Northern Ireland

We flew to Belfast on EasyJet. First thing was lunch at EDO, a tapas restaurant. On weekends restaurants are often fully booked so for once, we had actually planned ahead. A short while later we had dinner at Ora, also a tapas bar and also scheduled in advance. We do like tapas but we didn't think that through very well. That said, we enjoyed both meals.

In both Belfast and Derry we had tours that illuminated the story of the period referred to somewhat discreetly as "The Troubles". We toured around the Antrim Peninsula enroute to Derry, visiting the Bushmills Distillery and the Giants Causeway.

In Belfast we had a Black Taxi Mural Tour. The tour took us through the checkerboard of Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods that are strongly divided with walls (up to 45 feet high) and gates that close over night, even today! That's right, even today Belfast lives the sectarian experience. Our guide indicated that the continued segregation is keeping the conflict alive in spirit although he also shared stories of  non-sectarian efforts to address social issues. 

In the photo below (cw) see the not-so-harmless rubber bullets (with 2 hiding the hand holding them), homes flying flags declaring their allegiance, one of the taller walls with us in front of it, paintings of Queen Elizabeth by school children, one of the gates which still close at 7pm each day, a mural re the non-sectarian Community efforts, another gate, and the other side of that tall wall.

Our tour brought us to various landmarks (cw from top left)

• Beacon of Hope/Harmony in Thanksgiving Square
• the Big Fish in CS Lewis Square
• The Titanic Museum (Belfast being the home of the Titanic) ...we didn't visit it, we saw a great exhibit in Florida years ago and didn't feel the need to do it again
• Sampson & Goliath gantry cranes in the shipyards

A couple days later we had a tour of Derry (aka Londonderry if you are a strong Unionist. See glossary following.) Our guide had recently driven the development and opening of a museum focused on the peace process. We visited Free Derry Corner with murals by local Bogside artists. Bogside is the Catholic/republican area outside the city walls. We also spent time at the newly opened museum. The museum shares the story effectively. We must have spent an hour there. Then we had lunch at their fine (truly fine) restaurant. 

Below: A peaceful dove mural, the Peace Bridge. a stack of colored pallets being setup to serve as one of many bonfires commemorating the Catholic Feast of the Assumption on August 15, a mural of Bernadette Devlin-a civil rights leader and the Bloody Sunday memorial.

We felt the Derry folks we talked with were more ready to put the Troubles behind them, perhaps because their neighborhoods are less segregated.

Background Notes

The Troubles involved numerous riots and mass protests, that led to increased segregation and the creation of temporary no-go areas. The conflict began in the late 1960s. Increasing tensions led to the August 1969 riots and the deployment of British troops, in what became the British Army's longest operation

The Troubles Period is generally considered to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

The conflict began as a campaign to end discrimination against the Catholic-nationalist minority by the Protestant-unionist government. It was primarily political and nationalistic, being fueled by historical events. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension but despite the common usage of the terms Protestant and Catholic to refer to the two sides, it was not a religious conflict.

One noted deadly milestone is known as Bloody Sunday. On Sunday Jan 30 1972 the civil rights march in Derry, intended to protest against internment without trial, turned into a massacre when British soldiers fired live ammunition into the crowd.

The players are referred to by many terms some of which are often used interchangeably...

• Republicans/Nationalists/Green/mainly Catholic side  ...wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. Paramilitariy groups included the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Sinn Féin and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)
• Unionists/Loyalists/Orange/mainly Protestant ...wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Paramilitary groups included Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). The police, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), were overwhelmingly Protestant and known for sectarianism and police brutality.

Between the cities we had a chance to see some of the Antrim Peninsula Glenarm Town and St Patrick's church, Ballintoy Harbor and the countryside.

Further alond were Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge (we chose not to stand in a long line in the rain to cross it) and the Giants Causeway (some 40,000 large, regularly shaped polygonal columns of basalt in perfect horizontal sections, forming a pavement.)

Along the way we stopped to sample the range of whiskeys at the Bushmill's distillery.

During our tour of Derry we saw a gate in part of the old wall, St Augustine Church, St Eugene Cathedral, and a view of the River Foyle from Waterside.

