London at the Last Minute

At this point in our time in the UK we had been notified that the company was pulling expats back home due to pandemic related issues.  We were very disappointed that our time was quickly coming to close and that the pandemic had nullified much of our plans for European travel.  However, there was also an overwhelming sense of relief to finally be going home, back to our family, back to America!  I don't recommend taking on a pandemic in a foreign country.  

A trip to London had been planned many times over, but the pandemic kept ebbing away at our opportunities.  Knowing that another lockdown was soon pending, we planned the trip, booked it, and waited cautiously ahead of the October break in hopes that we'd get to go.  In the week leading up to the trip the government announced that a new circuit breaker would be beginning soon, with the start date to be announced in the following days.  At this news, I contacted my travel agent and cancelled all the plans thinking that there'd be no point in traveling to London if everything was closed.  Just two days before the planned trip date the government announced that circuit breaker would be focused in the most affected areas rather than country wide.  No doubt, this was an effort to try to help keep a dwindling economy stumbling forward and not take another tremendous loss at the hands of another lockdown.  And as luck would have it, London was not scheduled to go into the circuit breaker.  I called my travel agent back that night and rebooked everything.  We packed up the next day and caught a nearly empty train to London!

Earl of Wemyss and Gosford House

One crisp Scottish morning, my very dear friend Michelle arranged for a private tour of Gosford House, which is a neoclassical country home owned by the Scottish Nobleman the 13th Earl of Wemyss.  The home serves as his holiday home, since his primary residence is in England.  

The estate was built in 1780 and sits on more than 5,000 acres that includes stables, an ice house, curling house (very unusually for Scotland), boat house, and the family mausoleum.  The estate includes 1,700 art pieces with original works by Da Vinci and Michelangelo.  The home has been host to the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Princess Anne.  It's also been used in the filming of The Awakening and Outlander.  

But everything is not as it seems from the outside.  During World War 2 the British Army occupied the house and during a lively party burned down the center block of the home.  By the 1950s, areas of the house had been abandoned, left roofless, and significantly damaged by fire.  An aerial view of would show a hollowed north wing.  Only the south wing is functional, but it's glory still shines through.  The main part of the house is consumed by that extravagant three-story Marble Hall laddened with art and gleaming with natural light from the beautiful glass dome ceiling.

The idea that this is someone's personal home, who's not even in the monarchy, leaves me a little awestruck.  It was an interesting day touring the house and walking the grounds.

Belated Anniversary at The Fingal

Along with the many other travels that Covid eliminated, there was one particular trip that I was especially disappointed over.  Jacob and I tried to travel as much as we could during our early years of marriage, despite the limited resources and time off that goes along with being a new hire fresh out of college.  We even took a babymoon while I was 5 months pregnant, knowing it may be our last chance to travel as a couple for a while.  After Brenna was born, we continued to travel as often as we could, but having a baby on board completely changed not only the way we vacationed but also the destinations that we travelled to.  Some of our bucket-list destinations got put on the back burner for more kid friendly options like beach vacations and Disney World.  As she grew, so did her sense of adventure and love of travel, which was a joy for me to see except for one minor detail.  She loved to travel so much that the idea that we would leave her behind on any trip was a devastating thought to her!  And so, its been 13 years since Jacob and I had a "trip" for ourselves.  

But this year was gonna be the year that we snuck away!  It just so happened that Outdoor Education Week was scheduled for the same week in May as our anniversary.  Brenna would be off camping on a small island off the western coast of Scotland.  Jacob scheduled the time-off and I booked us a great 3-day getaway at the Trump Turnberry, also on the western coast of the Scotland, but alas, Covid struck and the pandemic destroyed our plans.  

We did get some consolation a few months later after Covid restrictions eased a bit.  We enjoyed a rare night out.  Brenna was spending the night at a friends house one weekend and we decided to take the opportunity to stay at the Fingal.  We combined two of our favorite things: ships (albeit, not a cruise) and food!

The Fingal was originally commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1963 with the purpose of ferrying lighthouse keepers, essential supplies, and maintenance staff to lighthouses, as well as undertaking repairs to navigational aids throughout the West Coast and the North of Scotland. Fingal retired from lighthouse service in 2000.  After serving in several different capacities in the following years, The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust (caretakers of the Royal Yacht) acquired the ship in 2014.  With much planning and design work the ship undertook a £5m conversion over more than two years that transformed it into a luxury floating hotel with each of the 23 cabins onboard the Fingal named after one of the lighthouses in its previous service.

