Happy New Year!

We wouldn't miss our annual New Year's Eve party with great friends the Hulls, Browns, Shaws, and Broadways so we specifically planned our trip to make it back from the UK in time.  It truly is the best way to kick off each new year.  We celebrated the start of 2019 at the Shaws' house and, even with the jet lag, made it to the ball drop.  I am so thankful to have these wonderful families in our lives and love that our kids have known each of them either all or nearly all of their lives.  We hit the jackpot with this crew.  Here's to 2019!

 

UK Christmas: December 28, Edinburgh

December 28^th was the last full day of our United Kingdom Christmas trip and our only full day to explore Edinburgh.  After a full English breakfast at the hotel, we were out early to meet our walking tour at the Mercat Cross on High Street (the Royal Mile), next to St. Giles Cathedral (the flagship of the Church of Scotland and the crown-like steeple silhouette you’ll see in many photos).  The small-group tour given by an Edinburgh local took us up and down High Street—only down until “World’s End” where the wall around the castle ended, and not all the way down to Holyrood Palace—through historic Closes and courtyards off of the Royal Mile, and finally ended with a tour inside the gates of Edinburgh Castle.  We enjoyed the intermix of history and humor of our tour, all given with a lilting Scottish accent.      

After our tour ended, we only had time to explore the outside grounds of the castle, which was plenty for us, as the lines were long to view the inside exhibits and we also had a reservation at The Witchery for a late lunch.  Our meal at The Witchery was a lovely, extravagant 3-course affair that nearly took a few hours.  By the time we finished, it was almost dusk outside, so we wasted no time to walk down to the curving and beautifully colorful Victoria Street to see it before dark.  From there we explored Greyfriars Cemetery (looking for the Harry Potter name inspirations), back up to the Royal Mile, finally making it past High Street (past World’s End) and on to Canongate.  It was only about 4pm by then, but the sun had set so we got our first glimpses of Canongate Kirk (church where the royal family worships when they’re in town), the Scottish Parliament building, and finally the Palace of Holyroodhouse all in the dark. 

We had a 4:30am pickup time the next morning to make our flight from Edinburgh to London where we would connect to a direct flight back to Charlotte, so we were back at the hotel by 6pm.  Honestly, it was dark so early in the day it always felt much later each night.  I did not nearly get my fill of Edinburgh, though, so do hope we come back in the summer one day soon for the longer daylight days and hopefully some long hikes up Arthur’s Seat and then on to the Highlands.  But for now, it was another epic Christmas trip for the Williamses in the books!

UK Christmas: December 27, Edinburgh

After five nights in London, we were up early on the 27^th hauling our luggage to the tube station headed for Kings Cross Station.  We boarded an early train (after checking out Platform 9 ¾ for one last time) for Edinburgh, Scotland.  The UK Rail ride was in itself part of the whole adventure.  We drank our fill of hot tea and ate the delicious satsumas (yummy oranges) brought to us after every stop of the train.  We enjoyed the views of the English countryside, miles and miles of rolling hills and farmland and always dotted with a walker in his or her wellies with a dog or two off-leash (Olive would love the English countryside).  Our train ride took us through York, past Durham with a nice sweeping view of the castle and cathedral (but after Bill Bryson’s glowing reviews of the city, I hope to stop and see more of Durham one day), through Newcastle, along the Northumberland coast, on a viaduct crossing the River Tweed and through Berwick-Upon-Tweed before crossing the border in to Scotland.  The coastline views were stunning for this part of our trip—our look at Bass Rock, a volcanic island at the entrance of the Firth of Forth, had me searching for its name in my CityMaps2Go app.  The terrain vastly changed the further we got in to Scotland, as well, turning more rugged and rocky.  Winter was a wonderful time to explore the big cities of England and Scotland, but one summer I will certainly be back to enjoy the valleys and glens on foot.