The next day we moved on to the Republic of Ireland knowing far more about the Troubles than we ever imagined.

Glasgow

 Arriving in Glasgow we found our hotel (ApartHotel Adagio) to be a very fine apartment hotel. Compact but unimaginably efficient. Nice breakfasts. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Perfect for remote work. That's what we do, right?

Side note: On day 3 we took a breakfast table at the window (the only day we sat there.) At one point I saw someone seemingly wave at us. Who would know us? Well. it was the driver, James, who toured us (in a Tesla) around in Edinburg and to Inverness. What? Yep, he was there for the first time and was picking up new clients.

Upon arrival, we wandered the neighborhood looking for food supplies. There were at least 4 possible grocery stores in the vicinity, But Tesco, probably the smallest and definitely the most convenient also turned out to have the best products for our needs. 

We had a morning walking tour for an Overview of Glasgow. We started with a visit to the The Willow Tea Rooms Building. Why visit a tea room if you are not a tea drinker? To experience Charles Rennie Mackintosh's work. Macintosh is an architect and artist of the late 19C/early 20C. He is noted for the stark simplicity of his designs which contrast starkly with the flamboyance and elaborate designs of the Victorian era. His contemporary designs really caught on in the late 20C. His work can be enjoyed at The Willow Tea Room and at the Hunterian Museum where his home was reconstructed with many of the materials from the original. 

The tearoom is also significant as pioneering effort of Catherine Cranston and her brother to provide a alternative to pubs for women to socialize. In 1903 she hired Charles Rennie Mackintosh to design The Willow Tea Rooms Building which became Miss Cranston's fourth and finest tea room. Catherine has an interesting personal history aside from her support of Mackintosh. She married for love in her mid-forties, kept her maiden name, built a highly successful business with her husband's moral (but not financial) support. 

From there we moved on for a brief stop at the National Botanic Gardens with its two impressive glass houses, including the Kibble Palace, named after the Victorian John Kibble who brought the glasshouse from his home at Coulport (50 miles from Glasgow) and reassembled it in 1873. Quite the jigsaw puzzle. This is now where temperate plants from various areas of the World are displayed. The second green house is for tropical plants.

We continued on through the University of Glasgow appreciating some fine architecture, passing the Hunterian Museum, skirting a promising shopping district and on to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Luckily as entered the massive lobby in time to take in a portion of the performance on the huge pipe organ,

After a Pub lunch at the cafe we did a highlights tour of the museum. Pat, of course had to see the Impressionism collection with works by Monet, Gauguin and Renoir. Some other works we enjoyed were

• Among the Impression exhibit, = a Sunset by Paul Signac. With its reflections it looks a pretty Rorschach test. 

• The detailed carving on an elephant's tusk (I know it is a terrible thing to take these tusks but I feel it is better to honor the beauty it still retains then to simply scorn the practice.)
• An unusual but very interesting collection of women's clothes from the 1800's called "robes á la transformation". These dresses were designed to evolve with time/fashion styles or with the nature of an event. Co-ordinating bodices and  detachable parts enabled the wearer to easily adapt these dresses as needed. 
• The uniform of a Scottish Groom: Rather than a suit, many grooms in Glasgow today choose formal Highland dress. This modern version  has evolved over the last 300 years.
• An orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system. It shows the positions and movements of the Sun, planets and moons, as they were understood 180 years ago.

The next day we retraced some of the overview tour. We were particularly impressed with the extensive collection of "Killer Plants" at the National Botanic Garden. A wide variety of types and sizes. All very healthy!

We spotted a Cafe Andaluz nearby and stopped there for lunch. It is a Spanish tapas place. We ate at a sister restaurant in Edinburg.

Then we went to the Hunterian Museum to visit the Mackintosh house. The odd thing about his work is that on their own, some pieces do not look at all comfortable. Yet combined they provide a soothing feel that is at least comforting.

One day we drove south to visit the birthplace of Rabbie (Robert) Burns who is known as the National Poet of Scotland. We had heard of Brig O'Doon but it had little meaning to us. Here we learned the story of Tam o' Shanter and crossed the Brig O'Doon, a 15C cobblestone bridge featured in its final verse. In the poem, Tam o' Shanter races across the bridge on horseback to escape witches and warlocks who are chasing him. The bridge's cobblestones are deliberately crooked, based on the belief that this would prevent witches from crossing. 

