My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare…..Mike Myers

The beautiful sunrise over the chimneys of York proved to be the beautiful omen I thought. The day turned out to be a pearler. Sunshine all the way. Still cool in the morning but not a cloud in the sky. We made a plan to again slide the suitcases down the two flights of narrow stairs. This time it worked like a dream. By the time we got to the bottom of the stairs we sighed with relief and headed out to the car.

As I mentioned yesterday, parking in York is tight and someone had parked next to us with a bigger car, so we were tightly wedged in. The car was okay but we couldn’t get in the doors. We did have some access at the back though, so I volunteered to climb in through the hatch. The seats were already down to accomodate our suitcases, so that was easy enough. Funnily enough, when you look at a situation like that and know you’ve done the exact thing before, you tend to forget you were heaps younger, fitter and slimmer when you did it. Oh well, fortune favours the brave so I climbed in and then had to twist and turn to be able to push the front drivers seat right back and the passenger seat completely forward so I could get into the drivers seat to get the car out.

I had put our handbags on the front seat and then got one foot caught in a strap of them. I also have a dicky leg that doesn’t always do what is expected of it, so it just said, ‘oh no, not today’ and refused to lift where I wanted it to go. With a little gentle persuasion ( I had to physically pick that foot up with my hand and move it while I was bent with my back pressed against the roof of the car) I was in the driver’s seat and had driven out of the carpark. I hope there was no CCTV footage in the street because it would have won funniest home videos without a problem. An overweight older woman trying to climb from the backseat of a small MG into the front seat. Not pretty. Anyway, we were now ready to load up our suitcases. That all done, we were off like some bad haggis in the midday sun. Scotland here we come! (you’ll have to imagine me saying that numerous times with a really bad Scottish accent. Cecile doesn’t have to imagine, I did it a lot)

We set our navigation straight up today and ended up down the road in a dead end street so did a quick 5 point turn in the narrow road and again, Scotland here we come. Now I think the navigation in England was a bit behind and it thought it was still April Fool’s day because it took us on many twists and turns down country lanes before we actually made it out of York. But make it out we did. Before we knew it we were on the motorway winding our way North.

Now I have to tell you here, that when I woke up this morning, I was crying as I was dreaming I was at a Seeker’s concert (Australian band) and Judith Durham who passed away a few years ago was singing Morningtown Ride. I loved the Seeker’s and regretted never seeing them live and when Judith passed away, I knew I had missed seeing the voice of our lifetime. But in my dream she was singing to me. So when we saw a sign to Durham, it felt like more than a physical sign, so we stopped for a cuppa. Turns out it WAS just a physical sign after all. But still, we had a cuppa and a cinnamon bun and continued on.

At Newcastle on Tyne maps again did it’s own thing and instead of continuing up to Edinburgh the way I’ve been before, which would have taken us through Berwick on Tweed, it took us more inland which was much more country lane territory again. When we left Durham, we kept seeing signs for Jedburgh, which i’d never even heard of. Was it a weird spelling of Edinburgh? But I checked on my own phone maps and yes, we would get to Edinburgh this way through a place called Jedburgh. I just couldn’t understand why Jedburgh was more prominent than Edinburgh but whatever.

We drove and drove and drove and drove and still got nowhere near Jedburgh. We started to think it was actually Brigadoon and just kept shifting but eventually after many hours, we finally started to realise it might be real when we saw a sign for either Jedward or Jedwaters. Jed must have been a popular person. Anyway, finally seeing the Jedburgh sign, the remnants of a massive and beautiful old Abbey came into view. It was a real renovators delight. But I had to stop and get some photos of it. We parked and decided we’d have some fish and chips for lunch which was absolutely divine. Real old fashioned chips cut from potatoes, not fries from a frozen bag.

After lunch we drove off again through more towns and places with Jed in their name and continued on to Edinburgh. After driving round a roundabout a few times and having to do a U turn, we finally made our way to our accomodation. A bit more luxurious tonight as we were staying at DoubleTree by Hilton right near the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. However, the site says there was parking available but it is actually a few blocks away, so we dropped our bags first then headed to the car park. Walking along the rough cobblestone roads would have killed our suitcases, so I’m glad Cecile suggested it.

