Stirling Castle

Today we visited the city of Stirling, the main intention to visit Stirling Castle.

Winter is definitely arriving, already we’re getting ice on the footpaths here in Edinburgh. The bus trip to Stirling was mostly along the M9, and offered beautiful views of the surrounding rolling hills, covered in a light white frost.

Once in Stirling we walked to the castle, all uphill, taking in along the way the farmer’s markets in the town centre, some window shopping, and walking past various historic buildings. Almost everything we laid eyes on was historic and full of character.

The views from the castle are spectacular and difficult to capture in photographs. The day in Stirling never really warmed up, which was OK, as the air was crisp and fresh and complemented the white coloured mountains visible in all directions. The misty air, with the sun trying to break through, was most dramatic, and many large flocks of birds passed us by probably migrating south.

The castle itself was most interesting, and while not showing the trappings of others we’ve seen, was still was unique in other ways.

They have some interesting restoration projects underway also. The most recent completion was the Great Hall. With today’s know-how and technology, it took over one year to construct the roof, even though it was covered with a temporary building so not to be hampered by weather. It’s easy to respect what a large task it must have been, back in the old days.

Helen was particularly interested in the tapestries they are remaking, by hand, trying to stay faithful to the original. Taking years to complete, some are already on display while others have only just started.

After walking back down the hill, we visited Jimmy Chungs Chinese Buffet for a late lunch. We have tried the Edinburgh branch so had to try the Stirling one to compare! So far, Edinburgh is preferred.

Sufficiently fed and watered, we boarded the bus as the day was getting dark, to return home. Not without drama! I left Helen’s All Blacks hat on the bus as we got off in Edinburgh which caused a world of upset; Helen because it was her hat, and me because I had a cold head walking home.

Edinburgh's Winter Wonderland

This week the Winter Wonderland has opened down in the park on Princes Street. Tonight I meet Mike in town after work. We decided to have a quick look around after dinner.


The crowds were pretty full on for it's second night, but it was a great buzz. We have decided to spend another night down there looking through everything and trying some of the food and drinks that are there.
Even the rink was beginning to get busy, I can imagine that it will be pretty full over the weekend.

Mum leaves Edinburgh

After just 2 and half days with us it was time for Mum to be on her way back down south to Wellingborough.

Mum was on the 9.30am train to London with only 2 changes to get to Wellingborough. Although it was a short stay, she got to see our new home and enjoy some of the sights of Scotland.

A day in Glasgow with Mum

Mike had the day off on Tuesday so the 3 of us decided to make a day of it in Glasgow. Neither Mike or Mum had been to Glasgow before, so it was a good opportunity.

We took the train into Queen Street station, it is only a 50min train ride from Edinburgh Waverly. Just outside Queen Street station is George Square, the square has been setup with a skating rink for winter.

From there we headed into Buchanan Street to the shops, while wondering down we found this really nice arcade

The arcade was full of jewellery stores, I along with Mum managed not to spend any money!! Very well done us.

Just around the corner from the arcade we found this mall, which had "Scotland's Biggest Food Court"

The Scot's don't know how to do food courts that is for sure, Johnsonville mall in Wellington is bigger than this one!!!

A White Harrogate

This morning we woke to a white Harrogate, overnight the temps got down to -2 and it would seem we had a scattering of snow so we woke to this

My First Snowfall in Edinburgh

Today when I got off the bus at work I was surprised to have flakes of snow landing on me. It didn't seem that cold. Within the next hour or two it snowed on and off, and got a little heavier, enough it was clearly visible falling past my office window.

The ground outside wasn't white, as it was melting as it landed, but the hills in the distance looked quite pretty.

Here's a photo taken out my office window. It's hard to get work done with a view like that!


(Excuse the picture quality, it was taken with my cellphone)

High Tea at Betty's

This afternoon after meeting my Mum at the train station we headed for High Tea at Betty's Tea House

A Morning in York

Well this morning started rather early for me, 4.15am. I was up and packing as I needed to leave the house by 4.50am. As our bus route doesn't have buses at that time of the morning I had to walk up to Leith Walk and get a bus from there at 5.20 in the morning to the station for my 6am train to York. The train had loads of spare seats, my carriage only had four others in it. By 8.35am I was walking the streets of York with the morning works passed the beautiful York Minster Abbey Cathedral.

