The day began with a drive along the Scottish borderlands to our first stop of
Jedburgh Abbey. The weather was dreary, but added to the atmosphere of the Gothic abbey. The gardens were beautiful - full of herbs and gorgeous smelling roses. After our visit we wandered through the centre of Jedburgh, stopping for some local delicacies along the way.
We headed from the Abbey to
Traquair House, Scotland's oldest inhabited house. This too was a great experience. Set on gorgeous, expansive grounds and dating back to 1107, this house has been visited by many Scottish Kings and Queens, including Mary Queen of Scots. A visit inside the house not only told the stories of the families living in it, but of the struggles and dangers of practising Catholicism. We all loved finding and squeezing through the priest's escape door from the hidden family chapel upstairs. The boys enjoyed running through the maze in the garden afterwards, and Ken and I looked at the animals while we waited for the boys.
We are now in our apartment in Edinburgh overlooking Holyrood Park. It seems that
Ironman Edinburgh is being held this weekend, beginning and ending in the park, and we will have front row views from our apartment!
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| Heading in to the Abbey |
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| Hi, Julie! |
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| Hey, Ben! |
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| The Abbey was expanded over a period of 70 years |
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| Remnants of the cloister. |
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| Looking in a butchery window in Jedburgh: black, pudding, white pudding, and haggis to the right. |
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| Morning tea/early lunch at Jedburgh, trying the local delicacies: haggis patty with tatties and chuteny, shredded Cheddar, and gourmet smoked fish fingers. |
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| Heading in to Traquair House |
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| Still a family home: Mum, Dad, and 2 kids (the eldest started uni this year). |
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| Power only connected in the 1950's. |
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| Mary Queen of Scots' shoe - she had small feet! |
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| The boys loved seeing this chest with all the locks! It looks like one false key twist and a scythe would spring out and cut your hand off. |
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| Beautiful priest's vestment |
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| Priest's vestments all in subtly embroidered white cloth. When folded on a shelf, it would pass inspection as a bed cover. |
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| Escape! Remove a false panel in the back of the bookcase, and bolt down the incredibly narrow and tightly wound stone spiral staircase beyond. |
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| Still a working chapel, with mass being said once a month. Out in the open since Catholic Emancipation in the early 1800s. |
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| Beware the Dementors! |
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| Pet mountain goats, with their own climbing track. |
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| Hairy pig! We've never actually seen a pig grazing on grass. These two seemed pretty happy with it. |
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| Neither boy will confirm whether or not they crawled under a hedge to get out! |