Three Bridges Tour

Scotland summers are fleeting at best and with lockdown consuming a portion of that short time, we were determined to make the most of the time we had left before school (virtual or otherwise) began again.  One very chilly summer morning we decided to join friends for a boat tour onboard the Maiden of the Forth for a day out!  Both the girls as well as us moms were excited at the prospect of a whole day out of the house.  We joined the crew for a leisurely sail around the firth enjoying the sights and history of the bridges as well as Inchcolm Island.  

One highlight of Edinburgh is it's location nestled between the North Sea and the Firth of Forth (not to be confused with 5th of 4th).  Firth is a word used in the Scots language to refer to a coastal body of water.  We would think of it as a straight or an inlet.  Forth refers to the River Forth, which is one of the major rivers that feeds into the inlet that connects to the North Sea.  The famous Three Bridges stretch across the Firth of Forth to connect The Lothians with the Kingdom of Fife.  The three bridges sit side-by-side-by-side across the firth as a symbol of engineering evolution.

The first bridge was the Forth Rail Bridge that was completed in 1890 and provide a vital means of moving supplies across Scotland by railway.  The bridge was the first of it's kind as a cantilever suspension bridge made completely of steel, rather than iron.  Both the designer and contractor were knighted for their work on the Forth Rail Bridge.

The second bridge emerged as Britain’s road system flourished in the 1930s.  There became a clear need for more convenient vehicular passage between Edinburgh and Fife.  The bridge was approved in 1947, however due to numerous delays work did not begin until 1958.  The Forth Road Bridge was officially opened in 1964 as the fourth longest bridge in the world and the longest outside of the United States.

The Forth Road Bridge had a life expectancy of 120 years, but in the 21st century the planned capacity of 11 million vehicles per year had risen to more than 23 million.  A maintenance inspection conducted on the bridge in 2003 discovered that the main suspension cables had suffered a loss of 10% due to corrosion. The accelerated loss of strength threaten to limit the bridges capacity by 2014 with closure by 2019.  This information, along with the strategic transport importance of the bridge, prompted discussions for replacement.  In 2007 the Queensferry Crossing was approved at an estimated cost of $5.2 billion.  The bridge was completed in 2017.  Queensferry Crossing is the longest three-tower cable stayed bridge in the world and has more than 23,000 mile of cable.

Scottish Highland Adventure

Just a short two weeks after our England getaway, we were off again.  During lockdown, as we were patiently waiting for restrictions to lift, a friend and I planned a joint Highland adventure for our families not knowing whether we'd be able to actually take it or not.  As it turns out, it ended up being a celebratory trip!  We celebrated both Brenna and Michelle's birthdays.  We were trying to make the most of our very short, socially distanced, don’t leave the UK summer.  

  

The trip started with a curvy drive through Glencoe.  The highlands are incredibly beautiful!  Brenna snapped pictures along the drive of all the mountains and valleys.

English Country-Side Getaway

It's no secret how much I love travel and when we took this assignment I had dreams of making my way through as many European countries as possible during our time here.  Unfortunately, between the extended unexpected plant outage which was immediately followed by the four month covid lockdown, all my plans were laid to waste.  Over the course of the year I planned and canceled a fall Baltic cruise that covered Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden, a Christmas trip to Portugal, a winter break in London, and an Easter trip to Belgium and France.  My dream of a stamp-filled passport has fizzled! 

But!  My travel loving spirit would not be deterred!  Once we were granted access to the world beyond the four walls of our home, I booked a trip!  We were allowed to leave our homes, but not the UK, so I focused my efforts on all that Great Britain had to offer.  While I had originally hoped to do London, it had not fully reopened and still had it's fair share of the covid related restrictions.  Instead, I decided what better place to socially distance than in the English countryside!  

I've stated on this blog before that our family is not a fan of road trips.  I much prefer planes and cruising.  However, in an abundance of caution we decided to limit our exposure and drive across the country.  We split the trip into segments, both going and coming, and stopped off at attractions along the journey.  We left Edinburgh mid-morning and drove through south Scotland and into England.  Scotland is beautiful!  It's like driving through a Thomas Kinkade painting.  The little villages are nestled into the base of the rolling green hills with streams and wildflowers scattered about.  The further south you go the terrain changes and England doesn't have that same fairytale type feel.  

