Stirling Castle & Mary, Queen of Scots

We took the train to Stirling to see Stirling Castle.  The train station was small and nicely designed. The train was very economical; it was only $16 for both of to go and return. The trip took about 50 minutes. We walked up the hill (which we regretted as it was straight up) to the church of the Holy Rude  (means  Holy Cross).  We decided to look inside and catch our breath.   As with most old ( it dates from the  15th century) churches in Scotland, this one was a Roman Catholic church until the reformation.  Now it is part of the church of Scotland.  It is a place where  in 1567 the infant King James VI was crowned.   After exploring this church and graveyard, we walked up to the castle.  Here is a map of the castle; The castle sits on the top of Castle Hill with 3 steep sides for protection. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In 1542 Mary, Queen of Scots was crowned in the castle.

What you see now when you visit the castle is  buildings that were constructed between 1490 and 1600, when Stirling was developed as a principal royal center by the Stewart Kings James IV, James V and James VI. The great hall was painted gold which was a surprise as we are used to the gray stone look of most old castles.   We were told by the tour guide that all of the buildings would have been painted gold to show people the power of the Steward kings. Inside the castle (restored to the time of 1540s) you can see many examples of King James V’s desire to show visitors that he was the glorious king of Scotland.  Almost every room has a large and colorful coat of arms over the fireplaces.  Here is a photo of the throne room of James’ queen, Mary of Guise ; They were the parents of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary’s father James V died when she was only six days old, leaving an infant queen on the throne. Her coronation was held nine months later at Stirling, one of the most secure places in the kingdom.She would spend most of her childhood here and return frequently during her adult reign.

Here are two views from the castle. You can see why it was such a secure place to keep the infant queen. I have always been intrigued by the sad story of Mary, Queen of Scots and it was moving to be in the same castle and rooms that she lived in during part of her life.  This is one of the reasons that travel is so valuable.  Now when I read the history or see a film about Mary, I can put her life in the place where she lived.

Edinburgh Castle and pet sitting

Since  we are pet and house sitting in Edinburgh, Scotland, ( here is a link to our blog post about how to arrange pet and house sitting ; https://seniorgapyear.wordpress.com/2016/02/07/house-and-pet-sitting-on-the-road/)    we thought we would venture out to see Edinburgh Castle.  Edinburgh Castle is in the center of the city on the gigantic Castle rock that looms above everything.  It is easy to see why it was an impossible castle to attack.   It is up above the entire city.  We also had to walk up the many steps to get there. Here is a photo of David starting up the last of the stairs to the castle.  They have a pair of guards in front, and we saw them change guards, which is done hourly. Since it was one in the afternoon, they also fire one gun so everyone below knows what time it is. This seems to be a tradition that they keep up for people without watches or iphones. On the  way in we had to stop and try out the luxury Scottish  ice cream.  It was very good. It was a cold and rainy day (so much for Scottish summer ) but there were still lots of visitors roaming the castle with their umbrellas.  Here is the inside of the castle gate.The castle is the number one visitor attraction in Edinburgh.  It was very crowded, which made the visit less enjoyable .  But we had paid about $35 for the two of us to get in so we made the best of the situation.  Inside the great hall there were lots of fireplaces and suits of armor and in case of an emergency there were lots of swords and spears decorating all the walls to use.   There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of King David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until 1633.  Then  it was used as  a military barracks with a large garrison.  There are still some military units stationed there but now it is a money making tourist castle.   And we were quite happy to be tourists within its walls.

Pet sitting with Jodi in Edinburgh, Scotland

So we are now pet sitting in Edinburgh with Jodi the dog and Jock the guinea pig.  Their family is off for a lovely vacation and we get to play with them for a while.  Jodi is a lovely and lively 2 year old part whippet.  She has a beautiful lean body and love to run fast!  Here are some photographs of her with David.What a cute face. It was David’s birthday today. He said that he would never have imagined that he would be hugging Jodi in Edinburgh on his birthday.  He grabs onto life and enjoys all the new adventures that we plan.  It is one of the reasons I love him so.

