Today was the last official day of our Great Rail Tour and appropriately we spent much of it on the train!
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| Today's Rail Journey |
The incoming train to Inverness this morning was running a bit late, so they didn't get a chance to put the reserved seat tickets out, so it was just a bit of a free-for-all when we hopped on the train. Actually I did well out of the chaos, because my reserved seat was facing the back and was in a bit of a corner, but I just found another seat that was front facing and I had a great ride to Edinburgh!
A lady got on at Pitlochry with her 2 kids and she was "not happy Jan!"
Not only could she not get her reserved seats, there were actually no seats left at all and she had to stand...
That's a bit crook when you pay money to reserve seats. I think she was going to ring Scot Rail and give them heaps! It all eased off a bit at Perth station as many people got off there to change routes or access the airport.
But I really enjoyed the journey. It went for nearly 4 hours, but I didn't notice it to be quite honest.
Could only take a few pics so will place them below.
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| Views from the Train |
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| Aviemore Station |
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| Views from the Train |
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| Views from the Train |
I took a couple of Pitlochry station - Hello Margaret and Alistair!
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| Pitlochry Station |
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| Pitlochry Station |
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| Pitlochry Station |
Went through Perth Station - will probably be the closest I can get to Perth in Scotland. Photos weren't too flash though...
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| Perth Station |
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| Perth Station |
Also went over the Firth of Forth and saw my hotel - the Hawes Inn - which I will be returning to tomorrow.
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| Firth of Forth Bridge |
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| Firth of Forth Bridge |
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| Firth of Forth Bridge |
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| South Queensferry can just be seen over the Bridge. |
So, after we arrived at Waverley Station, we had a short walk over the bridge to our hotel for tonight in Edinburgh- Radisson Blu. Very nice too!!!! Got a much better room this time and it has heaps of room to move and a very big bed!!!! No complaints from me tonight!!!
By the time we had checked in and settled etc... it was about 3pm. I knew I wanted to go and see Holyrood Palace, which is the Queen's home when she is in Edinburgh. It's at the bottom of the Royal Mile, so I wandered down there and once again took the audio tour, which I love!
We weren't allowed to take pics inside, but I took a few of the grounds.
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| Holyrood Palace |
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| Holyrood Palace |
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| Holyrood Palace |
Wikipedia, as usual, sets the scene...
Queen Elizabeth spends one week in residence at Holyrood Palace at the beginning of each summer, where she carries out a range of official engagements and ceremonies. The 16th century Historic Apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence.
The places open to the public included many rooms related to
Mary Queen of Scots, and told the story of her 3 husbands... Lots of funny goings on in that family!!! You can read more about her on the link above. She was forced to abdicate in favour of her very young son - James VI - then eventually fled to England to call on the mercy of Elizabeth 1. Sadly that didn't end well either, because after being held prisoner in the Tower of London, she ended up on the chopping block too.
Her execution held a few surprises too! Once again
Wikipedia is easier than having to re-word it all...
Mary was not beheaded with a single strike. The first blow missed her neck and struck the back of her head. The second blow severed the neck, except for a small bit of sinew, which the executioner cut through using the axe. Afterwards, he held her head aloft and declared, "God save the Queen." At that moment, the auburn tresses in his hand turned out to be a wig and the head fell to the ground, revealing that Mary had very short, grey hair.[224]
After the tour of the house, we were led outside to the ancient abbey in the grounds...
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| Holyrood Abbey |
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| About Holyrood Abbey |
The last place on the tour was the Holyrood Palace Gardens, where Queen holds a garden party to which over 8000 people are invited.
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| Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens |
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| Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens |
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| Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens |
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| Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens |
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| Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens |
So, having devoured all that history, I then had to walk back up the hill to get back to the hotel.
On the way I passed the Scottish parliament, which is across the road from Holyrood Palace
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| Scottish Parliament |
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| Scottish Parliament |
I ran into one of the couples who were on our tour and they had actually sat through a session of that Parliament this afternoon. That's commitment!! I asked them what it was like and they said it was a bit hard to understand the thick Scottish accents, but they were more well mannered than our lot!!!! That wouldn't be hard!!!
I also saw the Canongate Kirk, where Zara Phillips (daughter of Princess Anne) was married..
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| Canongate Kirk |
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| Canongate Kirk |
So that was the last day of the Great Rail Tour. We have to fill in our evaluation forms with any comments. I might have a few things to say!!! Quite a few of us were saying we would've liked more trains and less bus, and that was what they had actually advertised, so it was perhaps a bit misleading!
Might also say something about the accommodation in Inverness...!
But apart from that it was great! Met some lovely people on the tour. We had 21 Aussies and 18 from the UK and they were all lovely. I was able to see some great places and experience some things I probably wouldn't have done on my own.
Tomorrow we move on... and I'm back to managing my own suitcases and my own travel again, which as I discussed yesterday has its good points and its bad points.
No matter what, I am really grateful for this opportunity to travel and experience a much broader view of the world and its peoples.
How blessed I am!
Gorgeous pics once again. As far as the rugged beauty that you have experienced in Scotland, it will be interesting to see how it compares to Ireland. Hope your planning for the Emerald Isle goes well!
ReplyDeleteThanks Meggsie. Yes will have to start turning my eyes to Ireland soon. Still don’t have a firm plan.... but have a few days up my sleeve to think about it. Xxx
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