“There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.”

– Bill Connolly, Scottish comedian

SCOTLAND

We’re headed northbound to Scotland, but not before stopping at Hadrian’s Wall, near England’s northern border. It was built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in 122 AD, primarily to guard the Roman Empire’s frontier. It provided protection from hostile enemies and a base for military units. 2022 marks the 1900^th anniversary of the beginning of the wall’s construction.

The wall stretched for 73 miles, coast to coast, “from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west.” A significant portion of the wall still stands and can be followed on foot along the adjoining Hadrian’s Wall Path. It’s the largest Roman archaeological feature in Britain, and regarded as a British cultural icon; designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As mentioned, sections of Hadrian’s Wall remain, particularly in its hilly central section. Little remains in the lowland regions, where the Wall was plundered as a source of free stone for new buildings.

A short hike brought us to a portion of the wall. We could have continued on hiking, and climb up the rocky hill for a clear birds-eye view, but the blustery, cold winds cut through you like a knife. Hardy Mexican souls we’re not.

A spectacular roadside photo op at the borderline of England and Scotland provided a glorious, sweeping view of the Scotland countryside, a picture-perfect spot to announce our arrival.

EDINBURGH CASTLE

Edinburgh Castle stands high atop Castle Rock, at the head of the Royal Mile, with the Palace of Holyroodhouse at its foot. The Royal Mile is the traditional processional route for kings and queens for over 500 years. There’s been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of King David I in the 12^th-century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until 1633.

From the 15^th-century, the castle’s residential role declined, and by the 17^th-century, it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. Its importance as a part of Scotland’s national heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19^th-century onwards, and various restoration programs have been carried out over the past century and a half.  The Castle is one of the few ancient castles in Britain that still has a military garrison, used mostly for ceremonial and administrative purposes.

Few of the buildings pre-date the 16^th-century. The most notable exception is St. Margaret’s Chapel from the early 12^th-century, considered the oldest building in Edinburgh.

We arrived mid-afternoon, and unfortunately missed-out on the ceremonial One o’Clock Gun, fired every day (except Sunday), at precisely 13:00 hours, informing locals and tourists to check their clocks, watches, cellphones, and whatever else tells time.

For most of our travels, we’ve encountered very small crowds, but not here. The castle grounds and the Royal Mile were packed with throngs of tourists gawking and the locals going about their daily lives. A myriad of souvenir stores, fine Scottish woolen shops, bars, cafes and restaurants now line the Royal Mile. I don’t recall it being so commercial during my first visit in the late 90’s.

The next visit to Edinburgh must be timed around one of my bucket list entries – a performance of the “The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.”  It’s a spectacular spectacle that takes place on the Castle’s Esplanade every August for the last 75 years. Each performance features a parade of massed pipes and drums of the Scottish regiments, and includes a variety of performers invited from around the world. Mexico is represented this year with the Banda Monumental de Mexico, 120-piece military band from the state of Puebla. The photos below are stock photos.

I can only imagine what a thrilling, rip-roaring, raucous celebration it is to witness, capped nightly with fireworks show.   

ST GILES’ CATHEDRAL

St Giles’ Cathedral, a grand edifice on the Royal Mile, was begun in the 14^th-century and completed in the early 16^th-century; with significant alterations undertaken in the 19^th and 20^th-centuries. St Giles’ is one of the country’s most important medieval buildings, and is closely associated with many important events and figures throughout Scottish history;

St Giles’ possesses one of the original copies of Scotland’s National Covenant of 1638, an agreement signed by many people of Scotland (including my friend, Jim Taylor’s ancestors!). It opposed the proposed reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as The Kirk by King Charles I).

The cathedral has magnificent stained-glass windows from the 18^th and 19^th-centuries. A recent (1985) and significant one is the great west window, a memorial tribute to Robert Burns, the great national poet of Scotland. It’s just beyond the large entranceway stained-glass window, that in the late afternoon light, envelops the church in a very soft blue cast.

There are over a hundred memorials in St Giles’ with most dating from the 19^th-century onwards. You can’t take a step without stepping on someone’s tomb; their floors and walls are as busy as those of Westminster Abbey.

Continuing our walk on the Royal Mile and beyond, a light rain started falling, and it was about time to consider dinner. We had a choice: call an Uber and head back to the hotel and eat at their fine restaurant (a popular local hangout), or, as we turned round the curve in the road and voila! There stood a charming French bistro, La Garrigue. It seemed perfect as we walked through their blue door to enjoy a bit of French for a nice change.

The French owner suggested the house drink, a lovely champagne cocktail concoction that tickled the palate; for David, a glass of French red wine. Starters: beautifully grilled scallops, and a deep, rich fish soup served with a side of cognac. Dinner: a saddle of lamb, sitting on a potato truffle hash, and a scrumptious cassoulet filled with pork belly, beef, plump white beans; all supporting a leg confit duck …David quickly consumed it in a flash. I did manage a taste. And, oh so, oh là là!

STIRLING CASTLE

Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. It sits atop Castle Hill, a volcanic crag, surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive and strategic position. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the 15^th and 16^th-centuries; built with an eclectic mix of English, French and German influences. Today, it remains a great symbol of Scottish independence and national pride.

Several Scottish kings and queens have been crowned at Stirling; notably Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542, and others were born or died there. The Royal Lodgings have been restored to something approaching their former glory. The work, which has taken a decade of research and craftsmanship, restored six royal apartments to their 1540’s splendor. There are docents dressed in period costume that are willing to share as much or as little information as you have time to listen.

