It has recently been hard to find time to do the writing that I want to do on this blog. The last couple weeks have been very hard on me. I’ve covered an immense amount of territory but have had too much happening besides that. I visited East Lothian, Glasgow again, and spent last weekend in York. I have had several job interviews, each requiring some preparations and travel.
My thoughts have been preoccupied with home. But right now, I feel useless. However, its much tougher on my aunt and my mom so I really have no cause to complain. On the other hand, I did cover a lot of ground recently so I thought an update was in order.
North Berwick
This is a small coastal village to the south east of Edinburgh. Its home to Bass Rock, an amazing beach, the sea bird education centre and a picturesque high street. Plus, its very easy to get to by rail. The geography of the village is bizarre. Along the shore, west of the harbour, there is a golf course and park – the golf shop itself is built into a hill, and is under the surrounding grounds on three sides. The harbour and sea bird centre are on a peninsula, and at the end of a street of very colourful cottages. Above the village is an incredibly steep hill/mountain that rises out of no where. Bass Rock is out in the ocean, to the east. No people live on Bass Rock, just thousands of birds and an old lighthouse. However, a few centuries ago those steep cliffs and same birds provided a naturally formed Scottish fortress. Small groups of men could subsist on fish and those same birds for months at a time. The only way up Bass Rock was if someone lowered you a rope. Also, a wilderness trail along the glen was hiding some very interesting old ruins – several old mills and storage buildings. Along a creek, the mills took advantage of the running water to turn their windmills. From this trail, I continued along to my next destination.
Tantallon Castle
Seeing an old fortress like this can really work the imagination. During the civil war, forces loyal to the king were using Tantallon Castle as a base to attack Cromwell’s forces. Apparently, these attacks were very effective because an army of 3000 was dispatched to capture the stronghold and dislodge the 200 men who were stationed there. 
The army loyal to Cromwell completed their mission and left the castle in a sorry state, but this could not have been an easy task. This is one of the most secure looking castles that I have seen so far. It backs onto a cliff. There is an outer wall and several ditches to funnel potential invaders into a long exposed corridor before they reach the castle’s only entrance. Four towers would have provided defense. The central tower/gate had thick walls reinforced with a softer stone on the outside to absorb artillery attacks. It had been seiged other times, once by the King of Scotland, who failed to capture the fortress by force from the powerful Earl who owned it. Later that Earl offered the fortress to the King after the two of them patched up their differences. The views from this castle were pretty amazing. The ocean, Bass rock, the surrounding farmland, etc. all look better from the top of a 600 year old castle.
Dirleton
Unfortunately, I arrived just too late for Dirleton Castle and Gardens. I spend forty minutes walking there from North Berwick and I miss out by five minutes. It may be worth going back in the spring so I can go in and see the gardens. Like most villages, Dirleton had a small inn and a parish church but most of the surrounding area was woods and farmland. There is a law in the UK that lets you wander, even on private land. This is good because it can take a very long time if you follow the road only – being able to walk as the crow flies is a huge time saver when the roads all switch back through small farms.
Glasgow
I was there for a job interview, but had plenty of time before and after. I walked around the Mary Hill area and went down to what I think is called the Clyde and Forth canal. After the interview, I came back into the centre of town and walked around. I saw the old cinema, St Aloysius school before going to the river walkway and getting some photos of the bridges over the Clyde.
York
It was great to see Dimitri and Helene again. Probably my favourite part of York was the National Railway Museum – I went on both Friday and Sunday. There was a huge collection of trains and coaches. A Eurostar, japanese bullet train, the Hogwarts Express, the Flying Scotsman, the Evening Star, the royal coaches as well as some early steam trains including a replica of the Stephenson Rocket. After all those hours playing Railroad Tycoon II, I was finally able to put all of that information to use.
The hostel was very unique and I liked staying there for the most part – however, the bathrooms were tiny and the showers were two feet from the toilet. On the plus side, there was a very good free breakfast and a TV and games room in the basement
Dimitri and I did a ghost tour – the tour guide mentioned a few prominent ghosts including an incident involving Guy Fawkes’ former home. Its tradition to burn Guy Fawkes in effigy on November 5th, but apparently he was not too happy when after many years of avoidance, his old school planned to take up the tradition.
York has been an important city back to Roman times, so there was no shortage of old buildings to check out. Yorkminster is massive (but also quite expensive so I didn’t do the full tour). Walking through the old streets (or gates) was very different from any city I’ve seen in Scotland. The architecture is very different and its great to look up at the buildings and see the dates, many of them over 500 years old. Because they didn’t really build foundations, many of the older ones also have a good lean to them. There are also more than a few boughed roofs.
On Saturday morning, Dimitri and I did a tour and walked the city wall. Along with Helene we covered a lot of ground and probably retraced our steps through the city centre several times over. I found out that Yorkshire was the home to Beatrix Potter so Peter Rabbit merchandise was quite common. We also had some Yorkshire Pudding, which was not as good as mom’s, but was still a necessary culinary choice while in York. The river recently breached its banks so there was a fair amount of mud when we did the river walk out to Millennium Bridge. According to the ghost tour guy, one of these floods brought a body downriver before it was eventually caught up at the Kings Arms Pub; so close but not able to get inside for a last pint. What is the expression: “water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”
Wright After Reading 