Scotland was Especially Interesting…..

…..despite generally lousy weather that included rain and very cold temperatures. I had a good group for the class and they were particularly good about taking us out into interesting areas of the countryside during the class.
I was staying in a town called Livingston, about 13 miles from Edinburgh, and, like Weston-super-Mare, it is essentially a post-WWII community that was created to accommodate the post-war baby boomers. As such, there is no real “history” here but the surrounding villages are loaded with it. During the week we drove through postcard-like villages named Broxburn, Queensferry, Midlothian, and Stonebridge. We also drove north one day and visited the Firth of Forth bridges and the beautiful bayshore there. We also went into Edinburgh one afternoon but didn’t really stop—just drove by the base of the castle, the Scottish Parliament and the National Museum.
I finished up Friday afternoon and caught a bus into Edinburgh and did some exploring on my own and visited the castle on the huge hill overlooking the city. Edinburgh is often called the “Paris” of the UK and it is in fact covered with statues, historic buildings, and old churches. The annual Edinburgh Festival is going on right now so the streets are literally packed shoulder to shoulder with tourists and every corner has street performers or musicians and despite the weather, it is truly a festive atmosphere.
The castle itself requires a long walk uphill but the trip is well worth it. From the summit and looking out over the ramparts, there is a magnificent view of the city with the ocean in the background. I spent several hours walking around—the castle complex is VERY big—and then descended the hill via the “Royal Mile.” That particular street is packed with restaurants, tourist shops and historical buildings. Again the main impression was one of “festivities.”
I am posting this from the Edinburgh airport and as I look back over the past four weeks it has gone very quickly and there’s been so much I’ve seen and done. From Southampton, with the Mayflower and Titanic memorials, to Chelmsford with its Roman ruins, to Weston with the quaint old Norman church on the overlooking hill, and finally to Livingston and the Edinburgh castle—I’ve covered a lot of ground this trip .There were things I didn’t get to see such as Colchester with its Roman bridges, Bristol and Bath, and Sterling Castle. But I did get to see Stonehenge, Lancaster University, and historic downtown Edinburgh. Overall, it’s been a very good trip.
I’m tentatively scheduled for two weeks of work in Thailand in October and I’ve signed up for a mission trip in the Peruvian Andies that will have a side trip to Machu Picchu in November so I haven’t finished traveling yet this year. With the Peruvian trip I will have worked in or visited five continents this year….