This of course is my reason for going back, to see me lovely Mum and Dad. Unfortunately this is a very poor photograph of them.
We found this old church and graveyard in St. Andrews and went for a look around. We think the church was operating from 1600 onto the mid-1800's. Either that or all the grave spots were taken up by then. There was a church just across the road, so the later dead people were probably buried there.
This is more of a strong-house / keep rather than a proper castle. It's just outside of Dundee. Probably owned by some laird of the land or clan chief.. Unfortunately it was closed because of the holidays. We found that quite a lot .... I don't really intend on going back to Scotland for Christmas or New Year again. Gets too dark too soon and lots of things are closed for the entire holiday period.
This is a man made lake behind the town dam.
This is where Dad goes for the papers. Note the old fashioned telephone box. Most of these have been replaced by the more modern version. Exceptions are allowed where it would 'interfere with the local character' to remove / replace them.
This is the Tay Rail Bridge. The original blew down in a big storm in the late 1800's. There was a troop train crossing it at the time and hundreds of lives were lost. When they were building the Forth Road Bridge a few years later they deliberately built it to with-stand the harsh currents and winds. It's been called the most over-engineered structure in the world.
Me, Gabe and Steve. Steve is my buddy from University who has the good fortune to live five minutes walk from Edinburgh Castle. I spoke very nicely to him and he was kind enough to put us up for a couple of days over the new millileum.
East end of Princess Street on Hogmany night. The police close off the entire area with barricades and the only way in after a certain time is to have a pass. It's also one of the few (if any) times you are allowed to drink in the street. This is followed by lots of pee-ing and puking in the streets as the night wears on ....
Currently undergoing some renovation. You can see St. Andrews Cathedral over to the left.
One of (if not THE) oldest golf courses in the world. Did you know Lord Forbes originally wrote the rules of golf that are still followed today? During the Jackobite Revolution he persuaded the King to spare the life of one of his friends who was captured in the fighting. Legend has it it was because the King liked to golf.
This place was HUGE. To think it was built when the population of the (then) capital of Scotland was only a few thousand is incredible. It took 40 years to build, and has been added on to over the years. Three stories tall and with a very large footprint.
This is one of the best photos I have taken in my life.