We followed the Poet's Path (complete with ironwork characters celebrating scenes from Tam O’Shanter and visit the museum where we had fun identifying who's who in a mural of Rabbie with 12 famous "friends" and take in the open seascapes across the Firth of Clyde to Ailsa Craig.

Visit Culzean Castle estate, with its grand clifftop castle rising above the woods, beaches, secret follies and parks before enjoying the coastal route back to Glasgow with great views of the Clyde coast.

We stopped in Dunure and had lunch at the Anchorage.

On our way home we stopped at clifftop Culzean Castle.

On our last day in Glasgow we visited a nearby arcade/mall with some interesting restaurants but noting really for shops, Mall, went to the Necropolis and nearby Cathedral, had lunch at Zizzi in the mall we visited earlier and had dinner at Champagne Station. Along the way we checked out the display at a kilt shop. At Zizzi we had some interesting snacks, fusilli noodles that had been deep fried (we think) and sprinkled with cayenne pepper.

The Highlands

Our first stop in the Highlands was Inverness, 160ish miles NW of Edinburgh. On the way we stopped at Blair Castle, took a short hike at The Hermitage, dined at the Old Mill in Blair Athol and tasted whiskey at Robertsons of Pitlochry. We had had a lovely partially sunny day til then. When we left the Tasting Room however, it was pouring rain. 10 miles away we were back to the sun.

The Hermitage was originally designed as a pleasure ground in the 18C for the Dukes of Atholl It is still a tranquil and picturesque woodland walk through the Riverside national forest with towering Douglas firs. We were rewarded with views of the Black KInn Falls and a colorful Hairy Coo (local long-haired cow, pronounced with a Scottish accent.)

Blair Castle is an impressive castle dating from 1269 with lavish rooms housing antiques, art and armor.

Pitlochry is a Victorian resort town where we stopped for lunch (a burger for Bill and lamb steak for Pat) before sampling the local whiskey.

We are not big whiskey drinkers, in fact Pat has been a whiskey resister, but we decided we should check it out in one of it's noted homes. Good decision. 

We got settled into our apartment in Inverness and after a night's rest headed out for Eilean Donan Castle. Along the way we stopped for photos of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness and a real Hairy Coo. Eilean Donan Castle sits on an Island in a key defensive position at the intersection of three Lochs. Note: Loch is a Scottish or Irish name for a freshwater lake or saltwater bay.

We stopped for lunch at a local spot, the Kishorn Seafood Bar, with a great selection of fish and shellfish.

We continued on our trek around the Applecross Peninsula (sunny weather would have made it more spectacular) and on our return to Inverness stopped for a short walk along a stream where Bill managed a shot of a Salmon in mid-flight on its way upstream.

The next day we explored Inverness on a walk along the river to the Botanic Gardens. We loved the very tall plants. Checkout the photos of Bill with buddleia (Butterfly Plant) and a thistle towering over him. (Note: While Scotland is around 55 degrees north latitude, it gets the benefits from the warmth of the Gulf Stream (with winter temperatures rarely hitting freezing) allowing plant-life to be more perennial than annual.

Later we enjoyed a fine dinner at a local restaurant, Rocpool.

We captured another Hairy Coo during a rainy morning on our way to the Isle of Skye. After lunch we found a little sun and some quite spectacular scenery including colorful houses in Portree.

We thought the deer crossing signs were worth a photo along with another Hairy Coo on our way to Oban. Would you do your laundry in parking lot? Maybe if you were backpacking. Canal traffic headed to the locks between Loch Ness and Caledonian Canal in Fort Augustus. We stopped at the Commando Memorial "In memory of the officers and men of the commandos who died in the Second World War 1939–1945". We appreciate the compass-like pointer to key landmarks including Ben Nevis, tallest mountain in Scotland (4406 feet, 1345 meters), 

Oban is a harbor town with lots of seafood restaurants and shops. We ventured out on a damp day to visit McCaig's Tower, a fortress masquerading as an amphitheater, overlooking the town. On our return we passed by a artist's studio with the "boots in garden" display. Note: the complementary whiskey in our room was very nice (quite palatable even for Pat). 