Money saving tips using the Trains in Britain

The railway system in Britain was nationalized in 1948 and re-privatized in 1997. Now there are four main companies and several smaller ones; the infrastructure is maintained by a public entity called Network Rail. Somehow, privatization has not delivered significant competition because the four large companies serve mostly non-overlapping areas, and British rail travel is the most expensive in Europe. However, if there are rails where you’re going, travel is frequent, reliable, and fairly comfortable.

Visitors to Europe often consider buying a Railpass, which is available only outside the area for which it is valid. The UK railpass comes in two varieties: one for a certain number of days in a month, and the other for a certain number of consecutive days. They do offer flexibility, but they’re not cheap and not refundable if you don’t use all the days you planned. We did buy a London Plus pass on our last visit. Shop for the best price; these are sold by vendors and the price does vary somewhat.

Once our schedule firmed up, I considered buying a Railpass and having someone at home send it on to us here in Britain (mail takes about a week). But our frequent movement made having a reliable UK address impossible.

budget travel tip:  A better solution is railcards. There are two of interest: the Two Together, which lets two people over age 16 travel together at 30 to 50% discount; and if you’re over 60, a Senior card, which does the same thing for an individual, but doesn’t require a photo. For couples, I recommend the Two Together as you only have to pay one £30 railcard fee per year. You will need passport sized photos; it’s a good idea to bring a few extra on a long trip.  $10 at Costco for four, I think. Or get them here; UK “passport size” are smaller than US size, and the nice clerk at Bridgwater station trimmed ours down for us. Larger train stations have automated photo kiosks that will make them. If you have a UK address you can order railcards online, although you’ll need digital files of your photos for the Two Together; otherwise just visit a train station during non-busy time and they’ll make it for you.

(Linda inserted a couple of vintage railroad train photographs that she took at the York railroad Museum to brighten up this post)

Secondly, on long distance trains, you can book and buy online in advance. These non-refundable tickets can save you an additional 50% depending on how early you buy, and for what time of day. Using both discounts, Linda and I traveled from Somerset to York (5 hours of train ride, leaving Saturday morning) for a total of £72 each. And that was First Class from Bristol to York; I found a train where the upgrade from Standard was only £9; usually it’s about 50%. We used this to go from York to Edinburgh, and will definitely do it again from Cambridge to Truro on August 6.

You can still buy tickets on the day of travel. They’re more expensive of course, but then you have no risk of having to change your plans and buy new tickets. Don’t buy these full-fare tickets in advance; they’re only valid on day of purchase. You still get the railcard discount. And on at least Cross-Country trains, you can buy Advance Purchase tickets up to 15 minutes before departure, but I’ll bet the savings isn’t much.

First Class, by the way, mostly gets you more room. There are three seats across instead of four, and there is more space between rows of seats. There are power outlets, and Wifi is free, whereas there is a charge in Standard. There are free beverages and snacks, and on weekdays there is some free food. There is an attendant who will fetch food and alcoholic drinks from the vendor somewhere else on the train.

On weekends, but not with advance purchase tickets, you can upgrade to First Class on the train if there’s room. I don’t think anyone did this on our trip.

Ticket prices vary, just like airline prices. Each of the biggies promises lowest price on their website, but you can book any train in the UK on the website of any railway, and there are 28 of them. When you do this, you’ll be presented with the available trains around your requested time. The prices will vary by as much as 3-to-1, depending on how booked it already is, or is expected to be. And the premium for First Class will vary too, from almost nothing to over 100%. Have fun choosing! Mid-day travel seems to be the cheapest.

