting out to find Hadrian's Wall. The wall was signposted all along the A69 and we explored a few turn offs before finally arriving at Housesteads. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable few hours walking to and on the wall and exploring the Roman Fort and museum. We had intended staying overnight at Carlisle but the weather was fine and driving was good so we went on to Penrith. By the time we arrived it was 5.45pm and after a quick drive around the town we finally found a park outside the Agricultural Hotel and there was one room available. We learned later that the first cattle market in the world was held in Penrith, on the space where this hotel sits - in fact we ate our dinner and breakfast in what was the show ring.
The Trossachs and Loch Lomond
After a spot of shopping and visiting the Information Centre in Callander, we set off on the A81 then the A821, a loop around Loch Katrine, past the huge Trossachs Inn and along Loch Venachar - apparently water is piped from these two lochs to supply the Glasgow reservoir. We continued on to Crianlarich and detoured from the main road to see Rob Roy's grave at Balquidder and to have lunch in the Rob Roy Bar at the Kings House Hotel.When we reached the graveyard, it started to rain and by the time we'd started lunch some of the forecasted thunder arrived. the scenery was amazing the whole way as we continued down the edge of Loch Lomond to Balloch, where we'd booked a B&B through the Information Centre in Callander. We arrived earlier than planned and went for a walk along the river bank and through beautiful parkland to the castle.
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| Loch Katrine |
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| The Trossachs Inn |
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| Rob Roy's grave between those of his wife and two sons |
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| Looking across the loch to one of many buildings along the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond |
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| Balloch Castle |
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Stirling
We arrived at Stirling Castle just before noon in heavy rain so went to the cafe for soup, cake and coffee. By the time we'd finished, the rain had stopped. As we went into the castle itself, we joined a tour of the Great Hall and Royal Chapel. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring inside and out, the ramparts and gardens. The 3 castles we've visited are completely different and we have a much greater understanding of Scottish history as a result of our visits and the conversations we had with Maggie and John during our brief stay with them.
After leaving Stirling, we drove through beautiful countryside to Callander and checked into the Crags hotel for the night. We had a stroll down the main street before joining a bunch of rowdy locals in the bar. They were very friendly and chatted with us while we sampled the local beers - mine was Bitter and Twisted, a blonde with a squeeze of lemon brewed in Alloa just down the road, Brian started with Bellhaven Best and then tried the locals' favourite, Tennants Lager. We ate in the dining room - haggis, neeps and tatties for me and beef pie with veges and mash for Brian - both very good. I made the most of the wifi after dinner updating the blog while Brian caught up on his tv watching and sleeping.
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| Looking towards Stirling from the castle |
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| Inside the castle grounds - the orange coloured structure in the background is the Great Hall |
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| The Bowling Green and gardens with Great Hall in the background |
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| A street in Stirling |
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| Stirling Castle with statue of Robert the Bruce in the foreground |
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| Brian with the proprietor of the Crags Hotel, a keen rugby man |
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.
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.
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.
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| Edinburgh landmarks - The Balmoral Hotel (with clock),unfinished Parthenon (Edinburgh's Shame) and Nelson Monument (top right) |
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| Brian, John and Maggie with statue of Walter Scott and St Giles Church of Scotland in the background |
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| Gladstone's Land in middle of photo with 2 arches in front |
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| Busking, Edinburgh style |
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| 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.
Dumfries and Galloway
On Monday 2nd May, Kat waved us off on the 7am bus from Park Island to the airport and we arrived at Heathrow 12+ hours later at approx 3.30pm. Our flight to Edinburgh was delayed by 20 mins so we had plenty of time to go through Immigration (a lengthier process than anywhere else we'd been), collect our bags, get to the Domestic terminal and check in.
Ros and Steve met us at Edinburgh Airport and took us home to stay with them and help organise meeting up with cousins Maggie and Hazel. They were wonderful hosts, showing us around Dumfries and Galloway, helping to get Lee's phone up and running (mine was left in the shuttle on the way to Auckland airport), organising a rental car for the rest of our UK holiday, to say nothing of the luxury boutique B&B they run - just joking... but they certainly could. Ros made sure we were well fed with a range of Scottish fare, John saw to our "liquid refreshments" and both of them ensured we were comfortable and had everything we needed. We had a lot of fun together before leaving to visit Maggie in Balerno, near Edinburgh, on Friday.
Ros and Steve met us at Edinburgh Airport and took us home to stay with them and help organise meeting up with cousins Maggie and Hazel. They were wonderful hosts, showing us around Dumfries and Galloway, helping to get Lee's phone up and running (mine was left in the shuttle on the way to Auckland airport), organising a rental car for the rest of our UK holiday, to say nothing of the luxury boutique B&B they run - just joking... but they certainly could. Ros made sure we were well fed with a range of Scottish fare, John saw to our "liquid refreshments" and both of them ensured we were comfortable and had everything we needed. We had a lot of fun together before leaving to visit Maggie in Balerno, near Edinburgh, on Friday.
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| Ros and Steve at Sweetheart Abbey, Dumfries |
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| Dumfries High Street |
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| Brian and Steve sampling single malt whisky and shortbread in the Dramming Room at Bladnoch Distillery |
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| Ruth, Ros and Brian at Caerlaverock Castle, built by the Maxwells in the 13th century |
Last day in Hong Kong
The long silence is due to me being too busy catching up with cousins in Scotland to spend time updating the blog. Now we're off for a few days touring and where we have Internet access I'll be more diligent. I'll start by attempting to fill the gaps...
