Scotland - And Then There Were Two

 June 27, 2024

All good things must come to their end...

And so, our family reunion in bonnie Scotland was to finish that late June morn as we met in the lobby of the hotel near the Edinburgh airport; Inga, Grant and Kaileen, all with their bags packed, passports ready and tickets secured caught the city bus for the short jaunt to the terminal. Their mother and I wave them off with a cheery bye and a bon voyage.

Our Highland roving band of five disbanded. And then there were two. 

Sue and I returned to our room, mapped out a our day and then we too rode the bus to Edinburgh's airport where another right-drive car was waiting for me at Alamo Rental beyond the tarmac. 

Prior to leaving Texas, I'd reserved a small vehicle for me and my wife to tour Scotland for three days on our own after we bade farewell to our kids. My reservation was for a manual transmission, right-side driver. I was now a driver with several days of experience driving on the left side of the road. I will say that I enjoy driving a manual transmission as long as I am not in heavy city, slow moving traffic. Yet, I had not gained the confidence I felt I needed to operate a stick with my left hand, make proper and smooth use of the clutch while navigating numerous urban traffic circles while quickly reading the small font signage typical of UK roads. All of this to say I chickened out and asked for an upgrade to get an automatic transmission. 

You can't always get what you want; but if you try sometimes, you get what you need...  I got what I needed, an automatic transmission in a bright blue compact SUV. And away we go.

I'd been this way before and I knew there was a traffic circle just beyond the rental car lot. I executed my sweeping turn and we were headed out of Edinburgh down the A1 turnpike toward the coast.

London and Edinburgh are great cities in their own right and are rightly international destinations of merit, each having more than plenty to offer the casual to serious traveler. Yet, I feel that I enjoyed my time in the countryside more than the city. This really is no surprise to me, and so I had rented a quaint cottage for me and my wife outside of Edinburgh in the village of Gorebridge. Gorebridge offered us a small town setting from which we could sally forth to see a multitude of places at our own choosing and pace.

Our cottage was on the Arniston Estate, a family owned farm that had worked this land for some centuries. We would stay in the Lime Cottage, a sandstone building which had long housed the farmhands and which has now been converted into guest facilities.

Sue pause at the door of our guest cottage

The Lime Cottage (built of Sandstone), a quiet country little cottage 3-day stay.

There were five available cottages, though we had just a single family for neighbors on one of our three days there. The rest of the time, we had the estate cottage to ourselves. 

After several stays in nice, but typically British limited space hotel rooms, the Lime Cottage was wonderful with a large kitchen, a sitting room and a dining area and two bedrooms, the one upstairs having a shower and a tub to soak in after a day on the road.

Scones and marmalade anyone?

Now for a spot o' tea & raspberries

Taking advantage of the kitchen, we went out grocery shopping at the Gorebridge Tesco (think super Walmart) and brough home a few Scottish edibles to make and serve ourselves. 

Each morning we'd awake in our country cottage, open the blinds to another marvelous sunny day in Scotland and leave the enclosed stone courtyard and go to our extemporaneously chosen site of our choosing.

We of course had to see Siccar Point on the North Sea coast south of Edinburgh, this being the place of James Hutton's Unconformity. One of the most significant - if not the most significant place for the history of the science of geology. Top o' my list for things to see in Scotland. 

We sauntered along the coast and visited Dunbar, home to John Muir and later we had a slow day of wonder and wandering in the tiny coastal community of St. Abbs. 

We made a point to visit the inspiring Rosslyn Chapel with a mysterious, enigmatic and vivid history.

Being on a geologic roll as it were, we dropped in for a tour of Scotland's erstwhile largest colliery and Scotland's National Mining Museum.

All of this from Gorebridge and returning in the evening to the very bed we were in the night before - no packing and unpacking, no shuffling and scuffling. Our days of leisure, learning and touring from Lime Cottage were great.