The Clipper Race, known as the toughest endurance challenge on the planet, was on a stop in Oban (first time in its 27-year history) while we were there. Challenging? The race comprises a series of legs, covering more than 40,000 nautical miles through some of the world's roughest seas.

The following day was dedicated to a trip to the Islands of Mull and Iona. We spent most of the time traveling to and from and exploring Iona. Iona is a holy place and basically the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland. St Columba and 12 companions arrived here from Ireland in 563AD. We visited the monastery they founded, one of the most important and influential in the British Isles.

That evening we dined at the Waterfront Fish House restaurant enjoying smoked salmon pate, lobster, halibut and Viognier. This was followed by sticky toffee pudding with Torreon de Paredes sweet Raquel (Gewurztraminer Dessert Wine from Chile) for Pat and a whiskey for Bill. Later, at 9:47pm we viewed the gorgeous sunset. Keep in mind this is July 21, a month after the summer solstice with the days getting shorter.

On our way to Glasgow we stopped in Inveraray for a quick look around the town and nearby Inveraray Castle. There was some interesting architecture in the town and Pat posed with a whiskey waiter. At the castle there was another Hairy Coo, this time in black. Continuing on toward Glasgow we found another derelict castle and a couple of sheep posing in a field.

We had another seafood lunch along Loch Lomond before our arrival at the Aparthotel Adagio, our "home" in Glasgow.

Edinburgh

We have been touring the British Isles and Ireland and are now hanging out in London for a month. More on that later. We thought of the trip as touring the British Isles. But now we know the Irish definitely do not think of themselves as part of the British Isles. In fact, I'd say there is mixed sentiment re the British connection in Scotland and Ireland. 

It was our first time in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Cornwall. This is the trip we had planned for 2020 that got postponed by the pandemic. It returned to the top of our travel priorities after 4 years and four other travel experiences (Greece, Ecuador & Panama, Portugal, Italy & France, Thailand & India). 

This is our third trip arranged through the Zicasso Service. Our trip, all 51 days, was planned, booked and managed by BellaRoma. Thank god for services like theirs. It was hard enough to review the proposals. I can't imagine planning this on our own.

We had a total of 12 weeks of exploration and leisure.

• Scotland (Edinburgh, Inverness, Oban, Glasgow)
• Northern Ireland (Belfast, Derry)
• Ireland (Lough Eske Castle, Galway, Killarney, Dublin)
• Wales (Conwy, St Davids, Llanhamlach / Brecon Beacons, Cardiff)
• Cornwall (Padstow, St Ives)
• London (the city and possibly several day trips or 1 night stands)

After this tour and our past explorations of London, York, The Lake District, The Cotswolds, Bath and Portsmouth we will have experienced most of the UK and Ireland.

The map below shows our stops.

We enjoyed 5 days in Edinburgh. It was cold there by our standards. The temperatures ranged from  50F to 64F with some sun and blue sky on our two leisure days. (For reference, these feel like winter temps in San Miguel, but in winter SMA gets way more sun.)

Our first tour took us around the city seeing some Harry Porter landmarks, some historic spots and Edinburgh Castle. St Giles Presbyterian Cathedral, founded 900 years ago, has evolved beautifully. And there are Pipers everywhere.

Along our tour we enjoyed the Writers Museum sign and the Dragon protecting Wardrop's Court Dragon.

We explored Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery. (Note: The Greyfriars wear grey robes. Hence the name.) Greyfriars Bobby is a Skye Terrier remembered for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, until his own death in January 1872. Maybe an urban legend, but a great story.

Edinburgh Castle is more museum than palace. Aside from its silhouette and views over Edinburgh there is not much to see. Most notable, Mons Meg, the world's most famous medieval gun, is on display at the Castle. She was the ultimate weapon of mass destruction in her day. Weighing six tons, she could fire a 330 lb stone ball up to two miles. There was no detail re the accuracy of the shot. 

