ADVENTURES IN SCOTLAND - 2001

Alicia McClelland

Part 4

Wednesday, 10 October 2001

The beds were the most poorly designed bunk beds that we've encountered on this trip so far! They were made of wood. The sides of the beds were an inch or more above the mattress when you sat down, so sitting on the edge of the bed wasn't comfortable. I could barely sit on the bottom bed without hitting the underside of the top bunk and I'm under 5' tall. What do people of normal height do? The narrow wooden ladders (only about 10" wide) were on the side of the bed at the end. For the 2 bunks on my end, the ladders were right against the wall. Getting on and off those top bunks must be really difficult!

Since we had purchased breakfast makings the night before, we did our own thing in the dining room while others ate the breakfast you could purchase from the hostel. Following breakfast, Beth went for a short walk up Ben Nevis (Scotland's highest mountain at a little over 4000 feet) while I wrote postcards and checked my email for a reponse to my enquiry about lodgings for Wednesday night. Once again, I was able to read my incoming email, but unable to send any out, so I had to have Beth respond to the email regarding our lodgings.

We paralleled the Highland version of the Appalachian Trail, the West Highland Way, for part of our journey. At this point we found ourselves passing through the Grampian Mountains. We continued to see waterfalls dotting the landscape.

So, how best to use John's gift? One of the things Beth and I had agreed upon while planning this trip was that we wanted to stay in a castle. Exploring our options, Castle Culcreuch in Fintry west of Stirling was the most economical on our route at a cost of £65 (about $100) per person. Since youth hostels at £10 ($15) per night were our usual price range, we had discarded the idea of staying at Castle Culcreuch. After Orkney dropped off our list of destinations for this visit and we started discussing how to give ourselves a treat with John's gift, I looked up the website for the castle when I next had access to a computer (last night) and emailed them to see if any of their eight rooms were available for Wednesday night. To my surprise, I had an emailed response this morning indicating that I could have my pick of any of the rooms. (There are some advantages to traveling after the regular tourist season!) Beth had to email for me since AOL wasn't cooperating and letting me send mail. Although, when we arrived, they weren't aware of our reservation. Fortunately for us, we were still able to get the room of our choice.

Upon reading several brochures supplied by the castle, I discovered that the construction on Culcreuch Castle was started in 1296 by Maurice Galbraith, the son of a chief of Clan Galbraith. One of the most powerful clans in central Scotland, the Galbraiths were known for being lawless and warlike
(no wonder they needed a castle!). Today, the castle is surrounded by 1600 acres of parkland grounds.

Since we had our choice of rooms, we opted for the castle's most famous room . . . the Chinese Bird Room, named for the hand-painted Chinese wallpaper depicting colorful birds and exotic palms The images were painted in China on paper rolls, then brought to Scotland in 1723 and hung that same year. It is believed to be the only surviving example of genuine antique Chinese wallpaper in Scotland. To serve the needs of modern guests, the small bathroom in the room was created from the original garde-robe, built into the six feet thick walls.

Historical reports point to 3 different ghosts inhabiting Culcreuch. Most experiences reported by modern guests appear to take place within the six foot walls of the original 1296 fortress, and the ghosts themselves appear to have begun haunting the castle before additions were made to the castle in 1721.

Culcreuch's most well-known ghost haunts the Chinese Bird Room primarily, although it has been reported in the adjacent Keep Room. The "Phantom Harper of Culcreuch" can often be heard playing "soft languid music" on what is believed to be a clarsach, an ancient Gaelic instrument producing sounds smiliar to a harp.

While we had planned to return to Stirling for dinner, we changed our plans when we found that food was available in the bar at the castle. Beth had the steak pie while I chose the vegetable pie with a flaky pastry crust. Both were tasty with generous portions. So, we didn't regret our desire to "eat in" (although we could have done without the background music in the bar -- all American).

Since neither Beth nor I had ever tried whisky, she had purchased a small (50ml / approx 2 oz) bottle for us to try. Good thing we didn't take our first sips in the bar (choosing instead to do it in the privacy of our own room), as the expressions on our faces would have given serious drinkers quite a laugh. We managed to down the bottle between us and were glad of our shortbread cookies to kill the taste.

Thursday, 11 October 2001

Much to our regret, the ghost chose not to make itself known to us. We did sleep well, however. With walls 5 1/2 feet thick, there sure wasn't much noise getting in from the outside!

Breakfast was included in our night's lodging, so we fortified ourselves before once again visiting Edinburgh. We had woken up to a light rain, which continued off and on throughout the morning.

On our way through Stirling we put our Explorer passes to work, with a stop at Stirling Castle. Stirling and the castle were surrounded by dramatic clouds. Fortunately, although the rain was all around us, we managed to find the only dry spot in the area. We were able to drive right up to the castle, whose main entrance is guarded by a statue of Robert the Bruce. The castle is located on top of a hill providing great views of Stirling and the surrounding countryside.

Bidding adieu to the Scottish countryside, we returned to the environs around Edinburgh. We had no plans on where to spend the night, which in retrospect wasn't our wisest move. Since it was already mid-afternoon when we reached the suburbs, we decided to see the castle before searching for a place to spend the night. We stopped near a bus stop and parked the car. Crossing our fingers, we left it parked along the street. (We were later told by a local that where we left the car was the only area to avoid in that part of town. OOPS!)

We found our way to Edinburgh Castle, which sits on the top of a high hill near the middle of town. And what did we find after we'd trudged up the steep hill to the castle from the bus stop? Parking . . . right at the castle! We could've saved ourselves time and trouble if we'd known that ahead of time. While they kindly offer free audio tours (a player that you press the appropriate number when you come to the numbered sign in front of each area), a map would have been greatly appreciated so you could plan out your tour instead of just wandering around.

Although most of the area was covered by clouds, the sun cooperated and came out while we were there, at least part of the time. As with several of the sites we had visited, there was construction work going on. At Edinburgh Castle, however, more areas were closed due to the high winds than by the construction.

From the castle, we wandered part way down the Royal Mile in search of something to eat (we'd never found the time to stop for lunch) and a few last minute souvenirs. We each grabbed a sandwich at a little deli I found, & the food was great! We were also trying to get in touch with Jette, whom I know online from the "Highlander" newsgroup, and who Beth had shown around Northern Virginia on one of Jette's visits to the States. After narrowing down which of the Starbucks on Princes St we were to meet her at, we found Jette and had a nice, if short, visit.

Now it was time for Beth and I to see if we could find our car (assuming it hadn't been towed) and to look for a place to spend the night. Finding the right double decker bus, we retraced our route back to the car which, thankfully, was right where we had left it (no ticket on it either).

Most cities have a row of hotels by the airport and in Scotland it seemed as if almost every other house also functioned as a B&B. So, finding a place for the night should be easy, right?

Wrong.

We drove all around near the airport and all we found was one Hilton . . . out of our price range. And there wasn't a B&B in sight. Looking through an accommodations guide that we'd picked up in Linlithgow that morning, we saw a lot of B&Bs listed for the northwest section of town (the airport is to the southwest of Edinburgh). Heading that direction, we finally found a Travel Inn (the same chain that we had a reservation for in London on Friday night) on the south side of the Forth Road Bridge. Success, right? Nope; they were full, as was the Travel Inn on the north side of the bridge (the gal at the one on the south side kindly called and asked, saving us a trip in vain and a couple of tolls). We finally did find a hotel, although it was more expensive than the Travel Inn. (Plus, it won the prize for the lumpiest bed of the trip.) We learned our lesson; always have a place to stay for the nights before flying out secured in advance. At least we'd already booked a room for London.

CONTINUED