Linlithgow Palace

Roofless and ruined the wonder that is Linlithgow Palace still shines through.

David I was the first monarch to build a residence on this spot overlooking a small inland loch in 1124. Linlithgow even means the "loch in the damp hollow", but Linlithgow Palace is most famous for being the residence of the Stewart family. James V, Mary Queen of Scots and Princess Elizabeth all being born here. Although ravaged by fire in 1424 the palace rose like a phoenix from the ashes through James I who started to build a new palace. Over the next centuries his heirs built on and the palace grew to be the impressive quadrangular abode that captured the hearts of the Stewart Queens. Sadly when James VI moved his court to London when he was named James I of England, Linlithgow Palace fell quickly into decline. 

Climbing Arthur's Seat

So many moons ago when I was a young and naive traveler....hahahaha who am I kidding I would probably make some of the same travelling mistakes again and again. One such travelling mistake happened the first time I ever visited Edinburgh with my sister and friend Kristin (haha yes I am naming and shaming). Well we were visiting Edinburgh and decided we would of course climb the famous Arthur's Seat.

Now we knew you could walk to it from the city centre, we could see a mountain so we put two and two together and thought of course that we had made four. We started climbing and climbing...and after walking for quite some time we were starting to doubt ourselves so we asked a jogger when they came by if in fact we needed to carry on walking. His answer was something along the lines of: "sorry girls this is not Arthur's Seat. That is it over there" cue the pointing to the mountain next to the one we had just climbed. Oh the EPIC fail of two and two making ten. We never did get to climb Arthur's Seat on that visit as time was not on our side.

BUT years later and I finally climbed the right mountain! YES :) My fellow Scotland road tripper Katie and I decided to start our Scotland Footsteps road trip with climbing Arthur's Seat. It was also the start of our road trip shoes apt;y named CON - TIKI in the spirit of making life count, enjoy!

View from halfway up Arthur's Seat

Celebrations as we reached the top. 

The Majesty of the Cathedral of St Andrews

It was the largest and most magnificent cathedral in Scotland. 

Built in 1158 and dedicated to Andrew the Apostle this Roman Catholic cathedral dominated the kingdom of Fife which in fact did not actually have a king at all. 

It became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland. 

Yet today it is but a ghost of its former glory.

Today you walk through the stone arch entrance and are graced with a strange feeling of being both inside and out. 

The cathedral fell into ruin and disuse during the Scottish Reformation in the 16th Century.

So long since gone are its 30m high ceilings.

 Yet three of its exterior walls still stand to some extent allowing you to imagine and sense the huge scale that was this cathedrals original 118m length and 51m width. 

Empty spaces where altars and stained glass should be. 

Silent witnesses to watch over the crumbling of something that once stood so tall. 

A longing looking out at the North Sea. 

Funny how no matter how much stone a building can lose it can still stand as tall as the day it was built in the minds of those that visit it.

Bennachie

Forts from over 2000 years ago, the remains of squatter settlements, battlefields and a mineral currently being studied by NASA. Well I don't know about you but that is way more than I thought I would be getting when I set out this afternoon to walk up Bennachie.

Bennachie being typically Scottish is pronounced almost nothing like it is spelt. You would say it a little something like this 'Ben-a-heed'. It is a very distinctive hill with several tops located near Aberdeen in Scotland. This hill is extremely popular with the local walkers, families and trail runners as the surrounding area is quite flat giving Bennachie a feeling of isolation but also of dominance.

The hill has two main peaks, Oxen Craig at a height of 528m and Mither Tap at 518m. Most of the Bennachie range is owned by the Forestry Commission who maintain the trails, car park and even a visitors centre with the help of the Bailies of Bennachie a local volunteer group.

The history of this area and hill are rather interesting as it has seen a battle, the Battle of Harlaw in 1411 when the Earl of Mar faced the Highlanders, and has sustained a settlement of squatters, known as the Colony. Remains of their settlements can still be seen today along some of the many walks available. There is even a romantic tragedy linked to the Battle of Harlaw and the Hosie Well which can be seen when doing the Mither Tap walk via the Maiden Causeway from the Rowan Tree car park side. 

The story tells of a local man, Hosie, who was to be wed but had to postpone because he was called to fight in the battle. He was captured and held prisoner for many years before he managed to escape. Alas he returned home to discover that his bride-to-be had gone on to wed another. Stuck down with sorrow and heartache he felt that he had nothing to live for and died soon after. He was buried on a hill overlooking Mither Tap and the well nearby was called Hosies Well as the water in it is said to be nothing but the tears of Hosie.

