Coddiwomple Stardate 180928

Friday morning early rise to get to Vancouver Airport. We took the Expo & Canada Skyrail lines. Must be the cheapest transport to an airport in the world. $4.50 each. We needed to take two flights one to Toronto then another to Edinburgh. Our total flight time and transfer times were only about 13 hours but we gained 8 hours because of time zones. We left on the 21^st and Sharon's original receipt showed we arrived on the 21^st. Our accommodation was booked for the 21^st. When we arrived in Toronto I got confused. I'm sure we would be arriving on the 22^nd. We hadn't crossed the International Date Line. I was correct. Panic set in. It was already late in Edinburgh. We sent an email but far to late to change the date. We should have already been there.

We arrived in Edinburgh 6.15am. Picked up our rental for the two weeks. This time a Mini Cooper 4 door Clubman manual. At least we didn't have to wait around until late afternoon to book into our B & B. When we arrived at the Emerald Guest House just before 8.00am. We were greeted by a very upset Irish woman. She had waited up the previous night expecting our arrival.

After trying to pacify her we went to our room then went and had our second breakfast for the day. We asked if we could stay another night but we never got an answer until the next day. We did stay another night. I think Sharon's continuous apologies finally wore her down.

After breakfast we had been awake for 20 hrs. I didn't want to sleep. We needed to keep going and last until a normal bed time. We drove to Arthurs Seat only about 7km away. These are stunning shear cliffs in Edinburgh itself. I walked up one of the cliffs for some photos Sharon was too tired and stayed in the car. I wanted to do more but we headed back to the B&B so Sharon could rest.

I didn't want to settle down. I decided to walk to the supermarket. We needed to get a new phone sim for the UK. In Canada & the USA it was expensive and complicated. We had to go to a phone store for them to set it up. It cost us $80 initial setup in Canada which only gave us 1 gb of data. In the US we had to buy two different sims there because our first one wouldn't work in Alaska. Then they charged us after we cancelled the contract. We did get our money back. I bought a Vodaphone sim in the UK supermarket for £1. Put it in the phone added £5 pounds credit and it works. Your credit doesn't have an expiry either. I also looked at grocery prices certainly cheaper than US and Canada.

While Sharon was snoozing I went to a pub. Bought a pint for £3.15. Guess what. Thats all I payed. It included all the taxes. After 18 weeks in North America Sharon & I never got use to the fact the price you see is not the price you pay. It was always + alcohol tax + GST + Tip. Then bought a pizza for the advertised price of £1.99. You can see how happy I am.

Sunday was spent wandering around Edinburgh. We parked the Mini near Arthurs Seat and walked for the day. First stop was Calton Hill after passing Holyrood Palace which is the Queens residence when staying in Edinburgh. Calton Hill is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has great views over the City and many memorials to explore. We wandered through New Town then Old Town to check out two filming sites from Outlander. Then time for a couple of Real Ales at the Tollhouse Tavern on the Historic Royal Mile. Sharon found two Canadians and two Australians to talk to which kept her happy. I had my ales.

Monday and time to start our next road trip. First stop was Craigmillar Castle. The Preston family started building the castle late 14^th century. By the 17^th century the castle fell into ruins when it became unfashionable. Mary Queen of Scots convalesced here in 1566 after the birth of her son James VI who became King of Scotland In 1567 age 13 months. It is also well known for scenes from Outlander.

Next was the City of Stirling. Historically there have been many wars here over the years. The main one is the battle at Stirling Bridge in 1297. This was the victory battle by William Wallace who fought back a superior English force. The current bridge over the Forth River was built in the 15^th century and still remains open to cyclists and pedestrians. We stopped at the William Wallace monument built 500 years after his death. Unfortunately Sharon is not well again and decided against going in.

Then onto our accommodation for the night Broomhall Castle. When we came to Scotland 10 years ago on a tour we were meant to stay in a castle. Unfortunately they changed the itinerary and we never stayed in one. Sharon has always been disappointed. So here we are. The castle was built in 1874 for the youngest Johnstone.

Tuesday and more castle ruins. This time Doune Castle. Originally built in the 13^th century then rebuilt in 14th for Robert Stewart the Duke of Albany Regent of Scotland. We came here to see more of Outlanders filming sites. This was the fictitious castle named Leoch that belonged to Colum McKenzie. As fascinating as Outlander is, I found out by the audio guide many scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed at this castle. Much more interesting.