Five hours into our drive, we reached our first stop at Liverpool, home of the Beatles.  We stayed right alongside Albert Docks and were blessed with some amazing weather that allowed us to really enjoy all the shops and activities during our time there.  We took in some shopping at Liverpool One, which was exciting in itself since we hadn't done it in so long.  We enjoyed lunch out (that I didn't have to cook!), frantically raced to beat an Alice in Puzzleland escape room, and enjoyed dessert (and even breakfast the next morning) at Heavenly Desserts.  Liverpool was an interesting town to see and provided a great kicked off for our time away.

Royal Yacht Britannia

One very cold and windy January morning a friend and I set out to tour the retired Royal Yacht Britannia.  The yacht was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI.  Unfortunately, he passed away just days after the commission papers reached the shipyard.  This left Queen Elizabeth at the helm to determine most of the ships needed features and decor.  The yacht was built in Scotland by John Brown and Co.  The Queen herself launched the yacht on April 16th, 1952.  During 44 years in Royal service Britannia sailed the equivalent of once round the world for each year, more than one million miles, calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries for more than 700 royal visits.  It provided seclusion for four royal honeymoons including that of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones.  It hosted numerous state functions and trade missions.  The Queen has said that she feels most relaxed onboard the Britannia.  But on December 11, 1997 she and Princess Phillip retired the Royal Yacht Britannia and the ship came back home to Scotland where she now serves as a Heritage Attraction here in Edinburgh.

There is a small indoor museum detailing the history of the yacht.

World of Illusions

Since we couldn't travel over the long October break, we spent our time enjoying some of the touristy spots in Edinburgh that we hadn't visited yet.  We spent one day touring the Royal Mile with all it's quirky shops and vendors and then visited the World of Illusions.  We walked through all sorts of crazy optical illusions that tricked the eye and the mind.  The spinning tunnel was particularly disturbing, but Brenna loved it and ran through again and again.  They have an observation deck on the roof that offered some beautiful views of Edinburgh Castle, The Hub, and the Royal Mile, along with the less the delightful gray skies that seems to plague Scotland from October until April.  

Rosslyn Chapel

Brenna had a long break in October that we had originally planned for travel.  Unfortunately, due to activities going on at the plant, we needed to stay closer to home.  So, while Jacob worked, Brenna and I went on our own adventure in search of the Holy Grail!  Really we did, but without success.  We toured the grounds of Rosslyn Chapel built in 1446. You may recognize it as the setting in which Tom Hanks decoded the cryptex in The Da Vinci Code.  The Holy Grail is rumored to be buried underneath the beautiful Apprentice Pillar inside the chapel.  Unfortunately, the most beautiful parts of the chapel, the stain glass and masonry work inside, could not be photographed.  The light coming through the intricate stain glass windows is breathtaking.  

Holyrood Palace

Near the end of September, on one of our last sunny days before the weather turned, a friend and I visited Holyrood Palace which is the Queen’s residence here in Scotland.  We caught the bus to Princes Street, where we cut through Prince Street Gardens on our way to the Royal Mile.  The Scott Monument was looking especially grand against the cloudless blue sky.

Sherlock Holmes Challenge

We got our first real introduction to our new hometown while playing detective.  We spent the day with Sherlock's Secret Challenge.  It's a clue-based walking tour of old town Edinburgh.  It was a true Sherlock Holmes experience that started at the birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and ended in a graveyard. We solved riddles, deciphered codes, and uncovered mysteries as we walked the cobblestone streets, enjoying all the beautiful sights, and unraveling clues that led us all over Edinburgh!  4 hours, 6 miles, and 1 detour to Five Guys later and we solved the mystery!

The Pentland Hills

The Pentland Hills is 22,000 acre regional park that is essentially our backyard.  One sunny morning Brenna and I packed up and spent the better part of the day hiking six miles through just a small portion of the park.  The landscape is beautiful and the sheep were happy to oblige a photo.

Malleny Gardens

During our first few weeks here, Brenna and I ventured out to Malleny Gardens which is just a mile from our house.  We didn't know it at the time, but our timing was perfect since everything was in full bloom and we got to see the gardens in it's full majesty.  

Edinburgh Zoo

Our first outing was to the Edinburgh Zoo.  The zoo is built on a hillside, so we wound our way uphill through exhibits until we reach a breathtaking view of the city.  While the zoo itself wasn't comparable to other zoos we've visit, they did have giant pandas, which is our first time to every have the privilege of viewing them.