Reset search
Scotland & the NorthScotland & the North
SatelliteEdit route

Scotland & the North

February - April 2024
Late February to early April 2024 Read more
  • 44footprints
  • 2countries
  • 39days
  • 708photos
  • 10videos
  • 2.1kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 2

    Bury

    February 27 in England ⋅ 🌧 43 °F

    Just north of Manchester, Bury is a historic market town and the home of the Lancashire Fusiliers, a distinguished infantry regiment in the British Army that fought in some very famous battles. The Fusilier Museum highlighted the lives of the fusiliers in such battles as Culloden, the Boyne, Saratoga, Gallipoli, and the Somme. In the War of 1812, they burned the city of Washington.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 3

    York

    February 28 in England ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

    York is one of the most beautiful cities of the UK. Although currently rather small, it once rivaled London as the most powerful city on the island of Great Britain. Loaded with history — Romans, Vikings, Normans, Plantagenets, and the War of the Roses — York is incredibly well preserved. Its medieval center is surrounded by city walls. Wherever you are within those walls you will catch a glimpse of the bell tower of the York Minster, the cathedral that dates back to the 13th century. Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor of Rome in York while he was holding court in the city. It was captured by Ivar the Boneless who set up Viking rule. Richard III and Henry VII battled for it, leading to the reign of the House of Tudor. And Dame Judi Dench was born and raised in the city as both her parents worked for the York Theater Royal.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    11
    Day 4

    York — Museums and Gardens

    February 29 in England ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    I had done a few of the main attractions in York during my two previous visits here, so I decided to go to the Burton Art Gallery, the York Museum, and the National Railway Museum today. Loved the trains, especially the Pullman cars. At the art museum, they had a special exhibit called “Queering the Burton” which was really ingenious. They researched the history of the works in their collection to have a “coming out” for the gay and lesbian stories and themes that were previously hidden or untold in some of the paintings and sculptures. These works were tagged with special pink placards that contained “the rest of the story” that provided this additional perspective. It was simple but effective. The Museum Gardens, Dean’s Park at York Minster, and Clifford’s Tower completed the day.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 5

    Edinburgh

    March 1 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 41 °F

    As I told Liz today, I’ve declared March to be Scottish heritage month, so I will be celebrating her people. It started today with an episode of Hamish Macbeth when I arrived at my hotel. And I’ll be spending the whole month exploring — mainly the Lowlands. Charlene, Cheri, and I determined that it has been 25 years since we were here in Edinburgh with our 8th graders. That was an amazing trip but I’m glad not to have an army of students following me around the city. Edinburgh is known for their Fringe Festival in the summer which highlights stand up comedy, but right now they have their improv festival which features improv teams from all over Europe, North America, and Australia. I have tickets for a show tonight which brings together the teams from Glasgow and Berlin. It should be interesting. I’m just gonna keep my head down so as not to be called up on stage at any point. Improv can be dangerous that way.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 6

    Edinburgh — Royal Mile

    March 2 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 41 °F

    It’s beautiful here. The city sits on top of two parallel ridges with a few bridges connecting the two across the small valley in between. It really makes for dramatic views, especially because the castle and the Old Town are at the highest point. Saturday afternoon was very busy with lots of crowds up and down the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. I don’t think the crowds are for the improv festival, but I’m looking forward to going again today. The show was great last night. It’s so amazing what people can come up with off the top of their heads. Their slogan for the festival is “Be bold, be playful, be unique, be fearless.” They were certainly all of those things. The Berlin group had 3 people, and they worked really well together. The team from Glasgow had 5 which seems much harder, but they killed it — nonstop laughter. Happily, there was very little audience participation.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 7

    Edinburgh — The Majestic Tour

    March 3 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    Sometimes I’m a tourist and sometimes I’m a traveler. With a hop-on hop-off bus pass for 3 days and an improv comedy show every night, I have been very much a tourist here, and it has been fun. Edinburgh really is amazing. I don’t know why it didn’t rank right up there with my favorites before this trip (see comment about being followed by an army of students) but now I’m so impressed. You could practically aim your camera in any direction and capture something beautiful. I can see why writers have been inspired by Edinburgh over the years. I think I’m coming back here in June, so I’ll look forward to that.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 7

    Edinburgh — Princes Street

    March 3 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    The last night in Edinburgh was fun. Went to another improv show — third show in three days — and one of the teams was from New York. I was so glad to have been in town for this festival. I’ve been to a couple of improv shows in New York but it hasn’t been something I was too thrilled about. These teams were great. I might have to give it another try when I get home. I watch a lot of British TV at home, and I really think they do an amazing job with their stand up comedy. They create panel shows and game shows just to highlight their comedians and give them a chance to riff off of one another. Taskmaster and QI are great examples of this — or Eight Out of Ten Cats. I’m obsessed with these shows at home and can watch them on a loop for days. So I’ve become really familiar with their comedians and with British comedy in general. It’s different for sure. The audience reacts to the simplest puns and innuendos. Sometimes it can be Mr. Bean levels of silliness, but most of the time it’s witty and clever, and just good-hearted, intelligent humor. They use the same 20-30 comedians in all of these shows and you really get to know their personalities and idiosyncrasies. In a way it reminds me of American comedy and TV in the 70s when some of our comedians would do a circuit of game shows and variety shows. We don’t seem to have that anymore, but the Brits definitely do. There’s a national cultural identity that is preserved and promoted through all of this and I really admire it. That’s a long way of saying that I was not surprised that their approach to improv would be more sophisticated and clever — just pure entertainment.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 8

    Stirling

    March 4 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F

    Once the capital of Scotland, Stirling is loaded with medieval and Renaissance history. During the Wars for Scottish Independence, it was the site of several key battles when the Scots were led by William Wallace (Braveheart) fighting off an English invasion. “He who holds Stirling holds Scotland” was said by Robert the Bruce, highlighting the cities strategic importance lying on the River Forth at the point which connects the Scottish Highlands with the Lowlands. The Church of the Holy Rude which I visited today was where the Scottish kings were crowned, including James VI, the son of Mary Queen of Scots who succeeded Elizabeth I and began the House of Stuart as James I, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England. Clans, kilts, bagpipes — it’s all here.Read more

  • TravelerScotland & the North
    Day 9

    Stirling Castle

    March 5 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    This morning I toured Stirling Castle, and it proved to be a major highlight of this trip. It’s one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of geography determining history. The castle sits on a rock at the point overlooking which was at the time the only crossing of the River Forth that splits Scotland in two. Mary Queen of Scots lived here as a child. Bonnie Prince Charlie marched his army here in an attempt to retake Scotland, and his loyal followers — the Jacobites — were considered traitors to the throne and sentenced to transportation — being deported to Australia — rather than martyred by hanging. I did my senior research project in college on these “Scottish Martyrs” so it all came rushing back. The guide was amazing, as were the views. This is really a special place.Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English