In the last installment, K and friends had arrived in London from Amsterdam via boat and train.
Sun. night—July 21
The days all get so full there seems little time to write. We changed stations and were on the Edinburgh train in record time. We left London at 10:10 a.m.—E—about 5:30 p.m. There was a most interesting Scotchman in the next compartment that came to chat when he saw me with the camera at the window. I did get a few pictures out the window. There was some lovely scenery. We followed the water quite a bit.
We checked in at the Caledonian Hotel—and at once took baths. After the boat’s lack of facilities we were in need of them. We ate—and by that time it was late—so to bed.
Edinburgh’s Caledonian Hotel opened in 1903 and is considered an example of a British grand railway hotel. It was nationalized in 1948 but sold in the early 1980s as part of Margaret Thatcher’s privatization initiative; when Katharine was there it would have been run by British Transport Hotels.
Today we have had a wonderful bus trip to the Burns’ country. It was about 175 miles round trip—cost $1.97. We paid for our own lunch and tea. The day was beautiful. We have been most fortunate with the weather. We went clear across Scotland. Saw the Firth of Clyde.
The River Clyde runs through the city of Glasgow on the west coast of Scotland, and has played a major role in shipbuilding and trade for centuries. The Firth of Clyde is its connection to the North Atlantic Ocean. Here’s Scottish tenor Kenneth McKellar singing “Song of the Clyde,” with some lovely images of the river.
The bus driver and conductor was very fine. He had a real Scotch burr. I’ve been so used to having someone translate—I found myself, at times, waiting for the English! We visited the birth place of Burns—Brig o’Doon—and saw Tam O’Shanter Inn—as well as many of the places he had been or lived.
Scottish poet Robert Burns was born in the village of Alloway, in the county of Ayrshire in southwestern Scotland. Katharine took photos of the cottage where he was born, the Auld Kirk in Alloway, the Brig o’ Doon (a bridge mentioned in Burns’ famous poem “Tam o’ Shanter”), and the waterfront near the Firth of Clyde.
That was interesting—but the country side was more so to me. My knowledge of Burns is very meagre. Bertha teaches Burns so she found it very exciting. One is surely impressed with the number of sheep there are—as well as many cattle. Our guide had a very varied amount of interests. It did not seem to be a “canned” speech. We stopped so he could pick and show us the flowers—bell heather, orchids, clover (very tiny blossoms), etc. etc.
Bell heather is widespread in Britain and Ireland, particularly on moors and heathland. It is a major source of nectar for pollinators.
On the desk now reposes a piece of peat I dug out with my hands. I’ll soon have to dump it. The signs were interesting: “Unfenced—Beware of Sheep,” “Dual Carriage Road.”
Here are some sheep from K’s photos.
We saw at Ayr the castle in which Eisenhower has an apartment—for his use at any time.
At the end of WWII, a Scottish aristocrat offered the top floor of the family home, Culzean Castle, to General Dwight Eisenhower for personal use during his lifetime. He visited several times—before, during, and after his presidency. The property is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is part of a country park that is open to visitors.
Because we are taking another tour tomorrow that doesn’t get back until 8:00 p.m. we are staying another night in Edinburgh—going to Glasgow in time to get the boat. The trains go often, but it looked hard to get there after the tour. That will give us a bit of time to poke about here. You know me—I’d like to get into the shops.
It is a good trip. I wish I could remember all I have seen. Just this taste of Scotland makes me want to come back again. The only disappointment here is that it is too early for the real heather—but I did see it last summer in Norway.
Enough—must sleep for another day of looking is ahead.
Love, Katharine
It is good to get your letters.
Apparently Katharine sent this piece of her travel journal off to Ruth and started a new one shortly thereafter.
I can’t remember where I left off in my last epistle—but I think it was after the Burns tour on Sunday. I have felt as if I was on a tour the way we have to push these last several days. Monday we were up early to take a 212 mile tour of the Trossachs, Loch Katrine, and Loch Lomond.
Here’s the countryside they would have traveled on this tour. The Trossachs is an area of wooded glens, braes, and lochs that is often considered the gateway to the Scottish Highlands. Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine (the fictional setting of Sir Walter Scott’s poem The Lady of the Lake) are two large freshwater lakes. One of the first actions of the recently-established Scottish Parliament was to designate this area as the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park in 2002.
I had hoped we would have the one that included a steamer trip on the Lochs—but this was all by bus. It was somewhat more rugged country than the Burns tour. The Burns country is in the Lowlands—this one took us to the beginning of the Highlands.
I found this picture in K’s slides, and identified it as the Floral Clock at Dollar Park in Falkirk, which would have been along the bus route for this trip.
We had lunch at Callander—we didn’t go into the restaurant where the tour went but bought a sausage roll—and a “sweet” and sat on a bench by the river. I did a bit of shopping. It was eight by the time we got back to the hotel. By the time we ate—did the daily washing—no writing.
Callander is a small town that is the eastern gateway to the Trossachs. It’s a very popular place for fishing. I found this picture of a bench by the river there.
Tuesday a.m. was the only time we had in Edinburgh to do any shopping. But I managed to dash about a bit and do some. We had lunch at the hotel and took a 1:50 p.m. train to Glasgow. It started to rain on the way—and was messy in Glasgow. We had taken a train so we could shop a bit in Glasgow—but it was the day the stores were closed! We stopped at a tea shop and had hot chocolate—and wandered about a bit—then went to the hotel near the station where we had checked our bags and had dinner.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Travels with K! If you know someone who might like to join us on the journey, please feel free to share.
