A long-anticipated journey

When Matthew lived in Cyprus for the 2005/2006 school term, he made friends with one of the Anglican priests on the island.  That priest and his wife returned to the UK around the same time we moved to the UK, and we were finally able to go up to Montrose for a visit in March.

We took the train because I love the train!  It was quite an exciting trip, too, because it was our first time going over both the Forth Rail Bridge and the Tay Bridge (it is huge and the train has to go over it really slowly and I had to pretend that I was NOT over water about halfway through it!).

Photographic evidence that I went over the Forth Rail Bridge

Steve and Kath first took us to St. Vigean's Church and graveyard, where we got to see the fisher graves.  They are probably some of the most unique gravestones I've ever seen.  One of the reasons I love living in Britain is that it is a place where families have actually had time to be in a certain industry for forever.  Kath grew up in Montrose and told us that fisher names are: Swankie, Corgill, Spink and Smith.  And we found quite a few gravestones bearing these names.

Matthew with Steve and Kath

St. Vigean's church and graveyard.

Fisher grave! Swankie and Corgill on one stone.

Look at the crossed fishies at the top.

Possibly my favourite.  Trying to imagine how that anchor wouldn't sink that boat and how those fish wouldn't capsize it. But they got the message across.  Dude was a fisher.

My camera was upright... the graveyard is on a steep hill.

After St. Vigean's we went off to Arbroath Abbey, famous home of the 1320 Declaration of Arboath, which you can read about here. Ruins make me happy - they just seem to have so much more character.  Ruins that are medieval are even better, and medieval ruins with a haar moving in take the cake.  Matthew had a good time hanging out with William the Lion and testing out the acoustics of the chapter house (see video).

Entrance to Arbroath Abbey.

Arbroath Abbey from a height.

So... there are really big doors to keep the monks safe.

Matthew exploring

Spending some quality time with William the Lion.

I am wee.  The abbey is huge.

It even makes Matthew look wee.

Chillin' amongst the ruins.

And so the haar begins...

Really rolling in at this point.

Distance vision became impossible.

 

 It eventually isn't sideways.

Walking around Arbroath Abbey can really whet one's whistle, so we headed for the chippy and Matthew & I tried potato fritters for the first time ever.  Mmmmm..... I love potatoes! We ate out right along the harbour where we continued to peer through the haar, and then we went to pick up our dinner: Arbroath smokies!  From Arbroath!  They were absolutely divine.  If you want to try some yourself, you can order them on-line here.

Arbroath Harbor

Brightly coloured harbour buildings and home of the delicious potato fritters.

Evidence that the haar was still present.  Also, I have never seen so many lobster traps!

Me and my boy.  :)

The smokies are in the bag!

On our way back to Montrose to cook up the smokies, we passed some very exciting sights - 'heeland coos'!  It was my first time ever seeing highland cows up close and personal and I think I actually may have said "Stop the car!" before leaping out and prancing over to them squealing and cooing.  They were a pretty chill bunch and posed very nicely for us.

Highland calves through the haar.

Proof that I was there!

Momma cow heads over for a chat.

So there you have it.  Our adventures in Montrose & Arbroath offer something for everyone - from history buffs and nature enthusiasts to anthropologists and foodies... I highly recommend you go if you you get the chance.

A Trip with a Twist

In February, Matthew and I travelled to Durham with the intention of renewing our visas at the post office in town.  For some reason, you can do this there but not anywhere in Scotland, not even in Edinburgh, the capital city.  Go figure.  We got a good deal on a hotel, packed all our paperwork and set out on the train which is my favourite mode of transportation because it affords views of cattle, sheep, the coast, and - if in season - lambs and canola fields.  Oh yeah, and it means I don't have to drive on the wrong side of the street. :)

To make a long story short, we had not been sent all the required paperwork in order to renew our visas at a post office.  We were informed that we'd have to make an actual appointment at a UK Border Agency office.  After a rather tense, stressful hour of sorting this out we decided not to let it ruin our trip and set off to see the sights we had come to see.  Day 1 was Matthew's choice: Durham Cathedral and Castle. 

Durham Cathedral as seen from the bridges.

Durham Castle as seen from the bridges

We had a lovely time exploring these impressive structures.  They do not allow photos inside of the Cathedral proper, but we also got to stroll through the cloisters and climb up the square tower for views over the whole region.  Durham Cathedral is built on the highest point in the whole county - so it would have been super cool if only I weren't so afraid of heights...

Durham Cathedral's impressive main doors.

We found a solar clock in the cloisters!

The cloisters

The cloisters

Heading up to the tower fearlessly.

Arriving at the top of the tower and sitting, paralysed with fear, while Matthew took a few photos.

View from the top!  Look at Durham County.

Matthew admires the architecture.

I just thought this was a fun shot.  :)

After the Cathedral, we had a guided tour of Durham Castle.  This is a unique castle because it is the former home of the Prince Bishops of Durham County (they could mint their own money and were in charge of kind of defending the north of England) and is currently a university residence.  Lucky students!  They actually live in a castle!  Again, because it is a residence, we could not take photos of the interior, but hopefully you will enjoy these exterior shots.

Grand Entrance

The Keep

Main entrance from courtyard.

Clock tower in the courtyard.

Day 2 we went to Beamish - the attraction of my choice.  Beamish is what is called an "open air" museum here, but would be called a "living history" site in North America.  So in other words, I was finally getting to go to a museum like Black Creek Pioneer Village!  I was through the roof with excitement and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, all of which made for a great outing.  Beamish is not in the city of Durham itself, so we enjoyed the bus trip out of the city and fairly quickly arrived at the green fields and hills of Beamish.

This is a very large site, divided into 4 sections, and it is therefore able to represent the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian periods at different locations within the site.  In the winter, the Pitt Village and the Town are open and those 2 locations alone were more than enough to fill a day!

Our first view of Beamish.  I love that there are sheep!

We were transported from section to section in fully-restored, vintage trams.  Awesome!

Our favourite shop in the Town section.  We got to see hard candy being made.

Buying hard candy at Jubilee Confectioners.

I got to see a real-live English Omnibus (labelled Borwick's).

Still need to figure out what exactly sheep dip is... There were plenty of vintage signs advertising it.

The print shop.

A February day warm enough to have a picnic lunch outside?  Yes, please!

Home Sweet Home - A Victorian Parlour in all its crazy glory.

Hey! - I know those folk in the mirror...

It's as if they knew I was coming.

Can I have a kitchen like this?

Another fun sign found in an original Co-Operative building.

Hee! Hee!

The Pitt Village - The mining section

Houston, we have a problem - these desks are too wee.

A Magic Lantern set up in the church at the Pitt Village.  Matthew points to the innovative blinds that roll upwards to accommodate the arched windows.

Mining canaries!

We spotted a furry friend on the settee.

Historic "Back-to-backs"

In the yard of a back-to-back.  One shed was for coal and one was the loo and we can't remember what the third was for...

Mining machinery

Apparently, people stand in line for hours for this fish - it's that good!

Good-bye, Beamish!

We had a lovely trip, despite not being able to renew our visas (put your minds at ease that we did successfully renew them in Glasgow in April) and I would definitely recommend Durham as a worthwhile place to visit.  And don't let Beamish's remote location dissuade you from going for your own fantastic day out!