 

 The peak that stands out the most when looking at Bennachie is Mither Tap, which at one stage in its life was home to an ancient hill fort built over 2000 ago. Some of this fort is still visible today and when you do the Mither Tap walk you walk through what was the main entrance to the fort. You will be able to make out two distinctive walls that formed the outer wall of the fort. It is thought that there were at least ten buildings within this fort at one time.

Looking into the history of Bennachie when I returned home I was most surprised to read about the mineral macaulayite. That so far is only found in one place in the world and that place is at the foot of Bennachie. Macaulayite is a red, earthy mineral discovered in the 1970s by Dr Jeff Wilson and is named after the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen. Apparently it is formed by granite which has been weathered by tropical climates before the last Ice Age. Now the even more interesting part is that NASA is currently studying the mineral as it is speculated that it is the substance which gives the planet Mars its colour.

All in all Bennachie is a beautiful and interesting area that has locals and foreigners alike flocking to climb its banks, explore its trails and breathe in the wonder and grace that is the Scottish countryside. 

Rough Seas

As the wind and rain continues to batter most of the United Kingdom the North Sea joins in to make it's voice heard. 

The Aberdeen Harbour wall is engulfed by the waves. 

Scottish Hiking

Got no plans for your weekend and feel like getting some fresh air - well if you are in Scotland you could try your hand at a bit of munro bagging. So most people who read my blog are probably going 'say what? Munro bagging?' right about now.

Yes, there is such a thing and it has over the years become quite the popular pastime in Scotland and its neighbouring countries. Ok so to get us all on the same page a Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over 3, 000 ft (914.4m) and a Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a seperate mountain. They are named after Sir Hugh Munro who drew up the first list of such hills in 1981. There are 283 Munros and 227 subsidiary tops in Scotland, which basically means that is is the perfect place for hikers, climbers or just people who like to walk for hours.

So Saturday morning rolled around and my sister's friend from London arrived in Scotland to visit for the weekend and as she is training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in roughly two months we decided that it would be a great idea to try a Munro ourselves.

We layered up (never trust Scottish weather) even though the sun was out, filled our water bottles and piled into the car setting off for Loch Muick. As this was to be our starting point to climb Lochnagar.

Lochnagar is on the royal estate of Balmoral and is the name of the carter created by a massive mine explosion during the First World War. Lochnagar is also the setting for Prince Charles's children story 'The Old Man of Lochnagar' published in 1980.

It took us six hours to walk to the Munro top at Lochnagar, and the weather did not treat us kindly. It rained on us three times before we reached the top and I was soaked to the bone by the time we did (investing in a good waterproof jacket is now top of my list). As we reached the top a fog had begun to descend over the Munro, it felt a bit like you were in a cloud, and it halted our progress as we could no longer make out the path.

Here are some photos from our journey - although I have never been happier to see the car and my left leg was starting to get extremely stiff (as I must have upset a muscle that hadn't been used in years) I would happily try my hand at a Munro again!

The crater from above.

The Cliffs of Lochnagar.

Building our own 'cairn' (pronounced ken) when we reached the top. Cairn usually refers to a man-made pile of rocks and comes from the Scottish Caelic. 

If you look closely just above the hill on the right hand side you will notice a forest (dark patch) behind that is where our car is parked and shows you how far we walked. I believe it was roughly 13km, but the view and sense of accomplishment was well worth it.  

Aberdeen ignited by London 2012 Olympic Torch

70 days, 8 000 torchbearers and the beginning of a sporting event that sees the world come together.  

Crowds line the sides of Union Street in Aberdeen to secure their places to cheer the torchbearers on and catch a glimpse of the Olympic flame. 

Large screens show the crowds what is happening on the main stage set up at Castlegate Square. 

Entertainers keep the crowds in good spirits as they brave the cold while waiting for the torchbearer to make the last leg of its journey into Aberdeen. 

A birds eye view for the police. 

People of all ages came to see this once in a lifetime event. 

The final torchbearer of the day was Evelyn Capper, 60, voted by her community for her dedication and warmth as a full time foster carer. 

 Professional golfer and Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie OBE also carried the torch on its journey into Aberdeen. 

The torch will continue on to Dundee, Edinburgh, York and many other towns before ending at the Olympic stadium on the 27th July during the Olympic Games opening ceremony. 

I waited more than two hours in the cold at the side of the road in a crowd of thousands for just a glimpse of   a torch that flickered by me almost quicker than I could take a photo. Many would ask if it was worth it, and I would have to answer them 'yes, it was'. I guess the only way I can explain it is that the Olympic flame is all about symbolism. For me the torches represent what Pierre de Coubertin describes as 'an increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic and more courageous'