Thursday, July 8, 2010

A wee visit to Scotland

Last Friday, all 280 or so of the PKPers (Pembroke-King's Programme) drove in six buses up to green, windy, rainy and beautiful Scotland. On the way to Edinburgh, we stopped at Fountains Abbey, which were founded in 1132 and are the largest monastic ruins in the UK. The ruins and the surrounding landscape are beautiful. Check it out:






Saturday, we went on a day trip to hike in the Trossachs, or the "mini-highlands." It was rainy and windy and very muddy, but the views were definitely worth it:




I actually spent very little time in Edinburgh, and what I did see of the city was the Royal Mile. This is the main "high street," and it runs from the Holyrood Palace (where the royal family stays in Scotland) and the Edinburgh Castle. Here are a few things along the way:

The inside of The Elephant House, pictured in the last post. This is where J.K. Rowling sat and wrote her idea for Harry Potter on a napkin while looking out the window at Ediburgh Castle. The food was really good, and I regret not trying the ridiculously good-looking fudge. Next time, I guess...


This is Parliament, the building of notoriously modern and symbolic design. According to the people in my group who took the tour, the black structures around the windows are meant to symbolize curtains drawn open so the world knows how open they are about their policies.
The castle.
St. Giles' Cathedral.
Looking down the Mile.
On the way home, we stopped in Richmond, home of Richmond Castle and a river with a beautiful Eden-like area. Judge for yourself:



And then there's the castle itself with its gorgeous surrounding views!





1 comment:

  1. How beautiful, K!
    (especially you)

    mmm mmm Scotland.
    I am duly impressed.

    ReplyDelete