Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel (map)
November 1, 2008

Continuing with the trend of beautiful weather on any day I leave the city for a trip, this Saturday featured blue skies, bright sunshine, and autumn colours everywhere. We arrived at the chapel, made famous by Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code (which I haven't read but have heard very mixed reviews about), to find it covered in a big ugly scaffoling! We soon learned that they've built this cover to let the chapel dry out before beginning restoration work. In this day and age when results are expected now and there's always some technology to make that happen, it's refreshing to see people relying on simple patience to get the job done. The great benefit of this giant canopy is we had the opportunity to climb up and walk around the roof of the chapel! This won't be possible in the next two years or so when the scaffolding comes down, so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.






All the photos are from the outside of the building which, while very nice, is nothing compared to the spectacular interior. I don't have any photos from inside since photography isn't allowed, but you can get an idea of what it's like at http://www.dumdum.co.uk/sphericalvr/rosslyn.htm and http://www.dumdum.co.uk/sphericalvr/alter.htm.

One of the neat things the tour guide brought up is the mix of Christian and pagan symbols in the chapel. Figures like the green men, which represent fertility and connection to nature, can be seen alongside carvings of the birth of Christ. Also very cool is the fact that three plants native to North America have been found among the carvings, suggesting that an ancestor of the family who built the chapel might have crossed the Atlantic before Columbus. (Apparently there is ample proof that Columbus was not the first to travel to the New World... I had no idea!) One of those three plants: the trillium! The guide even mentioned that it's the official flower of Ontario.

Another reason to admire the owners (other than the patient roof drying bit) is that they have refused the many requests of scientists and the like to break into the sealed crypt beneath the chapel, rumoured to contain many Sinclairs buried in armour, the Holy Grail, and a number of other treasures. Not knowing just makes it that much better, doesn't it?

Sorry for the lack of photos. I guess you'll just have to come see it for yourself! Only a short ride south on the #15 Lothian city bus :)

A few more photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176479&l=59edf&id=90402206

Hallowe'en, Pagan Style

Samhuinn Fire Festival
October 31, 2008

At home, Hallowe'en these days is mostly filled with adorable small children in adorable costumes and sassy teenagers in i'm-dressed-as-a-teenager-too-cheap-to-buy-my-own-candy costumes. This year, instead of the usual commercial affair, I got to watch a true pagan celebration of fire and demons and symbolism beyond my understanding. I went knowing nothing about what the celebration is for and don't know much more now, but does seem very interesting and was truly a feast for the eyes. Instead of copying and pasting from Wikipedia, I'll just point you to the "source": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain.

Here are a few photos from the parade/show and the link to the full album at the bottom.

My parents read this blog so I won't go into detail about the sorts of things these red people were pretending to do, but the photo on the left captures their excitement quite nicely...

These guys must have been exhausted (or "knackered" as one might say around these parts) after drumming for the full two hours or so.

This is a neat photo from the show on the stage that featured singing, dancing (of the regular and fire varieties), and lots people climbing on top of each other.

The full album can be found at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176476&l=3e9bc&id=90402206.

Wizards and Warriors and Castles, Oh My!

Bamburgh & Alnwick Castles, Kelso Abbey (map)
October 26, 2008

Dawn (from the US), Angela (from Australia) and I joined up with a tour called Wizards and Warriors, obviously a sight that this would be a day for me to indulge in my nerdy love of Harry Potter. The tour was expensive relative to the ISC get-you-there-bring-you-back approach, but it was nice to visit several places in one day and hear all sorts of history and tidbits during the drive. I'm going to shamelessly steal a blurb from Heart of Scotland's website to explain what we saw:

"This exciting tour explores the violent history of the Borders, visits two of the finest castles in England (Bamburgh Castle and Alnwick Castle) before returning North for the magnificent Wallace Statue and Scott’s View, the finest panorama in the Scottish Borders."

Bamburgh Castle was our first stop and, while it's clearly a beautiful, massive building, I didn't really take much away from it. There are some nice views from the castle since it sits on a crag right on the edge of the coast:

And some awesome nose-picking gargoyles:

One of neatest things is probably what our driver said about the castle - "you can plot history in the walls of Bamburgh - referring to the different layers of stone used throughout the years:

Then we set off for Alnwick (pronounced "ann-nick") Castle. Of the two castles, I liked Alnwick more for one obvious reason: its proximity to Harry Potter. Dawn and I did a "magical history" tour of the castle led by a guy who doubled for Malfoy in the flying lesson scene from the first movie (filmed in the yard below). As Dawn said, maybe being an extra in the movie gives you a free pass on the interview for doing tours of the castle.

Other than the Harry Potter stuff, the castle also sported some very cool detailed statues of archers and soldiers and men hoisting large objects:

The craziest thing about these two castles: they're both inhabited! Can you imagine growing up in a castle? In Alnwick, we quickly toured through the beautiful interior. In the library, there were hundreds of ancient books lining the walls, even shelved above doorways. And sitting in the shadow of these pages from history? You first guess would probably not be a flat screen TV and surround sound system. Unbelievable.

After Alnwick, we crossed back into Scotland and somehow managed to combine a toilet break with a stop at an ancient abbey ruin... only in Scotland. Kelso Abbey, built in the 12th century and severely damaged in the "Rough Wooing" campaign. Advice to men trying to force women into marriage: invading your lady's homeland with armies and attacking its abbeys... not the best approach.

Full album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2176475&l=84119&id=90402206.

To the garden, we go!

Benmore Botanic Garden (map)
October 11, 2008

It was great to get out of the city and spend a day at the Benmore Botanic Garden. Found on the western side of Scotland, it was a long and picturesque drive. My favourite part of the drive was the dozens of little streams coursing down the hills through little paths that must have taken years and years for the streams to carve out.

This is the famous Redwood Avenue, apparently planted in 1863. On first glance it just looks like a bunch really big trees. If you can see the people standing in the distance and compare those specks to the trees, that will tell you just how massive they truly are! In addition to being enormous, they are also incredibly squishy - like hugging a teddy bear!


This trip also marked the unearthing of my Rebel camera. It was great to be in such a relaxed atmosphere to begin practising with the camera again. My goal is to finish the year with a basic understanding of the camera and how to manipulate it to do what I want!


Full album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2172308&l=534a2&id=90402206.

Stirling

Stirling (map)
September 27, 2008

Trip number two landed us on an overcrowded public train to Stirling (the giant group of international students being the cause of the overcrowding… oops!). Once again, the first sight of the day was a castle – Stirling Castle.

This is the Great Hall with a beautifully redone ceiling.

A very delayed lunch, quick walk about town, and confused bus ride later, we found ourselves at the National Wallace Monument. You might know William Wallace by way of Mel Gibson and his Braveheart, a film I’m sad to say I haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying. This was a really enjoyable stop because the free audio guide and detailed displays made it a history-filled afternoon.

Lesson of the day: sunlight really does just make everything better, especially after walking about under grey skies.























The full album for this trip is at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2169738&l=0849c&id=90402206. Enjoy!