2023 – Scotland – 1

Day one – Stopover in London

And we are off!  Julie and I covered a lot of ground today.  We left Seattle and headed for London.  I am not a happy flier.  But this flight gave us a terrific view of Scotland all the way through to London, as we descended gradually for landing.  The sun was bright and made the land glow.  We got our first look at Scotland in the rough, folded land of the Highlands, colored with muted, darker olive greens.  Then the lowlands, the lochs, and the towns looking like pieces of exquisite marcasite jewelry, deep grays with bright sparkles among the brighter velvet greens of the land.  The lake country was next, and the lakes looked like molten silver.  And as we got closer to London, it was really interesting to see the lines for hedges or stone marking out the large fields.  For the first time, I think I really understood what Enclosure meant to old rural England.  But the biggest surprise was seeing Windsor Castle, big as life, as we came in for a landing.  It was a wonderful glimpse of the countryside that we don’t normally see!

We landed, and I was breathing a sigh of relief that I’d survived another flight, when we slipped sideways hard.  The pilot had the plan back under control quickly, but it was enough to make me wonder if I’d thought too soon!

The day was stunning, and we got through to our Kings Cross Station easily enough. (Pictures below of Kings Cross and St. Pancras.) We found our hotel for the night and checked in.  We are staying just across from the station in order to catch the train for Edinburgh in the morning.  But I have to laugh.  If we wanted to check in early, the only room available was on the ground floor.  We thought that was great, and took it, but I didn’t realize that would be in the dungeon!  Our room in down a maze of a corridor, and it vibrates with the trains and we can hear a few of them occasionally, but it’s clean and safe, and that’s fine for tonight.

I’m also glad that we really planned ahead.  A gentleman came in and inquired about room availability while we were checking in, and was quoted 400GPB. We didn’t pay anywhere near close to that.  Considering how close it is to the coronation and related activies, I can imagine everything is even higher than usual.

We headed out immediately for the Tower of London.  It’s something I’d never seen, and I guess I expected a literal tower!  My college degree was in British Literature, and I’d read about the Tower often enough.  But I was no where near prepared for what I saw.  The Tower of London is actually a fortress made up of several buildings, centered around the White Tower.  The White Tower was originally the highest building in London, and stood on a hill.  It must have been intimidating at the time.  Now, the complex is surrounded by modern glass and chrome buildings, giving it a surreal feeling. The White Tower is certainly no longer the tallest building by any means of measure!

We saw the crown jewels, although several were not available because they are being readied for the coronation on the 6^th of May.  The exhibits were amazing, and very well done.  There was a sculpture/monument where several of the important be-headings had taken place (including Anne Bolyen), and were places where the original walls had been unearthed and left exposed for viewing.  Other walls showed the original graffiti left from countless prisoners.  One exhibit had reproduced them in order to better read them more easily.

We spent a couple of hours wandering around.  I’d love to have seen more, but unfortunately that was all I was up for.  This winter had been tough.  I’d rolled my ankle in October, and cracked it, and ended up in a boot for 8 weeks.  I’d only just gotten that off, when I was judging a horse show at the first of the year, and got up to adjust a chair, and had inadvertently moved it unknowingly, and when I say back down a leg was off the platform, sending me backwards off of a 4.5 ft platform and landing on jump equipment below.  5 broken ribs, and 2 broken vertebras later, I was out of commission for a few months, so I’m just not as fit as I’d like to be!  But I’m here and healed up, and the fitness will come.

By this time, the weather was changing, and heavy overcast had moved in.  Our next stop was the Tower Bridge.  I’ve seen it before, but not up close.  It’s an amazing piece of engineering together with incredible stone work.  We didn’t go up on it, as we were tired, but it was fun to walk on it, and look at it up close.

After that we headed back to the hotel.  One thing has not changed, and that is my total lack of a sense of direction.  I did remember how to use the Tube, but I was completely turned around.  Good thing Julie has a terrific sense of direction.  As she is a Surveyor by trade, I certainly hope so.  I’m trusting her to get me on the train headed in the right direction tomorrow!

Tomorrow we begin with all things Dunnett.  I’m excited, and it was fun to see the Highlands from the air, and think of what it must have been like riding that terrain in the 1500s.

More pictures of the Tower complex and some other random shots.