We then made our way to Perth. There are so many things to see in Scotland in a very small area I'm overwhelmed. Went to a tourist centre for more information. We left with too much information. After lunch at Wetherspoon's again, we went for a nice walk along the River Tay and Riverside Park. The day was coming to an end so on to our accommodation at the Burnam Hotel. We were told at the tourist centre we probably won't find camping areas late in the season so we are trying to find accommodation under $100 a night. Which so far puts us in small Villages.

Wednesday I was hoping to get to Inverness at least. Didn't have much of a plan for the day. We fell 67km short. We only travelled 100km for the day. Our first stop was a waterfall called Black Spout. Next Loch Faskally in the Village of Pitlochry. It was a small hydro plant with a fish ladder and beautiful calm loch. Next was Queens View overlooking Loch Tummel then onto Old Bridge of Tilt for a small walk along the Tilt River. When leaving Tilt I used offline maps so we didn't have to backtrack. The road was very narrow before going onto a dirt track. Beautiful farmland and the road wasn't to rough. Unfortunately the mini is far to low and we were continuously scraping the ground. Sharon's favourite car is still the Jeep. Unfortunately the cost in fuel would be far to expensive. We have only used half a tank of fuel in the last 5 days. We haven't travelled far at all. It still cost us $70 to fill the minis tank.

Next stop was Braur Falls. Wow what a tourist trap. They have many shops in this modern village all catering for tour buses. A burger was going to cost $28 so past on the food. We walked to the falls. There were not many people here considering how many vehicles and people were in the village. The falls were spectacular. There is a Lower and Upper bridge over the gorge all built of the typical stone arches.

It was starting to get late. We were trying to book into a chalet in a caravan park. Left a message in the morning for them to ring back if they had any vacancies. They never did. We rang again at 3.30pm no vacancies. We found a hotel to stay in the Village of Kingussie. Not that I have anything against Asians. Going to hotel in Scotland I don't expect to see all the staff Asian. After booking in they had no great beer on tap so we walked down the road to a little pub called Tipsy Laird to drink my favourite style of beer Real Ale out of casks. Sharon quickly made friends with a Scotsman who asked her out the next night to a dance.

Thursday and it's wet. Our first stop was going to be Loch Alvie on the way to Aviemore. It wasn't worth stopping. Next choice was Loch an Eilein Castle. I wanted to see this one because of the early 13^th century castle built on an island in the loch. We put on our wet weather gear and was worth the walk in the rain. Even saw our first Red Squirrel of Scotland. Dug is back.

We drove through Aviemore very touristy. This is the main town that services Cairmgormes National Park. Then stopped at Old Packhorse Bridge built in 1717. It is the oldest arched bridge in Scotland. As the name implies it was built to get your packhorse over a river. We then made our way to the Culloden Battlefield.

On 16^th April 1746 the Jacobite forces (Scottish) of Charles Edward Stuart was defeated by Hanoverian forces (English). This was the fourth and final risin of the Jacobite's. The name derives from the Latin word jacobus which means James in English and Jacobites go back to 1688 and they supported exiled King James the II. In short Scottish wanted a protestant King, England had a Catholic King in power. After the defeat this changed Scotland's way of life forever.

10 years ago we stopped at the battlefield on our bus tour. All we saw was an empty field. There is now an excellent informative centre and certainly worth visiting. Throughout the day they have many lectures to listen to and volunteers all dressed up in period costumes.

Friday and another wet cold morning of 5 degrees C. After booking accommodation for the night a chose a drive away from the main touristy road of Loch Ness. We had seen Loch Ness before on our tour. It was a good decision. The drive took us through beautiful farmland with rolling hills with all the colours of Autumn. We stopped in the village of Beauly to see the ruins of Beauly Priory. It was first established in 1230 by the monks of the Valliscaulian order. Next stop just after Achnasheen. It was a random car park that happened to have a boardwalk built over a moor. At the end was a building used for fisherman or hikers called Inver Croft. Then through Lochcarron to North Shore and the ruins of the 14th century Strome Castle. This was the highlite of the day there were stunning views across Loch Carron to the mountains of Isle of Skye.