Day 35 Farewell Scotland, Hello England!

Monday 23/04/2018 Rivers Hotel Gateshead Room 1004

Today we head south over the boarder... it will be sad to leave Scotland it has been an amazing experience seeing what we have over the last few weeks here! But that what this is about seeing and leaving...
We are rethinking how we will do the rest of the trip after the UK, this is too fast, trying to squeeze in too much and the costs are mounting up... we both know going fast costs slowing down us less cost both monetary and physically the older we get the harder it is to keep up the pace....

Had our last breaky at the hotel in Stirling, then off we set.... Heading over to the East Coast line.... our first port of call we were aiming for Tantallon Castle....

As we headed up the high way we had our last sights of the Huge Horses Heads..... wow they look awesome as you drive buy..... then to see some of the bridges again... the last sights of this area.... our tour took us up the M9 then into the smaller highways and back roads which I prefer as you get to see the villages... they all gave something different to offer....

On arrival to Tantallon Castle the wind was howling around us, unreal how much it can blow... plus the neighbour to the castle, had just harvested his onions and ohh my the odour was unreal.... it just permeated the whole area around the castle even with the howling winds so they must be strong.....

From the outside this didn’t look as big as it was it blew us away once we started looking at it, just how big it was, still being able to access many of the heights, that gave us an overall feeling if just how tall it was and how big it was....

Tantallon Castle is a semi-ruined mid-14th-century fortress, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. The last medieval curtain wall castle to be constructed in Scotland, Tantallon comprises a single wall blocking off the headland, with the other three sides naturally protected by sea cliffs. Tantallon was built in the mid 14th century by William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas. It was passed to his illegitimate son, George Douglas, later created Earl of Angus, and despite several sieges, it remained the property of his descendants for much of its history. It was besieged by King James IV in 1491, and again by his successor James V in 1528, when extensive damage was done. Tantallon saw action in the First Bishops' War in 1639, and again during Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Scotland in 1651, when it was once more severely damaged. It was sold by the Marquis of Douglas in 1699 to Hew Dalrymple, Lord North Berwick and the ruin is today in the care of Historic Scotland.

As we had entered the estate to the left had an out building which was what was called a Doocot, this bred the pigeons or squab for eating... dine the same way our squab is done at home bred them until 6 weeks old before they become tough... the little building used to breed them was still very intact and very interesting.....

Another point we found interesting was the island in front of the castle... The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass, is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) offshore, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic rock, 107 metres (351 ft) at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of gannets. The rock is uninhabited, but historically has been settled by an early Christian hermit, and later was the site of an important castle, which after the Commonwealth period was used as a prison. The island belongs to Sir Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple, whose family acquired it in 1706, and before to the Lauder family for almost six centuries. The Bass Rock Lighthouse was constructed on the rock in 1902, and the remains of an ancient chapel survive]. The Bass Rock features in many works of fiction, including Robert Louis Stevenson's Catriona and The Lion is Rampant by the Scottish novel.

It was also used by 3 Jacobite soldiers who overtook the island and held it for 3 years, that fascinated John wondering how they survived... but with the amount of birds on it as they literally cover it from from top to bottom, I don’t think they would have staved....

Onto our next sight was to see the PRESTON MILL & PHANTASSIE DOOCOT, ohh my goodness was this place right out of a fairy story.... the shape of the Old Mill itself like Catweazle’s Hat if you old enough to remember him....his funny old hat was his icon and this looked just like it...

I could have spent ages here, how peaceful it was... an old lady came along while we were there and she was a walker just going from one sight to the next all by herself, you would have to really love your own company as many do because we keep seeing people by themselves everywhere just walking from one place to the next...

