Statues/Monuments

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A Robert Burns Day in Dumfries

9 :16 AM

I had a great night, the bed was so comfortable. I even treated myself to the 10 o’clock news on the BBC. This morning was a little strange what with being the only guest and so getting exclusive treatment at breakfast. (At Yvonne’s breakfast is ‘self-serve’. It really was like digging through the pantry and fridge at home!) Somehow, it was different from going to a restaurant. The owners, Sheila and Arnold, are very friendly and helpful, but at the same time very discreet.

I’m probably not going to make it to Ayr. No buses run there from here on Sundays. I’ll try the train station later. I just don’t want to ‘waste’ all of tomorrow on the road. I’m seriously considering another night here (an excellent base for exploring Galloway) and going on a ‘field trip’ tomorrow. Monday, I could be in Ayr by lunch, enjoy the afternoon there and get to Glasgow (or somewhere near) by the evening. I’ll see once I’ve been to the train station.

3:42 pm

I’ve had a wonderful day! It began with a glimpse of the Burns statue under (or near!) which I wrote the first entry of the day. After, I went to the Burns house, the Mausoleum, the Old Bridge House Museum, and lastly, the Robert Burns Centre. Then, I went to a pub for lunch (they have cheap and excellent food) where I enjoyed a delicious vegetable lasagna washed down with what else but a half pint of Guinness?!

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I then spent all of (at most) 45 minutes in Carrutherstown! There’s NOTHING there! I couldn’t even find a church or graveyard! I did enjoy a pleasant stroll through Lowland countryside.

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All the museums were free, but I did have an almost £23 splurge: I bought three Wallace books! I couldn’t help it, I mean I had Reese, Gray, and Fisher’s books right there and I’ve been seeing them for the past month, ignoring them (to the best of my ability, resulting in much ‘anguish’!). I figure that with exchange rates and shipping and handling, I most likely saved some money.

I’m not going to Ayr. To do so on a Sunday, I’d have to go by Glasgow. That would be a waste of time. I figure I’ll get on a bus/train out of here early(ish) tomorrow and head northwest, trying to hit Ayr, but maybe Lanark. What’s frustrating is that one bus company won’t say what another one does and the trains won’t say anything dealing with buses so it’s almost impossible to coordinate! I figure, travel tomorrow and get somewhere near the airport so I can have a full day Monday. Good luck!

8:02

You know what? Why don’t I just go back to Glasgow? There are museums I didn’t get a chance to see and I like the city!

8:41

I’ve made my decision!!! I’m taking the ‘first’ train to Glasgow tomorrow and enjoying an afternoon at the transport museum. Early Monday, I’ll head out to (New) Lanark for the day and return to Glasgow. I’m a little disappointed at missing Ayr, but everyone I’ve met who’s been there (including locals) say that unless you worship Burns, if you’re going to Ayr for Wallacey sentimental reasons, you’d better keep your ‘medieval ideal’ of the city. Anyhoo, it’ll be for my next trip!

 

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Perth to Stirling, the Wallace Monument, and Bannockburn

11:43 am

I’m sitting by an oak tree planted on 11th Sept, 1997, ‘the 700th Anniversary of William Wallace and Andrew Moray’s decisive triumph at The Battle of Stirling Bridge’.

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I am sitting, gazing in awe at the site of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Straight ahead, I see the Abbey Craig and Sir William’s monument. It is a long way to the monument, but not a trek. It is a sacred pilgrimage that only too few could understand. It is peaceful here now. The grass is neat and green, trees dot the field. But the monument in view serves as a reminder that the Scots will not be usurped.

I’ll be on my way, now, with a lump in my throat and my heart heavy at the thought of the thousands of casualties—on both sides of the border—who died for a proud ideal of conquest and a proud ideal of freedom. Scotland the Brave.

12:45 pm.

After a strenuous uphill trek that almost makes Ben Nevis look easy (let’s not exaggerate) I’m standing (actually sitting) as close as I’ll ever come to the Wallace statue. The wind up here is phenomenal, so I’ll go in. I truly feel I have reached my Holy Land.

6:26 pm

Wallace’s mighty claymore… as simple as the man who held it was courageous. There was great video presentation in the form of ‘Wallace’s Trial’, a special video screen in the shape of a man’s face was attached to a body. It was most convincing. ‘Wallace’ spoke much as I would have imagined he’d speak (in terms of choice of words). I learned one new thing about Wallace: as Guardian, he began dismantling the feudal system in Scotland to replace it with a fairer system based on Ancient Greece and Rome.