Having now experienced both First (Bristol to York) and Standard (York to Edinburgh) classes, I have to admit that when you’re traveling with three big bags and two backpacks, First Class is more likely to have room for all of that in the car.  In Standard, the backpacks fit in the overhead rack, the small suitcase can go under you feet for a couple of hours, but there won’t be room for the big bags unless you get on at the origination point.  Our train came from London and it was packed; the bags stood in the vestibule (no one complained) until the last hour, because the tiny luggage storage area was full. A First-class car is likely to have at least a couple of empty seats, and fewer people competing for slightly more bag storage.

How I found our apartment in York

The route to finding a place to stay in York was a little different. I had originally wanted to go to the Lake District, preferably Windermere, but we waited too long and it’s peak season, so there was nothing on VRBO or AirBNB for our dates at a reasonable price. And as I wanted to do that visit without a car, the place had to be in walking distance of food and sites, but things are farther apart in the country.

So we decided on York, which was on our list to see, and on the way from Somerset to Edinburgh, our next pet-sitting assignment. We’re here for six nights.

I started out on AirBNB, where there were a few places but none at a good price or that really grabbed me. Sometimes you will see that the “owner” is an agency, and I did see one of these. Investigating their website, I noted that most of their places had 7-night minimums. As we only needed six, I thought that wasting one night might still get a better deal than other places on AirBNB. I emailed them directly, explained what we needed, and within hours had suggestions for two units, each available for six nights at £85 per night, and we picked this one.

It’s quite new and looks like it’s never been lived in; in fact, there’s a guest log that is empty so far. It’s overlooking the river Foss about 100 feet off Walmgate, a fairly busy street, but totally quiet. Swans parade with their cygnets on the river. This is the view from the balcony.

There’s a Tesco Express and a Sainsbury Local within a 5-minute walk, and a Marks & Spencer foodhall a little farther away. York is very walkable, and even the historic part has variety and Poundland stores. There are restaurants in a variety of price ranges nearby. And the bed is king sized, a rarity in Europe. The really great thing about this apartment is the location.  We can walk to almost all of the historic places we want to see.  Not needing a car or a bus is a wonderful solution when you are touring.  When one of us has had enough they can just go home and the other person can keep going.

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Wells Cathedral is a timeless beauty

We had heard that Wells was a wonderful little city to visit, but it was so much more beautiful than we expected.  The springs of water flowing from the earth have made this landscape a place of spiritual force from the early mists of Britain . Here is a photo of the water gushing out of one of the springs behind the Bishop’s Palace. The cathedral was built from about the 12th to the 14th centuries.  It has managed to hold up well without too many repairs. It is an imposing Gothic church.  There are several medieval abbots (from about 1066 onward) that are buried inside the church.  This abbot had a 2 tiered memorial.  On the top is a body sculpture of him in his robes of office. Symbolizing his earthly power. But just below this edifice he had a sculpture of his body in death.  Brought to the same level as all of us no matter our wealth or power in life.  It is surprising when you go to see the Bishop’s Palace which is located next to the cathedral.  Around 1330 the bishop felt the need to have a real castle built for his safety.  So he put up a wall, draw bridge and a moat for his protection. A bishop at this time was as powerful as a lord of the land.

We loved our visit to Wells.  If you get a chance you should go to see this gem of a city.  I will leave you with just one of the flowers that are planted in bowls  all over the high street.

Goddesses at the Glastonbury Music Festival

Well, it has been raining on and off all week here in Somerset.  The Glastonbury Music Festival will be starting this week and I hope it stops for all those 135,000 people who will be camping.  We went back to Glastonbury Abbey to hear a moving concert by the Churchill Singers.  They sang Medieval and Sacred music in the 14th century Abbot’s kitchen.  They are a very talented group and gave us a moving concert.  The acoustics in the circular building was excellent.  They even brought a  harpsichord with them and we were gifted with some 16th century music played by their director. I walked the gardens and looked at the lake in the abbey’s grounds.  I came across this baby duck trying to hide in the bushes. I thought it was a funny photograph. Glastonbury was getting ready for the festival.  People were walking around in long skirts and flowers in their hair ( though I think it would be more fun without the sweaters).   Goddesses are welcome here   I hope we can go back sometime next week and see what the town looks like in full festival regalia.  Stay tuned.

