Joanne and I took the train from Dumbarton East Station located directly across the street from Nicky's flat to Waverly Station in Edinburgh via Queen St. Station in Glasgow. Joanne said that this was the first time she has had a day out without children where she could just fool around since Jade was born. It was fun for me as well since when Jo was little she was the one I used to grab up and take with me when I got the urge to explore Scotland. Nicky was too active to be a comfortable traveler on a "grown-up" adventure as Jo called them, and Claire was too little so Jo and I used to hop the train and take off on day trips about once a month. You could always take Jo anywhere. She had exquisite manners. Not that she couldn't be a stinker from time to time at home, but take her out and you had Miss Perfect. So this was a real treat to have her for the day all to myself.
Again, I didn't do any of the normal tourist kinds of things. When we arrived, we set off to find James Thin's bookstore and sure enough, it was right where Jani said it was. I bought Jo a copy of One For The Money as I had caught her reading a Patricia Cornwell book. I am now on a quest to improve her reading habits. I purchased High Kings and Vikings by Nigel Tranter for myself.
We had of course, gotten a late start. As I have said before this family really does not do mornings well, so by the time we finished browsing in the book store it was nearly 1 p.m. so we walked down a couple of blocks to Rose Street and had lunch in the Irish Pub shown in the picture. Lunch was wonderful. I had a huge Yorkshire pudding. Generally Yorkshire puddings are made in a muffin tin. This one was about the size of an eight-inch pie pan, piled high with mashed potatoes, slices of roast beef and covered all over in delicious gravy. I think I have eaten more red meat this past week than I normally do in three months at home. Oh well, I am on holiday, right? And all this walking I'm doing is taking care of all those calories, right?
After that gargantuan lunch we decided to take a long walk down Princess Street. Between Princess Street and the Castle are these beautiful gardens. This was the site of the Nor Loch, and for readers of Dorothy Dunnett's historical novels, where the attempt on Gelis' life is made while it is frozen over, and which Lymond swims across at the beginning of Game of Kings on his way to meet Mungo's Pig!
According to Dorothy Dunnett's web page Places to Visit in Edinburgh "The Nor Loch was actually man made. It was created as an extra defense by James II using a natural spring situated at the base of the Castle Rock." The hollow where it was formed and the place that the Princess Gardens and Waverly Station now occupy was carved out by a glacier aeons ago. The well and the tower which surrounded it are still there today.
Dunnett goes on to say "For a while the loch was an attractive feature which was much admired but it inevitably became overgrown and filled up with rubbish (and worse) from the city, until it eventually became a health hazard. It was reduced in size by drainage for the construction of the North Bridge and then divided in two by the Mound which was constructed (to connect the Old Town with the New Town which was built in 1767) from earth and rubbish produced when new streets were excavated in the town. Eventually it was drained completely and the gardens were gradually developed."
Gladstone's Land in the Grass Market is, in my minds eye where Lymond met up with Mungo's Pig. Again quoting from Dunnett's web site, "A narrow six storey building, it was built in 1550 and extended in 1620 and contains original painted ceilings and walls and is furnished in contemporary style. Of all the cities closes, Mary King's ran closest to the Nor' Loch and the Nor' Loch did not run anywhere. In fact, it sat there and stagnated, fed not only by the city's sewage and seepage from the so-called "irrigated gardens" that lay between the last of the houses and the Nor' Loch, but with all of the animal and vegetable waste discarded from the market on its Eastern edge. It was not a loch at all. It was a stinking marsh, and as such an ideal generator of marsh gas, natural gas or methane. Marsh gas displays all the classic symptoms of ghostly visitation and every low-lying area in the world has mythologies of hauntings by grey ladies, bearded old men and other wraith-like spirits. Marsh gas is lighter than air and hovers, with a slight luminous glow until dispersed or dissolved in the air, and given the right mixture will burn with a blue flame. Take off Edinburgh's few wind-free days; and it is not difficult to picture the effects of wispy gas pockets collecting in the houses of the Close's nether regions - trapped and unable to escape upwards, and with insufficient air, unable to dissolve quickly." So, this must be how some of the legends of some of the famous hauntings started?
We started down the hill at a leisurely pace and ambled down the entire length of the Royal Mile, window shopping as we went and stopping by The Deacon's House for a cuppa tea and circled around behind the Castle to the Grass Market area where all the antique, rare and used books stores are all clumped together. That kept us busy for a couple of hours. By that time it was getting late. Jo called Nicky to see how she was doing with the kids (everyone in the UK has a cell phone it seems) and while Nicky said she was doing fine and for us not to hurry, Jo said she was beginning to sound a little frayed around the edges. We walked down to the bottom of the hill behind the castle, stood for a few minutes looking at how steep it was and decided that we really didn't the energy or inclination to walk all the way back to the train station. We took the chicken way out and flagged down a cab and rode to the station where we hopped on the next train and headed off. We were tired, sore footed, and happy. I am including a picture that we took years ago of the steps leading down to the Grass market area from the castle. I have climbed those steps before, but it was on previous visits to Edinburgh when I was younger and slimmer.
Jo's kids are so funny. When we got back to Nicky's flat, we were having a cup of tea and Jo and I were telling Nicky about our adventures and Nicky was telling us about hers with the children and said children were sitting on the floor playing Spiderman on Nicky's play station. Jarell who is only five is not nearly as good as Jade yet, but he was really into it and trying his very best. Jade was sitting beside him giving him constant advice and he finally got fed up and turned and shouted at her "STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO." Jade very calmly turned around to us and said in her prim little voice, "Men really hate it when you try to point out their mistakes to them don't they?" Well. Nicky who was sitting at the computer trying to print out my "The North" travel journal for Joanne just about spewed her tea all over the screen. I about choked on mine and Joanne never changed the expression on her face. Apparently she is used to these two comedians she is raising. I can see that I have been out of the loop for a while with Emily, who is the youngest Grandchild being 15 now. But it seems a whole new world of entertainment is out there for me in this third time around bunch. I am really enjoying these children.
So, it's off again tomorrow with "these children" into Glasgow to The Barrows. I can't think of what I might find interesting enough about a flea market to warrant a journal entry, but then again, you never know. I went there in 1995 with the Romantic Times tour that Diana Gabaldon was on and two days after we were there the Police raided the place. It's a huge flea market and some of the vendors� sell counterfeit merchandise. I asked Nicky if I could look forward to any entertainment like that while we were there today but she informs me that Glasgow is not her district so she wouldn't know. I will just have to hope.
I am spending the night at Jo's, Sunday afternoon I am coming back here and Monday I get the train to "The South" and return to Bristol. I will try to do something with some of my pictures soon.
