August 6th,  Annette's Birthday.
    After breakfast we set out across the fields to explore the childhood secrets of Chris' youth.  We crossed barb wire and electric fences that kept the livestock in their pastures, to a wooded area where, in years gone by, pheasants were raised in a protected enclosure before being set free for sport hunting.  When the birds matured, 'beaters' would go out and make enough noise to scare the birds up into the sky, where the wealthy gentry would then proceed to shoot down as many as they could!   Next we hopped the fence and landed on a lovely lane leading to a private school called 'Lime House'.  We came across this old iron bridge above Chris' old swimming hole. One of his great pastimes as a 10 year old was to jump off the very top of the bridge into only 4 feet of water.  To this day he still persists in such antics!   As we walked down the lane we encountered scores of wildflowers, huge old pines, hawks and hares. 

We continued along to an old castle called 'Rose Castle', surrounded by huge beeches, elms, redwoods and monkey puzzle trees.  The castle looms out of fertile fields and is surrounded by beautiful wildflower and vegetable beds.   It serves as both a historic landmark and private residence.  Overhead the skies were an ever changing mass of fantastic cloud formations that always left you guessing what was to come next.

    We are always prepared with a backpack filled with provisions, water, rain gear, extra warm clothes and chocolate biscuits!
Next we entered the tiny hamlet (even smaller than a village) of Raughtonhead (pronounced 'Rafton').  This is where Chris attended primary school (kindergarten through 5th grade).  It was a two-room school with two teachers and only 50 kids.  It also had a small soccer and track field where Chris played football.  We headed back to Gaitsgill after a satisfying afternoon filled with childhood memories.  In the field behind 'Barnclose' a cow was giving birth.  We were over at Roy May's house at the time,
(Chris' old next door neighbor and childhood mentor) for a glass of wine in celebration of Annette's birthday when the cow went into labor.  Within 2 hours she gave birth to a beautiful black and white male calf and the experience made my day! 

    While at Roy's, we learned about an ancient one person boat called an 'coracle'.  It is an egg-shaped floating basket made originally from woven willow branches and encased in animal hides. The operator uses just a single oar in sweeping figure-eight motions for propulsion.  They were primarily used for transport and fishing.  It is said that St.Patrick traveled in one from Ireland to Scotland many centuries ago.  Roy had just made one for himself, replacing the animal skins with canvas sailcloth and had great results.  After a fun afternoon we said our good-byes to everyone and headed back to Edinburgh.

7th of August.
    We had the great privilege to stand beneath a couple of truly ancient and remarkable trees.  Mike Dunning took us to visit these best kept secrets and we were truly awed by what we saw.  The first one visited is known as the 'Ormiston' Yew and it is approximately 1500 years old.   As you approach the tree from the path, its humble, fairly modest exterior doesn't grab you the way something like a magnificent copper beech would.  But entering the interior of the tree via a tunnel of branches, you emerge into what is a tremendous canopy of old growth branches and massive trunk.  The limbs spread out from the heart of the Yew and dip down to the ground where they then re-root and send up new growth.   Repeating itself in this manner the tree creates itself and spreads outward and upward.  This Yew had a trunk that was a good 7 feet in diameter and and an overall spread of at least 100 feet.  The next tree visited is known as the 'Whittingehame' Yew and is reputed to be as much as 2000 years old.  It sits on the grounds of the Whittingehame estate in East Lothian, the home of Lord Balfour.  Mike lives in one of the little country cottages on the estate and has the privilege of being allowed to visit this special tree whenever he wants.  Chris and Mike headed there at midnight while out for a late night walk under a half moon.  The next day the three of us returned in daylight and spent some more time there.  Even larger than the Ormiston Yew in trunk size and overall spread, this tree is thought to be a male specimen.

    In the evening we went to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the Castle esplanade.  This event takes place annually during the Festival and is a great treat for anyone who loves the bagpipes.  They line the Castle walls with burning torches and bathe the Castle itself with colored lights.   Down on the parade ground we are treated to a musical spectacle of marching bands from all over the British Commonwealth.  South African Zulu's, Australia's police band accompanied by their chunky cheerleaders and Digeri Doo wielding aboriginals, New Zealand's Maouri dancers, Canadian Mounties, Scottish Highland dancers (my favorite) and numerous pipe bands and the fun loving Trinidad and Tobago steel drum band!  The evening ended with a bang and fireworks and we were serenaded off by a lone piper high up on the castle walls.