I must admit that the climb up a very narrow spiralling staircase was terrifyingly enclosing. Had the various landings been any further apart, I doubt I could have made it up to the fantastic crown and its glorious view over the environs. (The sky had cleared, seemingly for me!) Getting down was worse, my head was spinning as I inched my way down and people squeezed their way up. (That staircase was one of the most negative experiences in my trip. I really do have a mild case of claustrophobia.)

I enjoyed a wee lunch in the tea room after. Unlike American and Canadian museums, Scottish museums don’t seem to…um… inflate the prices of meals offered in their restaurants.

After? A walk back to Stirling bus station and a bus to the Bannockburn Heritage Centre. I felt something different there, as I crossed the field of Bannockburn to Bruce’s enormous equestrian statue. My ancestors died there alongside their King and friend. In a sense, my blood was spilled on that battlefield. Both monuments were sobering moments, but it was at Bannockburn that I finally realised the pride that one feels at being allowed to wear the Bruce tartan.

Something in me has changed now that I have achieved the main goal of my pilgrimage to Scotland. It is as when I walked the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City. I cannot explain the feeling, but it is a special one indeed. Perhaps it is the knowledge that I have stood where history dramatically changed its course (although I sometimes feel that history’s course is set) and where the destiny of nations was forged. I used to say that Colorado was the most spiritual experience of my life. Scrap that. Walking the fields of Stirling and Bannockburn are far more so.

I’m glad I have chosen to spend two nights in this converted church (The Scottish Youth Hostel). It’s £11.50/night with breakfast, but I have one night free. Incredible that when I tried to book ahead I couldn’t get one here, and when I arrived on the spot, there was one! It helps that I arrived before 10:00AM.

So tomorrow, the old town jail and the castle. Perhaps a (very) quick run to Falkirk if there’s time. It is the 700th anniversary of that decisive (for Wallace) battle.

Now, for a major digression—a note on Fort William, of all places, as well as Glasgow. In Glasgow, I was greeted with bagpipes and despite the city’s similarities with Montreal, I knew I was in Scotland. In Fort William, I was greeted with a polka festival. Felt like I was in the Ukraine or Eastern Europe! The moral of this story? Scotland is a cosmopolitan country. She is a modern country trapped in an ancient land. She is beautiful and vibrant, peaceful and serene. No, the Scots are not (historically speaking, of course) barbarians. Who would not fight for all the Scots have? You know what? The English are/were just jealous!!!

A week from today, my trip will be over. Note to self, call the airport Friday. But I won’t be done with Scotland, far from it! There’s so much I won’t have time to see: Kildrummy, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Glamis Castle, St. Andrews, Cambuskenneth Abbey… The list grows longer every day. Still, I have seen more than enough. Besides, I want there to be something for me to come back to!

As the days go by, I find myself getting more and more used to the routine (perhaps I should put that in quote marks. The only routine is packing and unpacking, saying hello and goodbye, going place to place.) of travelling. ‘Home’ and all its luxuries seems so far away. Slowly, this is becoming real life. I’m not ready to go back, far from it. All I really miss from back there are green vegetables and tofu! But, I see the money slowly trickling to nothingness, I have just a little more than I initially budgeted for, but my expenses have begun to increase. Thank goodness for self-catering! (A ‘little’ more than I had initially budgeted for?! I would find out a few days later that I had almost a full £100 more than I thought in the bank!)

8:56

I’m in the common room and a light keeps flickering on and off, ‘tinkling’ as it does! A music and light show all in 1!

I love Stirling! I do! I do! I do! It just gives off the most incredibly good vibes. I had planned to go for a short stroll around the hostel grounds (a cemetery), but ended up on a longish stroll around town! I found the castle and cannot wait to visit it! The jail looks promising also. Stirling is the first place where I’ve wished I could stay ‘forever’, the first place I’ve wanted to ‘do’ completely before moving on. Still, I want to move on and I’m trying to decide on the next place to go. It’s either Ayr or Dumfries. I guess it’ll depend on available beds and ease to get there.