From the carpark we could see the imposing site of the castle on the hill. Oh it is such an incredible spectacle. I’ve seen it twice before but no matter how many times I see it, I will never not marvel at it’s majesty. Scotland is one of those places which is completely no nonsense. Almost brutalist in it’s being. It is practical and a bit bleak, with no time for frilly bits that don’t add to the workings of anything, yet it has a softness and a romance that is all it’s own. Yes of course there are highly decorated buildings but everything is a bit austere. It is a rugged, bleak, windswept country, yet is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.

Anyway, enough of me trying to describe a country that raised some of the greatest poets ever. I will leave the waxing lyrical up to them. We walked back to the hotel and checked in. While we are on the second floor, there is a lift here which we were both relieved about. They even gave us a warm choc chip biscuit as we arrived so we sat and had a cuppa in our room with said biscuit before we headed out to the castle. The room is nice and I’m actually typing this from the built in desk in the room rather than the bed. It was certainly dearer than anywhere we’ve stayed yet, but it is worthwhile.

We went back downstairs and asked them to call a taxi which was there in no time and we were on our way to the castle. While it wasn’t a long walk, it is very hilly of course and our feet were still sore from yesterday. The cabbie dropped us off in the forecourt of the castle but the sun was right over the top of it, making it almost impossible to get a decent photo of it. We would have to wait a bit. There is lots to see up there though, so we walked the boundaries enjoying the view and beautiful carpet of daffodils which are everywhere from the castle forecourt, then went into the tartan woolen shop and wandered through the camera obscura gift store too. It was almost dinner time so we went in search of a restaurant or pub so we could wait until the sun was setting and we could admire the castle without the sun burning our retinas.

We found a fantastic little cafe that I would highly recommend to anyone who comes here. Now to be fair, some of the food was, let’s say, very Scottish. Fried pickle onions, haggis bon bons.. But there was other stuff that looked great. The restaurant was called Maxie’s and was just around the corner from the Royal Mile. Walk to the big cathedral near the castle and turn right. We both had a prawn and avocado salad with a side of baked brie with cranberry to share. Oh it was absolutely delicious and really reasonable priced. We sat there for a while watching the antics of 3 woman and a baby who were also dining there. The baby was at that gorgeous age where the world is just there for their entertainment. The floor was covered in pasta and chips where he had been eating. One of the women started to shove straws in her mouth and was mimicking a walrus which made the baby shriek with laughter and in turn we were all laughing. Is there a more beautiful sound than a baby laughing?

Anyway, we waited until around the time the sun was supposed to set and wandered back out but by then it was freezing and the sun seemed to not have read when it was supposed to go to bed. It was providing some beautiful colours but still stubbornly staying so the castle wasn’t in the dark like we wanted and we ended up giving up and heading home. We started to walk in the direction that maps told us we should which was down a steep cobblestoned alley and then down a massive flight of old, worn stone steps. By the time we hit the bottom, maps said, oh no you’re going the wrong way. Can I just say here that the walking component of maps sucks. You start walking in the direction it says and then it lets you go a fair way and say, oops you’re going the wrong way. And when you turn around it lets you walk again and then says.. oops you were going the right way before. I think it is in cahoots with the fitness Gods who want you to walk more than your 10,000 steps a day. Anyway, I digress. As you may have guess, we got lost… AGAIN! So refusing to walk back UP those steps, we walked further down to the train station where we found the taxi rank and happily jumped in one. I got to give directions to where we wanted to go as Cecile kept calling the hotel the Twin Wood, not the Double Tree. I see her thinking but it wouldn’t have helped us to get back. I wrenched my knee getting into the cab and honestly thought I’d done some serious damage but by the time I got out it was almost back to normal again.

We got back here, freezing cold so hot showers and an early night were needed. By the time I’d had my shower, Cecile was already asleep so I did a few things and went off to sleep myself. We were both awake very early this morning and it’s only 6.30 am as I write this but we both feel fully rested. Today we are off Nessie hunting to Loch Ness.. Watch out for the news. I’m sure she’ll come out to me when I call and we will make the big time.. Until then..

Happy Hunting… Livvy xxx

c