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12th of August. We spent the day with Chris's brother and family at Dunbar Beach and Dunbar swimming pool.

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13th of August.
    Today we made a trip with Mike & Rocine to an Iron Age settlement remains in the Scottish Borders region, near Abbey St. Bathans called 'Edin's Hall Broch'. The Broch or fort sits up on a hillside a mile or so from the road and is all that really remains of once what was a thriving village and community. A foot trail initially takes you down through a wooded area and across a stream before emerging on the other side where the open slopes are thick with the purple hue of flowering heather. Off to the left was a magnificent old Pine tree standing alone on a small bluff, below the snaking Adder river gently meandered through sheep studded pastures.
    The Broch is a circular stone structure with a single opening or entrance facing due East. The remains of the exterior wall stand about 5 feet tall and are about 12 feet thick and the diameter of the whole structure spans a good 100 feet. It once stood two stories tall and had a wooden interior construction where armaments were housed and people could sleep, in addition to being the safe haven of the presiding Chieftain. 'Votadini' meaning 'supporters' were the tribe who built and inhabited this and other such sites in the area. They lived, worked and traded here a good 3000 years ago and were a powerful force in the region for many centuries. They traded occasionally with the Romans to the South and were sufficiently respected or feared by the powerful Picts in the North to maintain an equilibrium in the area. The interior of the Broch had 3 additional openings at the cardinal points which led to other rooms within the walls. The location of this settlement had obvious advantages of being able to see any on-coming advances by marauders, and the walls which enclosed the village added another layer of protection. It was believed that during the reign of the Votadini, the weather in the area was more akin to the south of France than its much cooler and wetter present climate.

14th of August.
    Again, the fearless four made a trip, this time up north to the Loch Tay region in central Scotland. Passing through towns and villages such as Stirling, Callander, Lochearnhead, Crieff and Aberfeldy to name a few, we stopped along the route to hike the hillsides and visit the remains of standing stone circles. Our first wee hike just outside the small village of St. Fillians at the head of Loch Earn, saw us first having to wade across a river to access the initial climb. From here we scrambled up Beech studded slopes that were thick with moss, lichen and giant ferns. There was a particularly strong sense of history and uniqueness to this place which was made apparent to us as we emerged from the trees and crested the top. There were obvious signs of what had once been an early settlement. Flat top with unrestricted views in all directions, terracing of the slopes at the levels below and piles of small rocks that must have been used in construction. The hill resembled an upturned cone with truncated top, steep slopes that would have made attack extremely difficult. There was no indication or mention of this site on the maps or in our guide book making our find all the more memorable. The standing stone circle of 'Croftmoraig' was our next stop. This site is particularly well preserved and complete, situated in a field next to the road between Aberfeldy and Kenmore. As much as 5000 years old, these stone circles had significant ritualistic purpose, cosmic relevance and energetic power (not unlike the Egyptian Pyramids). Standing stone circles can be found all over Scotland and the British Isles.

    We continued on in search of yet another stone circle higher up in the hills overlooking Loch Tay. Although we didn't locate it, the walk and the views were just spectacular. The vibrant purple of the heather played off the spectrum of greens found in the ferns, grasses, meadow flowers and pine trees. The evening light that played off the dramatic cloud formations filled the sky with a primal energy. It felt wonderfully free, wild and clean up here. Our final stop of the day as darkness approached was a visit to the tiny hamlet of Fortingall to see the ancient Yew tree that presides in the Churchyard. This Yew is known to be over 3000 years old, but optimistic speculations place it to be as much as 9000 years old, making it possibly the oldest living thing on the planet!!!??? Historical records put the tree's trunk circumference at 56 feet, though today it appears as two independent trees with a wide gap between the two main uprights. Its great age was apparent and its size significantly smaller than the other two Yew trees visited. In days past, people would lead funeral processions through the center of the tree and snip off bits of branches to throw into the gravesites, so the tree has endured both a long history and some abuse. Now there is talk of turning the tree over to the auspices of the Highland Tourism Board, so god only knows what future abuse the tree will be submitted to! The houses of Fortingall were built in the early part of the 19th century in the popular Charles Rennie MacIntosh style, complete with thick thatched roofs of straw. Very quaint!