Another day we were off to St Andrews with a driver (James) in a Tesla. Teslas aren't common here so that stood out. We stopped to see the Firth of Forth bridges. There are 3 bridges over the Firth of Forth. (A firth is a narrow sea inlet.) One railway bridge (looks like 3 separate bridges) and two road bridges. The red railway bridge offers some interesting perspectives.

Along the way we stopped at a couple coastal villages on the "East Neuk". (Neuk means nook.)  In St Monans we appreciated its church and in Crail we explored the town walls and the cove with its heron and lobster traps. (Yep they have Atlantic lobster here...but seem to roast lobsters rather than steam them. I much prefer steamed as done in Maine!)

We even played a round of golf in St Andrews! Oh, did I mention it was at the St Andrews Ladies Putting Club, better known as the Himalayas. Our scores were not impressive. We will leave it at that. We had a great lunch at the nearby St Andrews Seafood Restaurant.

We toured the ruins of the St Andrews Cathedral which fell into disuse in the 16C. Then we shopped along the Main Street. As is frequently the case in small touristy villages, we enjoyed the selection at the hardware store.

On our first leisure day we wandered around town to take advantage of the sunshine. We checked out Dean Village (a charming neighborhood), the periphery of the Botanic Garden (a nice walk but not much of a garden experience. The clock and ring necked dove were notable.).

Along the way we enjoyed the cliffside view of the castle and the beautiful Scott Monument. Dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, it is one of the largest monuments to a writer anywhere in the world. It is captivating, like the Parroquia in San Miguel. 

In the evening we visited Carleton Hill, considered by some (us notably) as home to Edinburgh's want-to-be Parthenon. There are several monuments, an art museum, a large park and great views over Edinburgh,

Another day we visited Stirling (north west of Edinburgh) seeing the 12C Stirling Castle (peaked in importance in the 16C, photo is bottom left). We made a quick stop to see Llinlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots (the church there has a modern sculpture on top). And there is a lovely statue of Mary who lived a sad life. She reigned over Scotland from 6-days old until 27 years old. Then she was imprisoned for 19 years by her cousin Elizabeth I of England who then had her executed. 

At Stirling Castle we presided over a nearly empty room, enjoyed a chorale performance and viewed the the gardens where only the raised beds remain. Outside of town we stopped at the David Stirling Memorial. He was the Father of the Special Air Service that was formed as an elite tactical unit during World War II. 

On our return to Edinburgh we stopped in Falkirk to see the Falkirk Wheel. A one of a kind device that replaces a series of 11 locks that were have been needed to connect between the Forth & Clyde Canal to the higher Union Canal. It is kind of a ferris wheel that can accommodate two canal boats being raised with the weight being offset by two others (or a  gondola full of water) being lowered. The process from positioning your boat, getting into the gondolas to be lifted or lowered and getting out onto the new canal takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Accessing a lock waiting for it to fill or empty and exiting conservatively takes 20 minutes. While 11 locks would take more than 3.5 hours and way more space, Ain’t technology wonderful!

Our final stop was at the Kelpie Horse Statues (apparently installed to help make Falkirk a more desirable place to visit). They are extremely well done. Captivating.   

Our second leisure day was reserved for museums…in case of rain. We did get a heavy mist during our snack break but otherwise is was partially sunny and quite comfortable.

The Scottish National Gallery is now one of Pat's favorite art museums. It has a great but small collection of Old Masters, including some great Flemish works. Flemish Art is one of Pat's favs for the delicate details. There is also a great collection of Impressionism works. Impressionism is Pat's other favorite genre for the amount of detail implied by a few strokes. She asked herself how could it be that she loves both. Then she realized, it is the skill required in each case. The exquisite detail of the Flemish works providing the amazing expressions. And the lack of explicit detail in Impressionism suggesting the same amazing expressions.

The National Museum is also very fine (and large) with some great collections. The Cultural and Design sections were great. As were the collection on British Territories. And in the technology collection is Dolly the cloned sheep.

We wrapped up our visit at Aizle Restaurant which features a tasting menu with fresh, colorful dishes made up of the latest seasonal harvest and given the occasional creative or Japanese twist”. Every element was amazing!