Preston Mill is a watermill on the River Tyne at the eastern edge of East Linton on the B1407 Preston Road, in East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated close to Prestonkirk Parish Church, the Smeaton Hepburn Estate, Smeaton Lake, and Phantassie Doocot. It is a Category A listed building. Preston is a hamlet adjacent to East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. There has been a mill on the site since the 16th century. The present mill dates from the 18th century and is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. It was used commercially until 1959, and it produced oatmeal. The River Tyne still drives the water wheel, and the machinery can still be seen at work by visitors taking part in a tour. There is also an exhibition about milling, and a mill pond. The engineer and millwright Andrew Meikle maintained the mill in the 18th century. In 1948 a flood submerged the buildings, and in 1950 a local land owner gave the mill to the National Trust for Scotland. The milling firm Rank Hovis McDougall provided help with the renovation and expertise to allow the mill to be operative again. Preston Mill consists of a kiln, a mill, and the miller's house. The mill wheel dates back to 1909. The mill is loved by visitors, painters and photographers, especially the kiln with its conical red.... in the later years it has been featured in the series Outlander... today as we were the only ones there and it was actually closed but we could wander around... the whole spot was truly so picturesque it was hard to believe it wasn’t a painting... as I was about to leave I spotted a The tiny hyacinth flowers growing by the waters edge, there was a plaque next to them that said it was dedicated to Mildred who feed the ducks... so sweet.... just over from the pond was a lovely white picket fenced bridge another siren scene that looked out if a book....

Having looked John was keen to get going by now it was after 2 pm and we needed lunch... so a stop up road at East Linton, this was a really little old village in a very, very old building... but by the time we arrived they had just about sold out if everything, so sadly we headed on, finding a little town Berwick-upon-Tweed, another interesting town.

Lunch was so, so, but we were feed and ready to head on... some of the buildings in this town were fascinating but as we had to keep going no time to stop.... I had spotted a Home Hardware shop with the same name as ours at hime, it reminded me of home hence the pic I posted on Facebook ....

Up the road we headed seeing at least another 2 Castles we couldn’t access as they were on private land.... Then we spotted this monstrous humongous Castle on Hill by the Coast... it was so big it blew our minds... Hovering over the village below it... Again we were too late to go in, but to be honest it was too big anyway would have taken a good few hours I think to give it justice.... so a quick look a few pics and off we set to make just before dark to our destination...

Bamburgh Castle is a castle on the northeast coast of England, by the village of Bamburgh in Northumberland. It is a Grade I listed building. The site was originally the location of a Celtic Brittonic fort known as Din Guarie and may have been the capital of the kingdom of Bernicia from its foundation in c. 420 to 547. After passing between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons three times, the fort came under Anglo-Saxon control in 590. The fort was destroyed by Vikings in 993, and the Normans later built a new castle on the site, which forms the core of the present one. After a revolt in 1095 supported by the castle's owner, it became the property of the English monarch. In the 17th century, financial difficulties led to the castle deteriorating, but it was restored by various owners during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was finally bought by the Victorian era industrialist William Armstrong, who completed its restoration. The castle still belongs to the Armstrong family and is open to the public. No matter what else it sure is big... the coastal area it’s positioned on is very interesting, white sand and lots of sweeping grasslands, makes an impressive sight.... Lastly as we were leaving I spotted 3 Hairy Cooows, there certainly isn’t the amount of Hairy Cooows about you would think there are from all the postcards and Hairy Coooow soft toys for sale... you would think they are everywhere, but in all honesty we have hardly scene any bar a few lots....

One thing we have noticed is that neatly every little village especially those over 1,000 people all have a huge amount of building of new homes and units in new estates.... the sheer number of them is mind boggling as to why it is happening... it’s nearly like the government is trying to boost each area in some way...

Anyway we finally arrived having come through the main area of Newcastle to Gatehead our hotel a bit in the older side but done up is in the River Tyne and has a quirky owner who has out an American diner as the restaurant, he is setting up an American Diner bus and has a Tuk Tuk out front, all a but different and when we had a bit of a look around other than heaps of high rise apartments by the river there is nothing else around.... locks you in to using their restaurant in a way... the food was yep like an American Diner food....

Our room is huge with a single and a double we have pushed together.... bathroom Beverly basic with nowhere to put things but all new and freshly painted and decorated..... Another good base to bounce off from! Czytaj więcej