Friday, January 4, 2008

Dreaming of Scotland

I found Kath's blog and pined for Scotland, so I dug out my photos from our trip and after oohing and aahing over them I thought I'd share a few.







We had a wonderful introduction to Scotland at Bigger. We'd arrived late in the afternoon with no lodging arranged, so naturally we headed to this pub first. We were quickly welcomed and shown to a table where we got talking with the men next to us and met Alastair and within 15 minutes we had our lodging secured. Alastair's wife did B&B at their home, a lovely grey stone house with plaid carpets and photos of pipers everywhere. We had a pleasant stay and a hearty breakfast the next morning before we left for Edinburgh.







We arrived in Crail with its tiny round harbor in the late afternoon.






The next morning we found the Lord of the Manor's ancestor's home just outside Crail. It had a B&B sign on the wall, so brash Americans that we are, we drove right up and rang the bell. Alice answered and after hearing our story, invited us into the kitchen for coffee where we met her husband Tim and their son Tristan. We weren't even remotely related to them, but they literally opened their doors to us! I'm afraid we kept them from their work for quite a while, sharing stories of the old family who lived there, Crail history, our life in California, and their life at the broccoli farm. Tim had even visited an area of California near us to compare farming techniques with other broccoli growers. What a small world it is.





After we'd finished our coffee, they loaned us boots and allowed us to tramp across their fields and down to the sea below where we recreated these scenes based on old family photos from over 100 years ago. What a treasure those photos are! We framed them like the originals and together they hang in our dining room as a constant reminder not only of the ancestors, but also of the wonderful day we had there.











We enjoyed several days there in Fife wandering and explore the countryside. One day we drove to Pittenweem.





One day we drove to Glamis Castle where the Queen Mum was born in 1900.




And here is an old sign we saw somewhere along the way. It was made out of cast metal, very old I think, and wonderfully detailed. It has distances as close at 1 mile marked on it. That's a far cry from our signs today, isn't it? Zipping along at 70 mph, we think, "Oh there's my exit in one mile, I'd better get over quickly."


I'll leave you with this photo of heather. I remember this place clearly. It was near Cairn O'Mount, on a breezy summer day with bees buzzing amongst the flowers and the beautiful Scottish country rolled out before us. What great memories we have of Scotland .


4 comments:

closed account said...

Dear Laura, what an absolute delight on opening your blog today.. photo's of your Scottish trip are so beautiful, I know all the places you had visited, bar the B&B, Crail beach and Pittenweem are favorites of ours,and in the better weather we find ourselves taking the dogs for a walk in Fife, not far at all from our home, was so happy to read that your husband made some connections, and had a blether with some farmers with similar intrests, your children look adorable, as does your hubby!!lol:)but he does, very good looking man indeed, of course he is from good stock here in Scotland!!
How nice to have taken pics of the same as your old ones, now that is something to hang up on the wall..
Glamis Castle is a beautiful place as is Scone Palace, which is my daily walk for the dogs, I love the grounds and the dogs have it all to themselves, just perfect..
So lovely to meet you Laura, and your intrest in genealogy has brought you all the way to Scotland , how exciting. I have also done my own tree, and have had great fun in doing so, like you have been to areas and homes of my direct ancs..
This year I hope to go back even further in time, I got stuck at 1735, so will now have to work a little harder to find some clues, I only check father to father..easier that way, for starters anyway..
Thanks for your comments on my blog Laura, I will add a link to your blog on my page, and look forward to keeping in touch with you, your blog is so lovely,as are the photos..
Regards Kath from Scotland..

Pippajo said...

Lovely photos! My Mom and sister went to Scotland this past May and came home with 900 photos! My grandfather was a Scot (Sinclair) and my sister has always been crazy about anything Scottish so it felt a bit like going home for her.

When was your visit? Was it the same time as your trip to England? The Viking and I went for our 10th Anniversary (almost 4 years ago) but, alas, did not have the time to venture into Scotland. Next time. When we go back with the children.

Looking at those photos was like taking a quick little day dream trip!

Amongst The Oaks said...

Pippajo,
The trip I featured was in June of 2004. We spent two weeks in England and one week in Scotland. I took about 800 photos. It's hard not to when EVERYTHING is so photogenic.
We also took a trip to southern England in 2006. I'll feature that trip sometime soon too.
Cheerio, Laura

Anonymous said...

Dear Laura,
Mom told me about your web site. It is as lovely as everything else you do! Your photos of Scotland are terrific. Happy new year!