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Free things to do in London Pet sitting in Somerset

###Budget travel tip:  London has some terrific museums that are free to the public.  The British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum do not charge an entry fee. Without spending any money you can see the Rosetta Stone, Medieval stained glass and gigantic dinosaur bones.  It might take you three full days to get through these incredible collections.  I could spend days in each museum. Here are some photographs to enjoy from each of them;The front of the British Museum and the interior ceiling; Two of the historical treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum ( the V & A); a medieval golden tabernacle that held the communion bread on the altar and just one of many pieces of medieval stained glass that is at eye level ( not up in the top of a church)   Here is the main entrance to the Natural History Museum which is a great place to take a child or a curious adult.  The displays are user friendly and teach about everything from prehistoric history to how our bodies work.

We are now in Somerset doing our 3rd dog sitting assignment (#pet sitting)  We get to take care of two wonderful labs in a lovely home.  Here is a photo of David and the labs Lucy and Ruby on a walk and here is a view of the beautiful green landscape of Somerset from the house window.  More will be coming this week as we spend a lot of time at home with the doggies and I can work on photographs and more blog information.

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Tourists this week in London

We are between pet sitting assignments and have rented a lovely little apartment in London for 8 days.  So we are being tourists in London, a city I love.  Everyday we are trying to see one historic place.  So far we have been to Hampton Court, the Tower of London and today it was the British Museum.  We also got to see the musical Wicked tonight.  Phew!

Here are a couple of photographs to whet your appetite for what will follow when we start to pet sit for Lucy and Ruby ( two beautiful labs) next week.  When we pet sit we spend much more time at home with the doggies and I will be able to get some more photographs and blog entries up.

Here is the banqueting hall on the Thames in Hampton Court.  It was made for King William III for his private entertainment.  Here is a photograph of the Tower of London which was built in 1070 or so by William the Conqueror.  Here is another photograph of the Tudor part of the tower with the newest skyscraper in London The Shard in the background.  The contrast between the 16th century and the 21st century London is amazing to me.  Well it is midnight here in London and we plan to go to the V and A museum tomorrow…..Will catch up later.

A typical day when #pet sitting

Most of the #petsitting  and #housesitting assignments are about a week or two long.   On the days between them we rent an apartment and do tourist trips.  So when we are staying in someone’s house and taking care of their pets we tend to spend more time at home.  The dog or cat seems to do better if we spend the first day at home with them.  We tend to be around most of the day because the dogs need company and I love cuddling dogs and cats when they let me. ( If you want to learn more about pet sitting just search this blog with the words pet sitting or house sitting and those information blog entries will show up)   Here is Tommy in his bed. So we go to the grocery store, do some laundry, and cook. During the week there is always vacuuming , the house keeping is pretty much the same as at home.  Of course, since this is not our home we try harder to take the best care of everything.  This helps all of us get used to each other and learn the pets routine.  There are plenty of things to do at home.  I catch up on my travel journal and David works on the computer.  The long and varied dog walk is very important.  Tommy needs to run and play  and there is an excellent country park here that we can take him too.  Today he met several different dogs to run with.  Here is a whippet that ran faster than Tommy. Then we met this noble older gent, Monty who just sat and watch the young ones run in the meadow. No doubt thinking of the time when he could show these dogs a few tricks. We also met this lovely dog called Angus.  I think he is quite handsome.  Finally, we met a dalmatian/sheepdog mix Ava who was ready to run and play.  Tommy and she were exactly the same age and they had fun.  By the time we got home Tommy was ready for a lot of water and a big nap.   It is such a joy to take care of him and the other dogs we have been privileged to take care of.

 

 

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