From there I headed further into the city towards the Shambles, and on the way found a place to have a "Bacon Buttie" and a "Cuppa Tee". Once I had finished there I was off down the Shambles


By 11am I was back at the train station to get my connecting train to Harrogate

An afternoon out

Mike and I have had a fun afternoon, we decided we would head out to Ikea and Cost Co for a look around as we needed to get a couple of things. On the way our there we bumped into a couple we had meet few weeks back when Mike first arrived in Edinburgh.

Roz and Jase are an Australian couple who we had meet on a bus one morning, at the time we didn't think to exchange details. They too had arrived in Edinburgh in August and were getting settled. Over the past couple of weeks we had wondered how they were getting on and what they were up to. Well this afternoon they hopped on the same bus as us again, it was too funny, they too were heading out to Ikea for a look around.

They hadn't looked in Cost Co before and as we were members that meant they could come in with us. On our way there Mike and I normally take a short cut through a muddy patch, but today when we got there they had filled in the muddy patch with new trees and bushes, well Jase decided we could "bush-bash" through anyway so off we set through the new trees, not damaging them, we made sure of that, only to find at the other end when we came out in the carpark of Cost Co the landscaping guys were sitting in their truck looking at us and shaking their heads as we were walking over their newly planted trees. By the dirty looks they gave us, they weren't impressed!!!

We spent some time in Cost Co looking around, the four of us decided to split up and meet back at the checkout, there were loads of people in the store doing their Christmas shopping, people were queuing for taste tests……let the Christmas madness begin.
From there we all headed back over to Ikea, the long way round this time, where this time we exchanged contact details before we split up to do our own shopping.

Mike and I spent quite a while in Ikea, and did purchase a basic book case to get some of our belongings off the floor at our flat. Shopping is hard work, so after paying for our goods we stopped to purchase what must be a Swedish delicacy, called "hot dogs" :-)

A cold morning at the markets

This morning Mike and I set out to the markets again but not quite so early this week. We noticed that the markets are busier this week, not sure if it is because people are beginning to stock up for Christmas, or perhaps getting their orders in ready for Christmas.

The weather is getting colder now and everyone seems to be out in their winter coats and boots.



The markets we attend are on Castle Terrace which is aptly named as it sits under the west side of Edinburgh Castle.


We didn’t have the time to look with quiet so much detail this week. I did however notice at the fish stall, that one of the prawns had some eggs underneath its tail, this isn’t something I had seen before, and Mike made a comment that he thought that wasn’t very PC.

Edinburgh Markets

Yesterday Mike and I decided to head off early into town as I had found on the internet that Edinburgh has Farmers Markets on a Saturday from 9am - 2pm. So off on the bus we go, along the way we played "spot the All Blacks supporters", there were kiwis everywhere with the All Blacks in town to play Scotland. By 9.30 we were at the markets. There were around 30+ stalls this week, apparently they get up to 70 stalls some weeks. After a good look around Mike and decided to try something from the Stoats Porridge Bar, we shared a White Chocolate & Hazelnut porridge, it was very hot but delicious, I haven't been much of a porridge fan myself but I can now see why it is so popular up here, keeps you nice and warm and full for the day. From there we visited the North Country Lass pie stall, and purchased something we had never had before, Teesdale Rabbit Pie.

We decide we would have the pie for dinner to see what it was like...it was great, didn't taste much like anything else I had had before, and was very filling.

So this morning we decided to go out to the other markets that we had been told about, not far out of the city by the airport. On the way the city came to a bit of a stand still as it was Remembrance Sunday and at 11am they have 2 mins silence in remembrance for those who have been in the wars. I was really amazed at the amount of people of all ages who turn out compared to the ANZAC day parades we have at home. I guess for a country who is still at war it touches a few more people. The UK armed forces have 12,000 people away at war at the moment. I guess for me from NZ where we haven't been involved it really made me think what people are still giving up for there queen and country. The below photo was taken outside Haymarket station, just one of many we saw on the way out of the city.


By 11.45 we were out at the airport walking in the direction of where the Ingliston Markets were, we had read up on the internet that they were large, and that 20,000+ people attended every week, we reckoned it wouldn't be too hard to find with that many people going. But after a good 15 mins walk we thought we must have taken a wrong turn. Up head we saw a security guard so Mike decided to ask for directions (yes a man who knows when to ask), only to be told that the markets finished 3 years ago when the farmer sold the land off!!! So for those who are googling "Ingliston Markets" don't bother going they don't exist anymore. Got to love the internet, only the wrong info sticks around.

Penrith & Lilliput Lane

Today we visited Penrith. The main reason for the trip was to visit the Lilliput Lane factory where tours are available. The trip down started early, the train left at 6:30am which arrived at Penrith 8:00am.