A set of the famous “Hunt of the Unicorn” tapestries were recreated, four of which are now hanging in the restored Queen’s Presence Chamber. The original tapestries can be found at The Cloisters, part of NY’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, way up in Washington Heights on the Hudson River (not the River Hudson!).

To me, one of the most impressive features of the castle was the adorned ceiling of the inner hall of the King’s Presence Chamber. With neck cocked, eyes pointed straight up, were 37 brightly painted replicas of the Stirling Heads. The heads have been painstakingly recreated with paint applied in a manner that gives an impression of three-dimensional effects of ornate plasterwork or woodwork.

The original Stirling Heads are 16^th-century oak medallions carved with images of kings, queens, nobles, Roman emperors and characters from the Bible and Classical mythology. These are described as “among the finest examples of Scottish Renaissance wood-carving now extant.”

The carvings were taken down following a ceiling collapse in 1777, after which they were dispersed. Of an estimated 56 original heads, 38 survived, and now many have been brought back together and displayed (at an easier eye level).

The Great Hall, built 1501-1504, is coated with a color known as “King’s Gold,” an exuberant shade of gold that would have gleamed from the hilltop for miles around. This not only showed the king’s power, but his riches, too. This is the only colored building that we have encountered in our many castles visited … leave it up to the Scots to shine.

THE KELPIES, FALKIRK

Seeing The Kelpies was just the second time in my life that I recall being totally speechless (the first being when David proposed to me under London’s Marble Arch). It seems that England has a recurring hold on me for speechlessness!

These amazing 98-feet high horse-head sculptures, weighing 300 tons each, took my breath away upon approaching them in Falkirk (midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow). They’re built of structural steel with stainless-steel cladding. Only in person can you sense the full impact of their immense and strong presence.

The sculptures were designed by Andy Scott and completed in October 2013, and opened to the public the following April. They depict kelpies, shape-shifting spirits that inhabit lochs in Scottish folklore. Their name derives from mythological transforming beasts, possessing strength and endurance; a quality that transposes itself to that of Scotland.

Kelpies are usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. They’re a monument to horse-powered heritage across Scotland, and their forms are inspired by Clydesdale (draught) horses.

Tiffany Jenkins, of The Scotsman, wrote “They are impressive, stunning even, and I think people will become attached to them and proud of them. Of course, they will not please everyone, but that it is not possible as no such artwork exists.”

Step aside, Venus de Milo, your beauty is no match to these stunning beasts of burden. They have to be the most stunning, eye-popping sculptures I’ve ever seen. You can’t take your eyes off them. Each step taken provides a unique viewpoint as the moving clouds and sun would reflect light differently.

One can feel the power they possess and emanate. If ever there’s a time and place to experience a magical moment, it’s The Kelpies. They’re enthralling and captivating.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY

The Scottish National Gallery is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh. The building was designed in the form of an Ancient Greek temple; and first opened to the public in 1859.

The Gallery displays a who’s who of the greatest artists and art in the world, including masterpieces by: Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Velázquez, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, Van Gogh, Monet, van Dyck, and too many more to mention.

For a small, intimate museum, it sure packs an eye-opening punch. Here’s where pictures best tell a story.

ROSSLYN CHAPEL

Rosslyn Chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, built in the 15^th-century, is now privately owned. The current owner is Peter St Clair-Erskine, 7^th Earl of Rosslyn.

Since the late 1980s, the chapel has been the subject of speculative theories relating to a connection with the Knights Templar, the Holy Grail, and Freemasonry. It was prominently featured in Dan Brown’s bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code (2003) and its 2006 film adaptation. Medieval historians say these accounts have no basis in fact.

I loved The Da Vince Code, not so much as a good book, but as an excellent travel guide to Rome. In fact, I used the book to map out my visit back in 2005.

One of the more notable architectural features of the Chapel is the “Apprentice Pillar, or “Prentice Pillar.” The name evolved over time due to a legend dating from the 18^th-century, involving the master mason in charge of the stonework in the chapel and his young apprentice mason. According to the legend, the master mason did not believe that the apprentice could perform the complicated task of carving the column without seeing the original, which formed the inspiration for the design.

The master mason travelled to see the original himself, but upon his return was enraged to find that the upstart apprentice had completed the column by himself. In a fit of jealous anger, the master mason took his mallet and struck the apprentice on the head, killing him. The legend concludes that as punishment for his crime, the master mason’s face was carved into the opposite corner to forever gaze upon his apprentice’s pillar. There is, however, no evidence that any such murder took place. But it makes for a sensational tale.

The other outstanding feature is the more than 110 carvings of “Green Men” in and around the chapel. Green Men are carvings of human faces with decorative greenery all around them, often growing out of their mouths. Kind of creepy having all those eyeballs looking down at you. Note: interior photos were forbidden, so pictures shown are internet stock photos.

By now, we were hungry and pooped-out travelers from the day’s menu of historical and cultural sights of Edinburgh. We had tried, unsuccessfully, to book a table at one of the best, highly rated Italian restaurants in town. Instead, we settled for the chef’s Neapolitan Pizzeria 1926, located just down the street from the restaurant. A fine, delicious decision in the end.

I ordered their special salad: octopus (again, my apologies to cephalopod fans) tossed with greens in the lightest of vinaigrettes, allowing all the flavors to dance together. David had a pancetta salad with the same dressing. Pizzas were perfectly charred, with a chewy crust: Margherita, David’s favorite; mine topped with venison sausage and broccoli rabe, both incredible to the last bite. Nothing like a great pizza pie!

We could have used an extra day to explore Edinburgh, but we must move on to our next exciting destination: York.