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Edinburgh Castle and a Wild Night on the Town

5:30 pm

Edinburgh… I came to Scotland expecting to dislike Glasgow and fall in love with Edinburgh. The opposite happened. Edinburgh is cold, creepy, dirty, and smelly. It’s full of steep cobblestone streets and dank closes. Yuck. Blech. I can’t say I’m disappointed since I wasn’t really expecting anything but what I mentioned at the beginning of this entry. Still, I never anticipated this ‘malaise’ that walking these streets brings.

I did have a perfectly incredible day, though. It took me almost 3.5 hours to get through Edinburgh Castle (a walloping £6—but worth it!!!) The entrance fee includes an audio tour. There was so much material I ended up skipping some of the less interesting (to me) bits.

I can’t believe how emotional I got when I entered an exhibition that eventually led to a chamber holding the Scottish honours and the Stone of Destiny. First, there was a mural of each Scottish monarch up to and including Robert I, then there was a statue of the coronation of Robert I. I almost broke down seeing all this history I’ve been studying come to life. And when I came face to face with the Honours themselves…

But that was nothing compared to how I felt walking into St-Margaret’s chapel. She’s my ‘favourite’ Queen and to stand where she prayed… I also saw the chamber where Mary Stewart’s son James (1st and 6th) was born. Wow. At one point, a guard noticed how, um, awestruck I was, standing by the walls listening to recordings of a history I know very well, and asked if I was okay. I could only nod. If this is how I react to Edinburgh Castle, can you imagine me at Stirling and Bannockburn?!

After, I walked around for hours looking for cheap grub. I ended up having pizza at a decent price. After, I saw the grave of ‘Grey Friar’s Bobby’ as well as that of his master John Gray. Then, I nosed through a used book shop and ended an exhausting day at the Royal Museum for a 1.5 hour whirlwind tour of the most amazing collection of stuff I’ve ever seen (even in my own room!!!).

I hadn’t sat down since I left at 9 :00 this morning (not even for lunch!), so I figured it was time to come in and get off my feet for a few hours. I think I pulled a muscle at one point during my Ben Nevis adventure. Going down stairs has been excruciating today. Oh, and in the Edinburgh castle gift shop, I found my favourite whisky to date. It’s sweet and not too ‘alcoholicky’. It’s name? Unbelievably: Wallace, and made at Stirling!!!

Tomorrow, I’d like to try the Whisky Heritage Centre. I really am growing fond of the stuff! The lady who offered a very wee dram of ‘Wallace’ didn’t seem too keen to answer my questions about the whisky like: how’s it made? what type is it? etc. Either she didn’t know or she couldn’t be bothered with someone who was obviously new to the whisky tasting business.

One thing I find unbelievable about staying here is how late the sun sets and how early it rises. I mean, there were still red streaks in the sky at 12:30 AM and when I woke up at 5:00, the sun was totally up! By 7:00, it was quite literally cooking me!

June 27th, 1998 1:17 AM (note that technically this is the same day!)

Well… I’ve had a most unusual night (for me, for others it was really quite normal). It started at a pub around 8 where 3 of us got carded. We chose to leave and actually had to search for another one! In Scotland, imagine ! Anyway, we found one and settled down to watch the match (by the way, ‘us’ refers to the 3 South African girls and on Australian guy, Jason, and me).

In my case, a pint of Guinness later, we headed off to the Mercat Cross at Saint Giles in order to join a tour about Edinburgh’s creepy, supernatural, and darker side.

We were led down into these catacomb like vaults where our guide succeeded in scaring us s—s by telling us about supposed malevolent spirits, etc. down there. Let’s just say that the place was claustrophobic (to say the least) and gave off very bad vibes. I was glad to end the tour at a cemetery where the vibes were better.

The tour then dispersed and we (the gang I’d been following all night) ended up on a bench outside the cemetery where we shared a joint (my first).

After that, we headed back for the pub that had carded us. Only two of us ordered drinks (I couldn’t afford anything else by that point!), but Jason got fed up with his Guinness (it was like his fourth that night!) and I ended up finishing it for him. By that time, I was loosened up to the max, but I’d had enough ‘fun’ for the night. They wanted to go clubbing, so we went our separate ways.

I enjoyed this evening very much (although I was worried about getting caught by the authorities with the ‘you-know-what’) but I’d had enough. The lifestyle is brainnumbing! To think that my idea of ‘fun’ is a movie (at home) and my knitting! It still is, but I’ve tasted another world. I wouldn’t want to join it with any regularity, but now I know that occasionally it can be rather enjoyable to almost let down the little hair I have!

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