We had a fun day with Kat, Sean, Lee, Jasmine and their Park Island friends celebrating Sakina's birthday on Cheung Chau where she grew up. We took 2 ferries to get there, followed by a walk to the Wind Surfing Club restaurant and bar where we enjoyed a Chinese bbq of several courses. This took several hours and some of us went for walks and swims during the breaks. We'd taken the fast ferry in the morning but by the time we left there were long queues for the ferry and we ended up on the slow one. We got seats outside and enjoyed the view while Sakina fed us with Chinese delicacies she'd picked up in Cheung Chau - eggs that had been pickled until the shells dissolved and mangoes wrapped in rice flour dumpling-type balls. We all arrived home too tired to wait for tables at the local restaurant we'd planned to eat. So Kat and I headed off to the Park n Shop for ingredients to make toasted sandwiches.
We had a fun day with Kat, Sean, Lee, Jasmine and their Park Island friends celebrating Sakina's birthday on Cheung Chau where she grew up. We took 2 ferries to get there, followed by a walk to the Wind Surfing Club restaurant and bar where we enjoyed a Chinese bbq of several courses. This took several hours and some of us went for walks and swims during the breaks. We'd taken the fast ferry in the morning but by the time we left there were long queues for the ferry and we ended up on the slow one. We got seats outside and enjoyed the view while Sakina fed us with Chinese delicacies she'd picked up in Cheung Chau - eggs that had been pickled until the shells dissolved and mangoes wrapped in rice flour dumpling-type balls. We all arrived home too tired to wait for tables at the local restaurant we'd planned to eat. So Kat and I headed off to the Park n Shop for ingredients to make toasted sandwiches.
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| Cheung Chau beach - Sakina's birthday party is taking place in the building with the white tent-like roof and yellow umbrella to the left of the helicopter pad in the middle of the photo |
Saturday, April 30, 2011
A few days in Hong Kong
We've spent the last 5 days relaxing and spending time with Lee and Jasmine. Brian developed a cold soon after we returned from Thailand and needed to see the local Dr who prescribed 4 different tablets and some cough syrup. Jasmine took Gran on some tours and they played the piano in the Green Green Club, swam in the Blue Blue Club and played games in the Chic Chic Club arcade. We all played Monopoly - we'd brought the NZ version with credit cards with us and both kids enjoyed being the banker.
On Tuesday afternoon we caught the ferry to Central and rode the tram for over an hour through Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai, Causeway Bay and Fortress Hill. We met Kat and Sean after work and Sean took Brian to TST to collect his new spectacles.
On Thursday we took Lee and Jasmine to Ocean Park, a family theme park with a mixture of exhibits and rides. Although the weather was cloudy and turned to rain, we had a wonderful day. We arrived just before noon and left 8 hours later after seeing pandas, performing dolphins, sea lions, a wide range of jelly fish and many other forms of wild life. We also spent a lot of time standing in queues, an inevitable part of visiting popular places in China. They usually post the waiting time on a board and we passed some exhibits by rather wait 60-75 mins. At one stage, Lee and Grandad queued for the ferris wheel (30 mins waiting time) while Jasmine and Gran queued for the flying swing (20 mins waiting time). We had our ride and went to watch Lee and Grandad go on the ferris wheel just as it closed due to the rain! So Lee and Jasmine went back into the queue for the flying swing while we sat and rested our feet. We took the cable car both ways to the main fun park and the day ended with a very impressive light and fireworks display on a lake.
On Friday, we went with Kat, Lee and Jasmine to Tsing Yi on the bus and then to Central on the MTR. We dashed around each floor of the Worldwide building looking for a dress for Jasmine to wear to Jason's and Emily's wedding, then took a tram to a Vietnamese restaurant to have Foo (beef and noodle soup) and lime sodas for lunch. We spent the afternoon at Time Warner where we had a tour of the Cartoon Network department. Lee is one of their newest stars - the boy in the ad for Generator Rex which went live this week. He was treated like a VIP and all of us had a great time there. It looks a fun place to work with tv screens at each workstation and massage chairs for staff use. We spent the evening watching the Royal wedding along with millions of others worldwide.
Today we went to a 40th birthday bbq with lots of bubbly here on Park Island and looked through a couple of apartments. Kat and Sean need to move by the end of next month as someone has bought theirs and wants to move into it. Tomorrow, we're going to a 35th birthday celebration at Cheung Chau, another island.
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| Jasmine at the Blue Blue Club |
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| A view from the tram in Wan Chai |
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| The Amazing Panda Adventure |
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| An amazing girl with a panda |
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| Lee and Jasmine ready to ride the Flying Swing |
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| Outside the Jelly Fish Spectacular |
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| View of Ocean Park from the cable car |
Today we went to a 40th birthday bbq with lots of bubbly here on Park Island and looked through a couple of apartments. Kat and Sean need to move by the end of next month as someone has bought theirs and wants to move into it. Tomorrow, we're going to a 35th birthday celebration at Cheung Chau, another island.
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| Hong Kong style ice bucket |
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