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Day 12 - Monday, May 24
We checked out of the Guest House after breakfast and drove into Aberdeen. Despite being rush hour, the traffic wasn't too bad, other than one backed up round about. We first went to the special collections library at the University to do some research. We found that the parking lot next to the library was the only University lot that is free for visitors. At the Library, Susan looked up the information she needed on her Johnston ancestors that came from this part of Scotland. More information on these Johnston's can be found in our supplemental material. By the time we were finished at the Special Collections, we found the parking lot to be filled with a jumble of randomly parked cars. In Britain, drivers seem to be more spontaneous about parking, so when we got to the car, we found it nearly impossible to get out. Nevertheless, we finally escaped and drove to the city center.
First we went to the family history center. The staff seemed very impressed with the extent of our background work. I got the impression that they see a lot of Americans who walk in with little information and expect to find their whole family tree waiting for them. Unfortunately, all we were able to do is to confirm the conflicting information we had found previously. I did use the maps to find out where some of Susan's family castles are located. I also walked down the street to buy some extra film for the camera (were had used up most of the 4 rolls we started with). I was directed grocery store across the street. I was surprised to find there in the center of Aberdeen, a huge "American style" super market, with a big parking lot, no less.
Next we walked through the center of town to St Nicholas Church.
This was the parish church of many of Susan's Johnston ancestors, and is
one of the oldest buildings in Aberdeen. Like Dunfermline Abbey,
St. Nicolas is an old church which has been extensively modified and modernized,
giving a rather haphazard impression. In this case, the building
is shared among three different congregations. You enter at the south
transept where you see the only part of the original building. Under
the mediaeval vaulting of the north transept is a chapel for the oil workers
done in very interesting Danish modern style. The nave and quire
sections of the original church have been partitioned off for the other
two congregations. The extensive modifications in these areas were
not as interesting and completely obscured, rather than enhanced, the original
structure. We had hoped to find some ancestral monuments but didn't
find any.
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On our way out of the church, we were sad to see the poor state of the grave yard surrounding the church. There was much graffiti and vandalism. We stopped at Burger King again for a fast food lunch. While the British do just fine with the "food" part of "fast food", they seem to have a bit of trouble with the "fast" part. We found carry-out service to be consistently inefficient. It was now early afternoon. We had originally planned to tour a couple of castles in the afternoon, but we decided to skip these and instead take a driving tour of the family castles we had looked up at the family history center. Although these are not open to the public, we decided to see if we could find them anyway.
First we drove to Caskeiben. We found the road to the castle, but it was marked as a private drive and the estate is not at all visible from any public road. Disappointed, we drove on to the site of Gartly Castle. At the location indicated on the map all we could see were some stones that may have been a foundation. Finally we drove to Craig Castle. Once again, we found our way blocked by a "no trespassing" sign. Feeling a bit low on our bad record, we made the short drive to our final destination, Kildrummy Castle, Gardens and Hotel.
This focal point of this complex is the Castle, one of the greatest
of north Scotland in its day, but now a ruin. Next to the castle is a 100
year old manor home, now operated as a first class hotel. Separating
the two is a ravine with a garden. We had booked a room for the night
at the hotel. While it was much more expensive that our usual B&B
(about 65 pounds per person for B&B), we had decided to treat ourselves
to one special night near the end of our trip. It was about 4:30
when we arrived, so we decided to walk through the gardens first (they
closed at 5:00). From the entrance, a network of trails takes you
down the hill, through a lush forest, to a series of aquatic gardens, into
an open field, and past some whimsical sculptures. It was raining
on and off, but only lightly. The castle and hotel towered overhead.
There are among the nicest gardens I have seen.
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The bridge is for the drive that takes you to the hotel. The gardens fill the ravine below. |
We then drove up to the hotel to check in. The former estate (now hotel) was magnificent, not unlike some of the stately homes we had toured (Scone, Glamis), but now we were the "residents", not just tourists. The central lobby was all paneled in wood. Off the lobby were three lounges, a dining room, and a billiards room. One of the lounges was decorated in the style of a Victorian parlor. Another was like a den (with full bar). The third was a library. We went up the grand stairs to our large and well appointed bedroom. The service was as impressive as the building.
After a bit of settling in, we went out to tour the castle. As
had become our habit, we arrived about 30 minutes before closing, which
gave us the castle all to ourselves. Other than the outer walls,
not much of the castle is standing. However, Kildrummy is situated
at the foot of the highlands so the setting is particularly beautiful.
The history of the castle is also intriguing as it was closely associated
with the family of Robert the Bruce. By now we had seen enough castles
so that we could deduce the layout rather easily.
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The arched windows from the chapel are much more elaboate than in most castles. This is just a part of the extensive ruins. |
We decide to eat at the hotel as there weren't many other choices in this out-of-the-way corner of Scotland. Eating in the hotel also gave us a chance to enjoy the opulent surroundings and an excuse to wear the dress clothes we had been dragging around for two weeks. The host was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. She ushered us into the lounge where we helped ourselves to the hors devours at the bar. We sat in the overstuffed chairs, overlooking the gardens and the castle and ordered drinks and our meals. You have a choice of ordering from the five course fixed price menu or ala carte. We ordered ala carte (Angus steak with a black pepper sauce for me and trout stuffed salmon for Susan). Only after our meals were prepared were we ushered into the dining room. We had never been to a restaurant where you sat in a lounge while you waited for your meal. I'm glad we didn't order the five course meal as an entrée was more than enough food. Because it was mid-week, there were only two other couples in the large dining room.
After eating we retired to the parlor for coffee. Susan also had
a desert and I had a whisky. When I ordered the malt, the server
asked "How would you like that?" She could tell I was confused and
clarified "With water or ice?". I had alway been taught that a fine
single malt was to be drunk unadulterated, but I guess they have plenty
of American guests who think otherwise. I said "You wouldn't serve
a good Whisky with ice, would you?". She smiled and said "Well, we
don't like to". I ordered the house malt which is bottled by a local
Speyside distillery under the Kildrummy label. It was wonderful but
unfortunately, I forgot the name of distillery. We ate, drank, and
lounged for some time before retiring. Although this was the most
expensive meal of the trip, considering the quality of the food, drink,
service, and atmosphere, we thought it was a good value. While we
are not accustomed to this level of luxury, we could get used to it very
quickly.
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