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15th of August.
    Today we visited Ratho, a small town on the outskirts of Edinburgh noted for its canal boat rides on old but colorful barges. The purpose of this trip was not the boats but a visit to the forge at Ratho Byres. Phil Johnson owned and operated this blacksmith's shop at these premises for 25 years doing custom metal work. For me in particular it was a fascinating visit though Annette and my Dad were both very intrigued. Both Phil and his designer associate Jois were extremely gracious with their time and it was a very informative tour. I had an opportunity to beat away at a piece of hot metal under a 500 lb weight power hammer which moves metal effortlessly. I was impressed!! Phil has a number of buildings which house his workshop, show room and offices that were formerly farm buildings. It was inspiring for me to see what can be accomplished when scale, space and tooling is no obstacle. Their work was both intriguing and lively.

16th of August.
    Today Dad, Annette and I made a day trip down the East coast to North Berwick. We drove the smaller B roads through quaint and extremely well cared for villages such as Aberlady, Gullane and Dirleton, passing large private estates and impressive residences such as Gosford House.  We stopped at Dirleton Castle which was first built 750 years ago and has held the legacies of 3 prominent families over the generations.  First the de Vaux's built it, then the Halyburtons enlarged it and finally the Ruthvens created a fine home within the castle. It has not been lived in since 1650 and only in the mid 1800's did it become a bit of a tourist attraction and turned over to the Historic trust of the day.  It is a fairly extensive ruin and much of the lower portions of the castle remain intact. Thick walls, narrow passages, slits for windows in the battlements, huge fireplaces big enough for large tree trunks, and doorways that make you stoop are all part of the experience. We walked up the wooden bridge that takes you to the castle entrance and once spanned a moat and explored the myriad of rooms and chambers, vaults and dungeons.
    I was particularly impressed with the bake room and cavernous food storage vaults.  Bread and other baked goods were staple diet of the household, up to two loaves being consumed by each person daily. The bread was made from barley and oats grown on the estate grounds and yeast came as a by product from the brewhouse. The ovens were dome shaped and lined with heat resistant brick. Hot fuel from the fireplace was placed in the ovens and the doors closed.  When the temperature was right the ashes were removed and the dough placed inside, remaining there for about two hours.  When the baking was completed the cooling ovens were used for drying herbs, grain and firewood.
    The food storage vaults were built in the 14th century and housed sacks of meal, salted meat and game, casks of butter and cheese, baskets of eggs and barrels of wine.  Sounds like the kind of larder I would like!  At the far end of the vault were hooks where whole sides of meat hung, game and poultry.  The vaults were partitioned off into compartments for the different provisions and accessed through doorways from the courtyard.
    The Great Hall was built around 1500 and originally had a high timber roof and canopied fireplace. Four large windows with deep recessed seats let in ample daylight.  Two huge kitchen fireplaces were used to supply the necessary food for banquets in the great hall.  They were about 12 feet across, 9 feet high and 8 feet deep with a towering, tapering chimney.  Here meats were roasted on large spits, iron rods turned constantly by the 'turnbrochie'.  Other cooking was done in huge cauldrons suspended over the heat on chains hanging from long iron bars that swiveled out from the wall. Hence their name 'swees'.  Hams, meats and fish were smoked on boards laid in the chimney flue above the fire.
    At one corner of the castle grounds was the Dovecot or pigeon house built in the late 1500's. This was an additional source of meat as well as a source of eggs.  From the outside the dovecot resembled an old beehive structure, and on the inside there were hundreds of stone nesting boxes.  There was a hole at the top where birds could fly in and out of.  Shooting the Lairds(nobleman's) birds was punishable by 40 days in prison and second offences could mean the loss of one's right hand.

    From Dirleton Castle we drove on the short distance down to North Berwick.  We intended to take a boat ride out to the Bass Rock 3 miles east of the town and only one and a quarter miles from Tantallon Castle, the nearest land point.  But the weather turned to rain shortly after arriving and so we contented ourselves with a stroll around North Berwick and harbor and a visit to the Sea Bird Center, a newly constructed millennium project recently opened by Prince Charles.   There were observation stations with telescopes where you could view the surrounding Islands in the Firth of Forth including the Bass Rock were there is a huge nesting colony of Gannets.  There are 14,000 nesting pairs of Gannets and other sea birds include Razorbills, Guillimots and Kittiwakes.  The Bass Rock is 350 feet high and half as tall again underwater.  It is one mile in circumference and there is a natural tunnel running through the rock that can in fact be traversed in good weather and low tide.  The rock has a long history as a penitentiary as well as having a chapel built on it in the 15th century.  It is now used as a warning station to ships, the lighthouse being built in 1902.

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