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Day 9 - Friday, May 21
While checking out of the B&B, I thought I would give our host one more chance to be helpful. I asked for directions to the main road by-passing Edinburgh. She said she didn't drive and had no idea. So I just took the first major road heading away from the coast and soon found the road to Sterling. Just as predicted, a deep low pressure system had dropped down from Iceland and soon we were driving in rain so hard, we nearly had to pull over. There were sustained winds of about 30 miles per hour and the temperature had dropped into the 40's or 50's.
We stopped first at the Bannockburn Heritage Center. We arrived
a few minutes before the visitor's center opened so we walked out to the
battlefield monument and the famous mounted statue of Robert the Bruce.
The wind was blowing so hard we could hardly stand and there was a light
horizontal rain. A man who was walking his dog came up and offered
to take our picture by the Bruce statue. We huddled down wind of
the monument while he told us stories of himself and other visitors he
had taken picture of. He also talked of his disdain for the restoration
work being done at Stirling Castle, visible off in the distance.
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We hurried back to the visitor's center to see the exhibits. First we saw a short slide show which explains the history of how Robert the Bruce won independence for Scotland (and the crown for himself) by defeating the English at Bannockburn in June of 1314. There is also series of displays of historic artifacts and wax figure recreations of important events of Scottish history. The displays were well done, but with all the authentic historic sites nearby, the recreations seemed a bit shallow in comparison. There was a school group visiting that day which made the place quite a bit more lively than it otherwise would have been. They also had a special "hands-on" room for the children to explore.
We then drove into town to see Stirling Castle. As in Edinburgh, the castle sits on a volcanic outcropping over the city. However, Stirling Castle is undergoing some extensive (and apparently controversial) renovations. The great hall is being restored to its original medieval condition which makes it look out of place amidst the rest of the complex. The chapel also seemed to have suffered from excessive restoration, although we did get to hear a choir concert. They have also restored the original kitchen area using lots of fake food. All things considered, we didn't find Sterling to be as satisfying as any of the other castles we visited.
We had wanted to see the Wallace Monument (where William Wallace defeated the English to ignite the struggle for Scottish independence), but the weather was not cooperating so we decided to stay in the car and head east. We stopped at a bakery in Kincardine for lunch. This is a small industrial town with a terrible traffic problem. However Susan's sister lives in Kincardine Ontario, so now we can say we've been to both.
Our next stop was at Dunfermline - a very old and historic town. King Malcolm III and Queen Margaret lived here in the 11th century. Three of Margaret's children went on to become Kings of Scotland and she went on to become a saint. An abbey was founded in the 12th century and many made the pilgrimage to see the shrine of St. Margaret. We pulled into the car park right next to St. Margaret's cave, where the Queen apparently came to pray. Now, after years of modifications, it's a bit like descending into a steel drainage culvert with cement steps. At the end is a statue of the Saint with religious music playing in the background. From the cave, it is a five minute walk up the hill and through the town center to the Abbey.
Like most abbeys, Dunfermline has been destroyed and rebuilt several
times which makes the structure we see today very interesting, in an odd
sort of way. The nave of the church is the mostly intact original
structure, as indicated by the unusually massive Norman architecture.
The nave has now been abandoned in favor of a much newer rebuilt quire
and transepts which are still used as a parish church. The words
"Robert Bruce", which are built into the perimeter of the tower over the
crossing, look oddly out of place. So important was Dunfermline in
its day that 22 Scottish Royals were buried here, including the rest of
Robert the Bruce (he left his heart in Melrose).
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Notice the difference between the massive Norman nave in the foreground and the more modern Abbey church in the rear. In the original photo you can make out the word "Bruce" built into the top of the tower. |
Walking through the nave was interesting as it is the only large Norman
structure we would see on this trip. In the reconstructed parish
church, a church volunteer was giving impromptu tours. He led us
to the Bruce shrine, a spectacular life size bronze plaque, somewhat hidden
under the pulpit. He delighted in telling us the story of how Bruce's
remains were uncovered during restoration work, and how they were reinterred,
and how some of the remains may not have made it back into the grave, and
how he might know where they are but wasn't going to tell. It was
a complex saga and I don't recall all the details. We asked about
all the other kings and queens buried there. He gestured toward the
gift shop in the transept and said "They buried the rest of them somewhere
over there." We were surprised how irreverently these historic shrines
had been treated over the years.
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Most of Robert the Bruce lies beneath this very impressive monument. The image is supposedly life size. Since it is beneath a pulpit you have to view and photograph it from a horizontal angle, causing the vertical distortion and the glare. |
At this point I encountered for the first time, the language barrier that can separate Scotland from other speakers of English. I overheard the guide speaking to an elderly gentleman. I couldn't understand a word of the conversation even though I think they were speaking English. We walked across the church yard to a visitors center where you can tour the remains of the 14th Century royal palace where Charles I was born. Actually, not much remains of the palace so it wasn't all that compelling. From there we drove to St. Andrews via the scenic route along the coast. There are a number of picturesque fishing villages along this stretch of coastline, but with the bad weather, we weren't in the mood to get out and explore. Besides, we were anxious to get to St. Andrews.
The reason we wanted to get to St. Andrews early is that the B&B host, David Dobson, is one on the world's foremost authorities on Scottish emigration to the American Colonies. Susan has used several of his book in her genealogy research and just happened to find out that he and his wife run a B&B&GA (bed & breakfast with free genealogy advice) so we spent some time that afternoon going through Susan's papers and making plans to do some Library work in the morning. Coppercantie B&B was a bit difficult to find due to a lack of street signs so we had to stop and call for directions.
The Dobsons recommended a very nice Indian restaurant in town.
Indian food is ubiquitous in Britain and we wanted to try some before our
trip was over. This restaurant, on the south side of South Street,
was a bit more expensive than our typical meal, but we were ready to treat
ourselves to something a little better than average. The setting
was elegant. We were seated next to a fish pond built into the floor.
There was a glass bridge where you could walk over the fish and see them
below your feet. The service was also excellent, which is good because
we had many questions as we are not very familiar with this style of cuisine.
We both ordered a sample platter with about six different kinds of curry,
tandoori, and rice. We never really figured out what everything was
but each dish was unique and superb. That evening we just lounged
around in our room. I watched cricket on the TV. Someday, I
might understand it.
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