Post by Kim on Dec 17, 2001 19:03:06 GMT -5
17 December
Pitlochry, Scotland
Howdy!
Still trying to catch up some, so while I am indeed in Pitlocry tonight, you'll have to wait to hear about that.
I am backtracking some to make up for lost time here.
When I left York I headed off toward southwest Scotland, not sure at all where I would stop off at. Decided on Dumfries, which is in the area know as Solway....due to the Solway firth. Good choice I found out in the days to come. The town of Dumfries itself is nothing special, although they would have you believe so of course. It is a HUGE Robert Burns (the poet) area though as he spent a goodly part of his life there and in fact died there. Many of his poems relate to or mention places in the town which are still there, like 'The Hole in the Wall' in and the Globe Pub. Also his house, and his burial spot are there. The churchyard where he is buried is a nice visit indeed...with the headstones going literally right up to the front door of the curch and every tiny bit of space anywhere on the property! Many many old stones and tombs from the late 1600's onward and it really is so interesting to just read some of them. There are stones there that have the original epitath, of whomever was buried there first, then under that will say 'and also' so and so, his wife or whaterver, and then 'and also' their sons da-di-da, and their daughter, and her husband and on and on. Some of them are ten or twlever feet high and must have 25 names or more!
Did some sightseeing outside of town and never had a better time of it. The country side is fabulous, green, rolling, with some higher peaks in the distance. A great deal of my travels from there took me down along the coast, jagged, rocky, broken by some wonderfully picturesque towns and beaches. <br>Several old abbey and castle ruins in the area worth seeing as well. <br>
One day I bought a 'day rover' pass for the buses, planning on visiting a couple of differnet sights. The first leg of the trip I was the only one on the bus and the driver took me right to the door of the Sweetheart abbey which I was going to see. The second leg from there I was once again the only one aboard. And this was a wonder indeed. The driver, Bill, was a virtual fountain of information, loved the area he lives in and at times the bus was barely going 10
mph as he paused to point out this or that along the way. From Bill I learned why the sheep all have blue or red paint on their arses....when I asked he said....I swear....'well now, that's a verra delicate subject lassie' in the most drawn out scottish accent you could wish to ever hear! Fact of the matter is, when they put the ram's into the fields, he is fitting with a harness of sorts on his chest that leaves a 'mark of course so they can tell which sheep have been 'serviced'! We saw several hawks along the way, they sit in the trees
and wait for the buses to come by to scare the mice and such out of the underbrush and they will swoop down and fly along right in front of the windshield. And besides the hawk saw my first ever golden eagle...what a sight. There are sheep everywhere and the fields are all stone fenced of course. But he told me that 7 months ago there was not a living thing in those fields. They were hit very hard with hoof and mouth in that region. When we got to the end of his part of the line, he had an hour layover, literally just in the middle of nowhere on the beach, and so did I to wait for my next bus. He shared his lunch and hot tea with me and we chatted on! What a wonderful time. For 5 pounds I had a private driver and the best tour guides you could get!
Post too long-continued in next post.
Pitlochry, Scotland
Howdy!
Still trying to catch up some, so while I am indeed in Pitlocry tonight, you'll have to wait to hear about that.
I am backtracking some to make up for lost time here.When I left York I headed off toward southwest Scotland, not sure at all where I would stop off at. Decided on Dumfries, which is in the area know as Solway....due to the Solway firth. Good choice I found out in the days to come. The town of Dumfries itself is nothing special, although they would have you believe so of course. It is a HUGE Robert Burns (the poet) area though as he spent a goodly part of his life there and in fact died there. Many of his poems relate to or mention places in the town which are still there, like 'The Hole in the Wall' in and the Globe Pub. Also his house, and his burial spot are there. The churchyard where he is buried is a nice visit indeed...with the headstones going literally right up to the front door of the curch and every tiny bit of space anywhere on the property! Many many old stones and tombs from the late 1600's onward and it really is so interesting to just read some of them. There are stones there that have the original epitath, of whomever was buried there first, then under that will say 'and also' so and so, his wife or whaterver, and then 'and also' their sons da-di-da, and their daughter, and her husband and on and on. Some of them are ten or twlever feet high and must have 25 names or more!
Did some sightseeing outside of town and never had a better time of it. The country side is fabulous, green, rolling, with some higher peaks in the distance. A great deal of my travels from there took me down along the coast, jagged, rocky, broken by some wonderfully picturesque towns and beaches. <br>Several old abbey and castle ruins in the area worth seeing as well. <br>
One day I bought a 'day rover' pass for the buses, planning on visiting a couple of differnet sights. The first leg of the trip I was the only one on the bus and the driver took me right to the door of the Sweetheart abbey which I was going to see. The second leg from there I was once again the only one aboard. And this was a wonder indeed. The driver, Bill, was a virtual fountain of information, loved the area he lives in and at times the bus was barely going 10
mph as he paused to point out this or that along the way. From Bill I learned why the sheep all have blue or red paint on their arses....when I asked he said....I swear....'well now, that's a verra delicate subject lassie' in the most drawn out scottish accent you could wish to ever hear! Fact of the matter is, when they put the ram's into the fields, he is fitting with a harness of sorts on his chest that leaves a 'mark of course so they can tell which sheep have been 'serviced'! We saw several hawks along the way, they sit in the trees
and wait for the buses to come by to scare the mice and such out of the underbrush and they will swoop down and fly along right in front of the windshield. And besides the hawk saw my first ever golden eagle...what a sight. There are sheep everywhere and the fields are all stone fenced of course. But he told me that 7 months ago there was not a living thing in those fields. They were hit very hard with hoof and mouth in that region. When we got to the end of his part of the line, he had an hour layover, literally just in the middle of nowhere on the beach, and so did I to wait for my next bus. He shared his lunch and hot tea with me and we chatted on! What a wonderful time. For 5 pounds I had a private driver and the best tour guides you could get!
Post too long-continued in next post.