From Waverley Station in Edinburgh, we walked our luggage through the streets of New Town and on to our beautiful hotel, The Glasshouse which was built behind the façade of the 172-year-old Lady Glenorchy Church.  With only a day and a half in Edinburgh, we wasted no time (other than grabbing a few cups of THE best mulled wine, and hot cocoa for the kids, free in the lobby) before getting back out to explore this city.  What a change of pace Edinburgh was from London—back to the cobbled streets and walkable charm of European cities I’m more used to exploring.  However, unlike other European towns, the topography of the land affected the development of the Old Town over the centuries was very unique, but more on that later.  We started our exploration of Edinburgh by hiking up Calton Hill in New Town to enjoy a view of all of Edinburgh and Arthur’s Seat in the glorious golden hour before sunset (we lucked out with beautiful, sunny weather for our entire stay in Scotland).  Hiking up to Calton Hill and exploring the grounds was definitely a highlight of our trip and really made me wish we’d built in one more day on our trip to have time to hike Arthur’s Seat (next time!). 

After sunset, we walked back through New Town, by Waverley Station, through Princes Street Garden (where a Christmas market had been set up), and up, up, up to the Royal Mile in Old Town.  We explored about half of the “Scottish mile” of this famed street, lined with souvenir shops, pubs, and historic sights.  We then wandered down to the other side of the Royal Mile to the Cowgate area to have dinner, quickly learning that even though we had reservations at BrewDog for dinner, breweries in Scotland are not family affairs.  So, we wandered further down Cowgate and found another restaurant I’d seen in my research, The Holyrood 9A, and enjoyed our local beer and burgers there instead (no one would try the Haggis Bon Bons starter with me). 

After dinner, we were back up on the Royal Mile to make it to our reserved 6:30pm tour at The Real Mary King’s Close.  The Royal Mile runs from Edinburgh Castle at the top of a volcanic plug downhill (west to east) to Holyrood Palace at the bottom of Arthur’s Seat.  Volcanic and glacial erosion led to the “Crag and Tail” shape of the Royal Mile, which basically means the road is a raised strip of land from the top of the hill to the bottom.  In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, residents wanted to remain within the walls of Edinburgh proper, so they basically built from the Royal Mile street down, structures that were anywhere from 6- to 12-stories high.  On the Royal Mile these structures looked like only a few stories high, but from the lower streets on each side you could see the many, many stories.  Narrow alleyways were built off of the Royal Mile to access dwellings and these alleyways were called “Closes” and often named after a prominent resident.  We were told they are called “Closes” because at night each alleyway would be locked off to visitors, or closed, to ensure residents’ safety.  Most of these historical Closes were demolished or redeveloped over time, but the Royal Exchange was built on top of Mary King’s Close and left the lower floors intact as a foundation for the new building.  And I am so thankful for this time capsule of this unique style of living 500 years ago.  Our tour, given by a character actor playing a 16^th-century maid of a prominent resident, was honestly one of my favorite experiences while in Edinburgh.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed while on the tour so I have nothing to show for it, but exploring the labyrinthine hallways connecting room after room, hearing stories of what life was like for residents, historical events occurring during occupation of the Closes (including the plague), as well as the gag-invoking custom of “Gardy-Loo!”, really brought the history to life.  The tour was definitely a highlight of our trip—really because without seeing a Close, it really was hard to imagine what life was like back when Edinburgh was called Auld Reekie and residents lived in such close quarters—and their gift shop was one of the best, with local crafts, that we encountered.

After our tour, we headed in the direction of our hotel back in New Town, but stopped at Princes Street Gardens for the Christmas Market.  After much deliberation, the kids chose a ride on the Star Flyer that swings you around and around, 60 meters high in the air directly adjacent to the Sir Walter Scott Monument.  Definitely an experience, but one that I know at least Jack doesn’t care to repeat.  We had an early-morning walking tour booked for the next day, so we headed back to our hotel for an early night.

UK Christmas: December 26, Bath

We arrived in Bath, the last destination on our day trip out of London, close to dusk so a little after 4pm on December 26^th (yes, the sun sets early in the winter in this part of the world).  Our “tour guide” (I use the term lightly) walked us around the town center a bit—by the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey—but really left us to explore Bath on our own.  It was dark by then and I hadn’t had the foresight to download a map of Bath to my phone (CityMaps2Go is an awesome app to see where you are in a downloaded map even when offline)—and knowing that the bus had just left a couple behind at our last stop—so we decided not to venture too far off the beaten path lest we get completely lost.  We did find the River Avon and the Pulteney Bridge, but unfortunately didn’t make it to the Royal Crescent.  I found Bath quainter and more beautiful than I had expected to, so I’m happy to have a few reasons to return in the future.  We decided to cap off our day trip with a drink at the local pub and it was actually pleasant enough to enjoy it outside.  Ella and Jack headed back to an ice cream shop we had passed earlier for their own treat.