The moment we stepped off the train, we were amazed by the view of the Penrith Castle ruins straight across the road from the station. We started our day by walking around the castle.

Next we walked to the town centre, where we stopped at a bakery for a nibble and to read the newspaper. The first 5 pages or so were all about Barack Obama (no surprises there!). With the batteries charged we headed off to Lilliput Lane, which was about 25 minutes away on foot. The tour was scheduled for 10:30am and we arrived with plenty of time to spare.

Many of the Lilliput models are based on thatched cottages, and their visitor centre and shop is a specially built thatched cottage also. In there, models are for sale of that exact cottage. We booked the tour, by way of Helen joining the collectors club which gave us a free Lilliput model, free tour, and we get regular mail-outs. We also purchased a model of Edinburgh Castle which now carries special meaning for us given where we live.

The tour itself lasted about 1 ½ hours. Our guide was one the senior designers in their R&D department and has worked there 25 years. He was only too pleased to share his knowledge and experience with us. This went from designing the original in wax, to creating moulds, to creating plaster casts, then hand painting and detailing. It was very informative and interesting, and really gave me an appreciation of the effort involved in creating a model.

(Click on the images below for a larger view)

For all the detail in a model, the painting time is still only less than one hour per model.


It was only in the final stages of painting and packaging that the tour really illustrated a “production line”, especially seeing trays of the finished product.

With the tour finished, we sat outside the visitors centre to eat our sandwiches. There they have a house for both birds and squirrels to eat and shelter in. There was a red squirrel there, who is a regular, he was shy but made a few appearances to grab peanuts from the house. Red squirrels are even cuter than grey squirrels!

Moving on, we walked back to the town for window shopping. We also stopped for some scones with jam and cream, as you do in England.

We caught our train at 4:30pm, arriving in Edinburgh just after 6:00pm.

Lorne Sausage

I thought I’d tell you all about my first experience cooking lorne sausage. The one we bought was made of beef. It’s like a sausage meat except it isn’t contained in a skin. Slices are about 7mm thick. I tried cooking on the frying pan which went OK except I think I had too much heat. Anyway as soon as they start to cook, the smell is amazingly tasty. Simply cook briefly on each side, and serve. I think I’ll need practice to perfect the best cooking method as they were slightly overcooked on my first attempt. Oven or grill are other alternatives I will try.

Ours was accompanied with carrots and potato & sweet potato mash.

Perth

Today we visited the town of Perth. Helen booked us train tickets in advance. We boarded at 8am for a 1.5 hour trip that crossed the Firth of Forth, and doubled back along the other side providing grand views of the Edinburgh waterfront, the bridges, and the various settlements along the way. After perhaps 30 minutes the train headed inland but the views were no less spectacular.

Stepping out of the train on arrival, we noticed how it seemed colder than when we left Edinburgh. Not put off, we began our day’s walk around town. Firstly we found the information centre, to find out about the town and see what’s available within a day trip. The town centre is large enough to keep one entertained for a day, but compact enough to see all by foot easily.

We made a beeline for the centre of town, where farmer’s markets were on. We indulged a little there. Helen purchased a couple of oysters from a vendor, for £1 each, where they were shelled on the spot and eaten fresh. We also purchased some uncooked lorne sausage to try as I’d never heard of it before. We also bought some honey & mustard pork sausages. All were local fresh produce.

Next we headed down to the River Tay, so enjoy the view and eat lunch. Although we sat in the sun, it wasn’t particularly warm. We even took a cut lunch from home, we’re on hard times you know!



We walked up and down the river, crossing each bridge to take in the view.





Next we visited the Perth Museum and Art Gallery, which was beautifully presented inside and out. It contained a mix of classic "butterflys on pins" and "stuffed animals" museum exhibits, plus art, local and Scottish history, and more. Worth a look.





We then zigzagged across town to The Fergusson Gallery, the old town water works converted into a gallery containing the works of artist J.D. Fergusson.



With some day remaining, we walked around town some more, checking out the High Street shops and inside the local mall. Finally we sat and watched the world go by. What really caught our eye is that there seemed to be plenty of money in the town. It was well presented, clean and well kept. Most people dressed well, most people are carrying shopping, but what caught our eye most were the cars in the town. All (and I mean all!) were rather modern, and there were a large proportion of European cars. Endless BMW, Mercedes, Audi, VW etc were driving by.

We boarded the train at 4:40pm to return home, by which time it was nearly dark outside. The trip home was relaxing if uneventful.