Melrose

days 25 - 26 Friday evening - Saturday morning 11-12 June

The hostel was a big old house near the ruined abbey and a short walk to a lovely town centre with quite up-market shops. We went for a walk down along the river including an old suspension bridge – a very pretty spot and a charming town.. It took a couple of hours I think.

Melrose Abbey http://www.aboutscotland.com/mel.html
Robert the Bruce's heart is said to be buried among the pink and red sandstone ruins of this Cistercian abbey which was repeatedly destroyed by the English in the fourteenth century.  The ruins are notorious for their riverside surroundings and decorative artwork - including one gargoyle of a pig playing the bagpipes.

The walk by the river in the late afternoon.

We had a room together here and we did a load of washing, filling the drying room.

Edinburgh

day 25 Friday 11 June

Edinburgh

Off to Edinburgh in the rain this morning, after a reasonable night at New Lanark.We took the 706 for Forth and A71 to Edinburgh – it was about an hour - and put the car in a car park and started walking. Maybe we could have found one closer but that was OK. On the way we saw the start of a parade for a guy walking some huge distance on one leg for charity, complete with pipe band and media.

We had a look at St Cuthberts – a bit touristy and only the steeple remained from 1786, and walked through a nice park and up to the castle – lots of tourists so we headed on to the old part of town where we think George Patterson’s parents lived in West Richmond Street, past the old university – very grey and gloomy. I think the sort of stone can make a big difference as sandstone is so warm. We got some ryebread and salami for lunch, on a bench in Pleasance Street overlooking a bare hill Arthur’s Seat? so close in to the city. Then along to the Royal Mile-Canongate which runs out to Holyrood Palace, and up the hill where it becomes High Street - where he committed the crime, looking for his place of abode without success. There is a fishmarket about there and the Closes and Wynds are doorways/alleys off the main street which is not very narrow. I imagine the streets on either side of Canongate would have been narrow and winding but I think there was a fire at some time and things looked mid 19^th C perhaps. We did see a North Foulis Close and took a photo of Advocate’s Close which framed a nice scene towards Nelson’s Monument between the buildings, leading to courtyards and things. Edinburgh is very up and down and built on more than one level.

 

We did not see the new city, but walked back below the castle beside the railway and took a photo of a rough grassy slope which could have been out in the country.

Edinburgh Castle

We found our car and headed on in the early afternoon, after only a couple of hours it seems. We asked directions out of the city at the carpark and got an amazingly unintelligible answer but we had looked at the map and while Dick was in confusion I just kept turning right or what it seemed he had said and we got through to our amazement and drove on to the road south.

We got a bit lost in a town near Melrose but managed to get there. It was a nice old house at the foot of the Eildon Hills and a short walk to the abbey and into town.

Return to the Clyde

day 24 Thursday 10 June 
Return to the Clyde

We had to return to Glasgow to see the Clydebuilt Museum at Braehead (an old shipbuilding area downstream on the south bank of the Clyde – now a huge shopping centre). It was a couple of hours on a motorway but it was quite nice, with one model of a S&B tug (Warrior).  We talked to Ian and showed him the CD of Steel family history and the S&B centenary booklet. A book by Len Paterson had errors – “Steele & Bennie”!!  We offered to send information on the tugs in due course. 

Tug boat Warrior with the distinctive Steel & Bennie funnel

tug passing the Customs House at Greenock

The Customs House at Greenock

We drove on in rain to Greenock where we found that the Customs House was built about 1819 so James Steel did not work there. Previous to it, they were in houses or something. But their museum was good and a welcome reception. Then we walked around Greenock looking for the McLean museum with an exhibition of maritime art, so we saw more of the town and the museum itself was worth looking at, especially when we got to a silverware exhibit which featured John Heron, our ancestor. – spoons, drink labels on chains etc. – very pleasing!  It was good work.  There was a bound copy of the S&B centenary booklet in the library there, along with a lot of local history stuff. 

 We did not photograph the silverware itself.

We sent a postcard to Alf and Meg. Then, around 5 pm, it was time to head for New Lanark. A long drive back in rain & traffic (2 hours). A lot of patient navigating by Dick who was pretty good at it by this time. Our warden Brian, was expecting an invasion of school kids next day and convinced us to go on to Melrose after Edinburgh instead of spending a second night there. This suited me and we headed off next day with his advice and directions.

Next time we should find Kircaldy and Auchterderran and where Agnes and Lizzie died in Edinburgh. We should also find out more about Rev David Scott and Alice Hart.