The English countryside is pitch black at night, so we didn’t see much on our drive back to London.  The bus dropped us off at the Marble Arch corner of Hyde Park, just a short walk down Oxford Street, a turn at Selfridges and back to our hotel one last time on our trip to London (and one last meal at Wagamama for dinner).  The next day we were on an early train to Edinburgh, Scotland.      

UK Christmas: December 26, Stonehenge

After lunch on our Boxing Day day trip out of London, we headed to Stonehenge.  I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy this part of our trip as much as I did considering what a touristy attraction it was, but I have to say it was one of my favorite parts of our whole trip, highlighting to me just how much I maybe enjoy landscapes and walks or hikes on my travel over a lot of big city time.  Stonehenge is set up with a lovely visitor center over a mile from the actual stone circle and you can either hike to the site from there or take a shuttle—we were limited in time (which we later found out to be so important when our bus left a couple at Stonehenge when they didn’t return to the bus at the designated time) so we unfortunately had to take the shuttle both ways.  The effect of not having parking lots and souvenir shops and the café near the stone circle, as well as having cordons to block access to the stones, was that you could try to experience Stonehenge as it was when it was created thousands of years ago, standing in a field amongst an expanse of rolling hills and tall grasses.

Audio guides were provided with stories and facts related to numbered points of interest on the path around Stonehenge.  More than seeing and learning about the stone circles, I think we enjoyed being out in the fresh air with an expanse of green as far as the eye could see in every direction.  What we were seeing today on our bus trip through the English countryside was the landscape I had fallen in love with in all of those Masterpiece Classic and BBC shows I’d obsessed over (research, ya’ know?). 

After waiting on the bus for a good 15-20 minutes for our missing couple, our bus continued on to Bath for our last stop of the day.  Our tour guide spent a lot of our ride on the phone trying to make sure another bus would pick the couple up to get them back to London—and I totally agree with leaving them because we were chasing daylight and still had Bath to visit.         

UK Christmas: December 26, Windsor

On December 26^th, Boxing Day, public transportation in London was going to be limited and the many museums and other sights we would’ve wanted to see on our trip would be closed for the holiday.  So, we decided to forgo the city crowds and get out of town for the day.  Before sunrise, we hailed a taxi (our only ride in an iconic black cab—loved Jack’s “Thanks, Mate!” to the driver as we got out) to Victoria Station to board a bus for our guided tour of Windsor, Salisbury, Stonehenge, and Bath. 

Just 20 miles southeast of London, Windsor was our first stop of our day trip.  Our tour buses pretty much had the quiet streets of Windsor to ourselves to explore.  Windsor Castle was closed for touring on Boxing Day, but we enjoyed seeing what we could from outside the gates and walls.  Our “tour guide” just did a little historical spiel at the Queen Victoria statue and then let us wander on our own.  I’m glad I remembered to look for the “Long Walk” where we ran in to a family from our church and tennis club who were also in London over Christmas and just happened to be on the same Boxing Day tour with the same tour company, but just on a different bus.  My friend Katie took a few great photos of our family of four right there on the Long Walk, our only of all four of us (besides selfies on iPhones) from our trip.  I’m so thankful for these!

After all the hustle and bustle and crowds of London, I truly enjoyed exploring a small, charming town in England.  Harry and Meghan had been married here in Windsor just the May prior and I can hardly imagine Windsor accommodating the sheer number of people who ascended upon this quaint town for that event.  Luckily, it was all quiet for our time in Windsor and, after about 45 minutes of exploring, we were back on the bus to continue on our trip. 

We enjoyed taking in the English countryside from the bus.  The “Salisbury” part of our day trip was actually just driving through the small town and seeing Salisbury Cathedral’s famed highest steeple in the country from a distance.  Between Salisbury and Stonehenge (only about 30 minutes apart), we stopped at a pub for a traditional English pub lunch, complete with roast beef, mushy peas, and Yorkshire pudding, and capped off by sticky pudding.  Back on the bus with full bellies, we were on our way to Stonehenge.