I headed back to a much more populated part of Scotland today.  Started the day off with a trip through Dundee—a city known historically for its jam, jute and journalism.  Today, the only industry that survives is journalism. Dundee is the home of the Sunday Post. 

Dundee also had a past as a whaling center, but that declined when the whale population dwindled.  Yet that very industry is what set up Dundee as the premier location for the first scientific exploration in 1901 to the Antarctic.  Captain Robert Scott led the first voyage on the Discovery. 

Did you know Scotland has more golf courses than any country in the world?  Did you know they were the creators of the game?  I was told today as I visited both the Carnoustie and St. Andrews Golf Courses that the Scottish people originally called the game that you played with a small leather ball flog.  But decided to change the name when the associate to flogging developed.  They reversed the letters and came up with the word golf.  Don’t know if that’s a true story, or a Scottish tale.  You decide.

In the area of St. Andrews golf course is also St. Andrews University.  The university was one of the first universities in Scotland, and one of the first in the world to allow women to attend.  They could not get a degree, but they could be educated.  In recent history, the university is also the one Prince William chose to attend. 

The highlight of the day so far would have to be St. Andrews Cathedral.  In medieval times, St. Andrews was the premier cathedral city and place of pilgrimage.  The area has been a monastic center since 747 AD.  Over the years the community developed until St. Andrews became an important center of religious life in eighth century.  The cathedral reached its preeminence when its bishop became Scotland’s first archbishop in 1472.  However, it did not survive the Reformation of the Scottish Church in 1560.  The ruins are still beautiful to wander through, as do the many ornate gravestones that lay within the grounds.

Tonight, I will attend the Military Tattoo.  The rain has stopped, but the clouds remain.  It doesn’t matter though.  I’m a Seattleite in Scotland.  A little rain won’t hurt me. 

--Gerri

Balmoral Castle was off limits today.  The Queen is in residence.  So I got diverted to the very scenic Cairngorms National Park, then poked around the quaint little town of Ballater where the Royals are said to shop when in the area.  After that, it was off to Crathie Church where the Royals attend services when at Balmoral.  The Royal Family have their own separate entrance to the church.

One of the things I have so enjoyed seeing are the Scottish cottage houses that dot the countryside.  Here is an example of a typical Scottish cottage.

The drive through the Cairngorms was spectacular.  During August the heather blooms and the hillsides were covered in a deep purple blanket.  The scent is amazing.  I will never look at heather again without thinking about Scotland.

The day ended very pleasantly with a trip to Glamis Castle, the seat of the Earls of Strathmore and Kinghorn and the one-time home of Lady Elizabeth who went on to become the Queen Mother.

Glamis Castle is a conglomeration of fourteenth, sixteenth, and eighteenth century architecture.  The result is a castle that resembles in many ways Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland.  Glamis Castle provided the setting for the murder of Duncan in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  The castle is also said to have more ghosts than any other castle in Scotland.  One of those ghosts is said to be Lady Janet Glamis who was burnt as the stake as a witch by James V.

The evening found me heading southeast to the village of Montrose.  Tomorrow, I head for Edinburgh and will attend the famous Military Tattoo.  I am hoping the rain lets up.  These things are never cancelled due to weather.

Wish me luck!

--Gerri

Every country and culture has its own unique history.  Shetland is no diffeent, only their history goes back further than most, into pre-history.  Today I had a wonderful walk through the past at Jarlshof on the southern tip of Shetland.  The first people to arrive here probably came over 5,000 years ago when the climate was warmer and there were landmasses that connected more of the isles and continents.

Jarlshof is a showcase of civilized development as it is revealed through the progression of a settlement that has been dated as far back as 3,500 year ago.  There are six definite settlements in the area.  One each from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Pictish era, the Norse era, then the Middle Ages. All within a short walking distance you can span several eras.  And because the area is so remote with so few travelers who might damage the settlements, you are allowed to go inside the later settlements.

The first settlement was that of a Stone Age home; containing a central fire and a midden (or a rubbish dump) that revealed what people of this time period ate.

The second settlement was that of a late Bronze Age smithy used some 2,800 years ago.

The third settlement is where there was once a large Iron Age roundhouse in the courtyard of a broch built around 2,000 years ago.  Several brochs have been discovered across Shetland.  They were fourteen feet tall, with three stories.  The bottom story was used for the animals, who needed protection from the weather, but who also helped to heat the house.  The next two floors were for the human inhabitants. 

The best-preserved settlement was that of the fourth--a wheelhouse-style broch was occupied by the Pictish people until the Norsemen arrived.

The fifth settlement revealed a Norse house, which may date from the early ninth century.

Finally, the last settlement was that of a medieval farmhouse that lay near the laird’s house from the seventeenth century.

All in all, it was a fascinating day that also included a bit of wildlife: seabirds and seals.

Tonight, I board an overnight ferry back to Aberdeen.  It’s a twelve hours crossing.  This time I am armed with seasickness pills, ginger, and seasickness wristbands.  I have learned I am not meant to be a seafarer.  This girl likes land.

Until tomorrow,

--Gerri