England and Scotland Day 12
England and Scotland
Day 12 - October 12, 2006 - Pitlochry, Visit to Glamis Castle
After another good night's sleep, we were ready for the day and had breakfast at 8:15. It was another dark and rainy day - a great day to explore Glamis Castle. This was an optional activity, four of our group chose to stay here at the hotel or walk down to the town of Pitlochry.
Gennie and I met Carol and Erwin, Patsy and Ken, Judith and Julia, Carol, and of course, Simone and Kenny at 9 AM to go to the Queen Mother's childhood home. On the way to the castle Simone told us the complicated relationship between the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
On the way we passed immense fields of wild heather, grazing pastures, and even a few wild deer in the fields. In the past there were many Victorian resorts in this area for people to "take the waters" and bathe in the sulfur springs. Queen Victoria popularized this area and the Queen Mother lived here in her childhood bringing Elizabeth here in her youth and her sister Margaret was born here. This topic led to the discussion of the royal family of present day and the soap opera that follows the Queen and her family.
After a 90 minute drive, we reached the estate and castle of Glamis under a beautiful blue sky. Known as the late Queen Mother's childhood home, Glamis Castle has evolved over the past 450 years with the addition of towers, turrets, and spires to become a castle fit for a fairy tale, Glamis has a more legitimate claim to Shakespeare's Macbeth, at least for historical accuracy. It's also considered one of the most haunted of Britain's castles.
Our personal guide Stewart welcomed us to the old family kitchen for tea and shortbread and began talking to us about the history of this family home. We started in the main dining room where the table of French Mahogany can be set for 40 for dinner.
The Queen Mother's photos are everywhere as well as paintings of the earls and the decedents who have occupied this hunting estate of the Bowes and Lyon families since 1404. Stewart gave us insights into the ghosts of the castle in addition to many fun stories.
We toured the dining room, great hall, drawing room, chapel, powder room, bedrooms as well as the guard room where Macbeth killed Duncan according to the creative license that Shakespeare used in his play. We finished our tour at 12 and then walked through the exhibition rooms seeing more of the familie's photographs and treasures.
We enjoyed the sun as we walked around the garden and pathways of the estate. We had a scone and a cup of lentil and carrot soup at the castle kitchen and then went back out to the nature trail and Italian Gardens.
We saw many pheasants on our walk, hens and juvenile males, about 50 of them ducking along the paths and under the bushes. The castle boasts of a 4 year old male know as Bob who is famous for chasing red cars. Bob was out this afternoon and I must admit we were skeptical of the story. But two red cars pulled out of the parking lot and into the grounds and he came racing out of the trees and actually chased the cars for over 100 yards. What a sight! Tomorrow is the start of pheasant hunting season; we hope he survives.
We all met at the coach at 2 and left the estate. On our way, Simone told us that the royal families now have to pay taxes on these old hunting estates and are taxed highly. They do get a tax break for opening their homes to the public for at least 60 days a year and they also earn money from entrance fees to support the upkeep.
We made a short stop at Dunkeld where we visited the little town. We started at the Dunkeld Cathedral and stumbled on to a hand bell choir who were giving a little concert. We then went outside to explore the old original church and graveyard.
We walked back down through the town and met our group at 3:45. Kenny drove us back to Pitlochry on the River Tummel, where we had time to buy a few groceries and the local Co-Op and then walk along its quaint streets. Pitlochry dates back to the early 18th century, but most of the current buildings are from the Victorian era.
We stopped at an internet spot and checked out mail and updated the journal. Our present hotel does not have internet for their guests, a serious inconvenience. After 30 minutes, Gennie and I walked through the main street of this charming community taking pictures and talking to people. We walked back to the hotel and returned to our room.
We worked on our pictures; probably more today than any other day on this trip. We finished our journal for the day and then began to pack for our departure tomorrow for Edinburgh and our last full day in Scotland before we fly home on Saturday.
Atholl Palace Hotel -- Pitlochry, Scotland - - - Meals: B
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