MELROSE AND PEEBLES

We are back in Crieff at Merlindale B&B (our Scottish home) after a three day excursion to the Borders area.  We’ve played some entertaining golf at Bridge of Allan, Torwoodlee, and Minto, but we’ve also done a good bit of touring which becomes the subject of this photo rich entry.  

GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER: MELROSE ABBEY

                                   Melrose Abbey from the Main Street through the Village

Founded in 1136 by King David I for Cistercian Monks, the ruins we visited in the Borders town of Melrose are of late 14th century architecture.  The abbey has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. 

Edward II destroyed the abbey during the Scottish War of Independence.  King Robert the Bruce rebuilt it.  In the English Civil War Cromwell destroyed the abbey again.  

                                                                The Abbey at Night

This is the abbey now under the care of Historic Scotland (a national trust).  

The ruined Melrose Abbey is lovely to visit--towering facades, fascinating gargoyles and corbels, and special attractions.  

                                                                     The Cloisters

Two features to seek out at the abbey are the pig with a bagpipe and the heart of King Robert the Bruce.  The carved figure of a pig with a bagpipe is intriguing.  

                                                  The Pig with a Bagpipe Gargoyle

Appearing in other venues as well, the pig supposedly represents the local Scots whom the French masons thought smelled “like pigs” (according to the Historic Scotland stewart).  While the body of King Robert the Bruce is laid to rest in Dunfermline Cathedral, 

                                             Robert The Bruce's Heart Is Buried Here

his heart which was carried to the crusades was buried someplace at Melrose Abbey.  Found in the 1920s, the heart after medical examination was reinterred in a special ceremony in 1998.  Melrose Abbey is one four Borders abbeys (Dryburgh, Kelso, Jedburgh, and Melrose) built in the 12th century which should be on any list of places to visit. 

                                                           Corbels or Grotesques

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A PARADE

Sometimes mistakes can work out for the best.  We planned our Saturday around attending the Highland Games in Peebles.  We toured Melrose Abbey in the morning and then drove into Peebles to see the games only to find out when we got to town that the games were on Sunday when we were booked for golf at Minto 25 miles away.  We filled the rest of Saturday wandering the great gardens at Kailzie,

but I kicked myself for getting our scheduling wrong.  All my fault.  

On Sunday after golf we drove to Peebles where we were to spend the night at the Neidpath Inn.  As we checked in our host said, “Well, you’re just in time for the parade of the bands.”  

                                                         The Parade of Bands

When we asked what he meant he told us that at the end of the games--remember, the Peebles Highland Games were on Sunday--all the bands march from the park down the main street through town, and that the bands should start coming down the street any time now.  

                                                 A Variety of Locals Enjoy the Parade

We may have missed the games, but we had never seen a parade of pipe bands at any of the Highland games we’d attended.  This was a special treat!  

The best part was standing on a pedestrian island in the middle of the street and having the playing band divide around the island--

                                                        In the Middle of a Band

it was stirring to be in the middle of a band of Highland bagpipes and drums!   Seeing the games would have been nice, especially since our very first Highland Games had been in Peebles in 2000, 

                                                     Look Who Gets to Carry the Trophy

                                                         The Drum Corps

but seeing and hearing (and almost being in) the pipe band parade was a special treat. 

                                                       The Tail End of the Parade

The Scottish Weather

As I said in the last post, I am going to comment on the Scottish weather: “Admiral, there be weather here!”  When we left home, Portland was just coming off a stretch of fine weather, finally.  In Amsterdam we landed in heavy winds and rain.  But we stepped out of Turnhouse Aiiport in Edinburgh into clouds, sun, and breeze--better weather than we’d left at home.  One afternoon doesn’t really answer the question of what weather will we have.  But Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were sunny with clouds as well.  The breeze, though, has made it cool--mid to high 40s.  As far as we are concerned this is almost perfect weather for both touring and golfing.  The Scots though are hoping for some warmer and even drier days--April here was the rainiest on record. 

I will say that driving west to Inveraray through snow capped peaks (between 2500 and 3500 feet) on our first Saturday was lovely enough to shoot over a hundred photos of the mountains.  The first full week has been clouds, sun, and cool temperatures.  We loved that!  Now we have moved to the Highlands, Aviemore in the Cairngorm National Park.  As we left Crieff light snow flurries accompanied our packing the car and we walked to dinner in more light flurries.  Tonight is to be minus two degrees--and this is May 5th!  The prediction is that it will be the coldest May on record. Oh well, we have winter fleece  jumpers and warm golf gloves.  Though we may have to buy orange golf balls for the snow!

My, What a Difference

Four inches often seems insignificant--I know certain of our friends are now saying, “Four inches can make a lot of difference!”  You know, we all have some of those friends.  I will say though that the four inches we gained by upgrading from economy to Premier Economy on Delta was well worth the dollars spent.  I was able to stretch my legs out under the seat in front of me without jamming into the seat ahead’s structure.  Our seats were able to recline further and the people in front of us could recline fully without smashing their headrest into our noses.  The trays came down without rubbing across our shirt fronts and we could get up and down in our seats so much easier than we could in economy. 

Anne pointed out also that we got on earlier--a definite advantage with how tight overhead storage space has become--and off sooner--a definite advantage just because after nine and a half hours we’re ready to get off the plane. Four inches.  Highly significant to a high jumper.  And as Anne and I will now attest, important to the comfort of the traveler.    

A Scottish Kirk

On the edge of Loch Awe in the west of Scotland we visited Saint Conan’s Kirk (church).  We knew little about the kirk, but had some idea that it had some interesting features.  Location was one of those features.  Sited on the edge of the loch with a view to the snow covered hills to the northeast, Saint Conan’s was indeed lovely in the cool spring sun. 

St Conan was reputed to have lived in the Glenorchy area and was a disciple of St Columba who brought Christianity from Ireland to Scotland in the 600s.  St Conan became tutor to two sons of the King of Scotland and eventually a Bishop.  The church we visited is not particularly old, having been dedicated in the 1930s, but the original church on the location was begun in 1881 and finished in 1886.  

Some of the most interesting features of the kirk include the tall Celtic Cross, the Cloister Garth, the Bruce Chapel, and a set of modern gargoyles.  

The Celtic Cross was erected on a knoll at the west end of the kirk by the builder in memory of his mother.  The cross is a fine example of funerary sculpture.  

The Cloister Garth, the best entrance into the church, serves no specific purpose.  Instead, the cloisters copy the design of larger Scottish abbeys simply for the love of beautiful design.  The Bruce Chapel contains a more than life-size effigy of King Robert the Bruce, the first king of a united Scotland. 

The effigy is made of wood with the face and hands of alabaster.  Below the figure of the King is a small ossuary which contains a bone of the King himself taken from Dunfermline Abbey.  Bruce’s body is buried in Dunfermline, his heart is buried in Melrose Abbey in the Borders, and a piece of him resides at St Conan’s--he was a King who certainly got around.  On the exterior of the kirk is a set of unusual modern gargoyles or waterspouts.  Figures decorating churches which are not functional spouts are called grotesques, regardless of how nice they may be.  The three gargoyles at St Conan’s are figures of two large-eared rabbits (likely Scottish hares) and one that looks like it was meant to be a hippopotamus. 

Usually we’ve seen carved-stone faces, demons, dragons, angels, lions or such animals.  Hares and hippos of metal are unique.  

Saint Conan’s Kirk is a thing of beauty being preserved for future generations and is a fine example of the sites we visit throughout Scotland.