The clock tower has the oldest operating clock in Scotland.
Good Sir James Douglas
Notice how all the details of the face have been eroded away.
Day 7 - Wednesday, May 19
Our first stop today was Lockerbie. There we filled the car with petrol (ouch), and shopped for gifts for ourselves and the folks at home. We stopped in a small liquor store to buy a bottle of Islay single malt whisy for my father. They had dozens of single malts to choose from. The woman behind the counter was most helpful in describing the differences among the various choices and a couple of other customers in the store also gave their opinions (more friendly/helpful Scots). I got some Bowmore on sale for about 18 pounds - a good deal, I think.
Just outside of Lockerbie, we stopped at Lochwood Tower, the historic home of the Johnstones of Annandale. It is located on an unmarked side road, way off the beaten track. You would never find this place unless you really wanted to. We tracked it down using a photocopy of the Ordinance Survey map from the Dumfries Library.. There is very little left of this mini-castle, but the setting at the edge of grove of giant trees was very nice.
We then drove north to the small village of Douglas to see St. Brides
church, the burial site of the Douglas family. To gain access to
the church, you get the key from the pub across the street. I walked
in the door of the pub and the man behind the bar immediately said "you
must want the key to the church". I said "yes" but thought "I must
have `tourist' branded on my forehead". This church is smaller and
more rustic than the one at Kirkby Stephen. Among the memorials is
the grave of The Good Sir James Douglas, the closest friend and ally of
Robert the Bruce. It was James who took the Bruce's heart on a crusade,
only to be killed in Spain.
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The clock tower has the oldest operating clock in Scotland. |
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Good Sir James Douglas Notice how all the details of the face have been eroded away. |
From Douglas we headed east. At Lanark, we got turned around and for the first time were really lost. I pulled over to consult the map, made our best guess, and eventually found the road to Melrose. We stopped for lunch in Peebles. We had been eating fat-laden pastries for several days so we decided to have a proper sit-down lunch for a change. We found a very nice little restaurant and had not-so-fat-laden sandwiches.
At Melrose we toured Melrose Abbey. Melrose was one of several
important Abbeys in the boarder region. Unfortunately, between the
Reformation and the Scottish-English wars, all are in ruins. Nevertheless,
it is still impressive, picturesque, and very historic. It is the
final resting place of the heart of the Bruce. It seems that after
James Douglas was killed in Spain, his men retrieved Bruce's heart and
buried it in Melrose. While this story had been known for centuries,
it was only a few years ago that the lead casket containing the heart was
discovered. It has now been reinterred near a simple monument stone.
It's remarkable that such an important historic artifact lay undiscovered
for so long.
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From Melrose, we drove north to Tantallon Castle, the historic home
of the Red Douglas. Tantallon is one of Scotland's more spectacular
castles because of its location, perched at the edge of a cliff by the
North Sea. The location made sense from a defensive point of view.
Essentially only one wall had to be built as the other three sides were
protected by natural sea cliffs. The walls of Tantallon are very
much intact and you can climb way up and look way down. Castle climbing
is not for the faint of heart. The views of the coast, however, made
it worth while. Off shore there is a small island (more of a giant
rock, really) where Covenentors were imprisoned (i.e. executed very slowly).
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You can't see from this angle, but the single wall of the castle is at the head of a penninsula projecting out into the North Sea. |
We then drove to our B&B, Joppa Rocks Guest House, which is located
just across the street from the Firth of Forth in Joppa on the outskirts
of Edinburgh. This guest house had been highly recommended
by someone on the Internet, but as they say YMMV (your mileage may vary).
This B&B only ranked as adequate by our standards. The host was
rarely very forthcoming with help. When I asked if I could borrow
a wash rag so that I could clean the windshield of my car, she suggested
that I should have brought some from home. When asked about a place
to eat, all she could suggest was the pub next door (we were not impressed).
Only after we said we wanted a "regular restaurant" did she tell us about
a nice Italian place about a mile down the road. This part of town
is very residential so there wasn't much to do after dinner except get
ready for tomorrow's excursion into Edinburgh. I did, however, sample
some 80 shilling ale at the pub.
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