Today we picked up the rental car from Waverley Station. And instantly we figured out what the problem has been with our directions. Evidently Ray has had his left and right mixed up which has made for a lot of confusion with giving directions and understanding his navigator in the passenger seat who says, Turn right at the next intersection—and for some unknown-until-now reason, he turns left!
We navigated our way out to take some of our belongings to the storage locker then decided we would go for a drive out to Berwick-upon-Tweed (pronounced “berrick,” my personal translator has told me). We did roundabouts perfectly today. I was very proud of us. We were confused for a while, though, as the speed limit sign said 70, and Ray was going 70 but everyone else on the road was leaving us behind. We finally surmised that it was 70 MILES per hour not Kilometers. I truly couldn’t figure out why they were using miles instead of kilometers—Canada uses kilometers. Oh well.
They have signs on the dual carriageways that say, “Caution—high risk of deer on road.” Ashley would love that.
So we made it to Berwick-upon-Tweed and went to Spittal also, both lovely little towns right on the coast. The cliffs were shrouded in fog and the lighthouse was very pretty sitting out on the small peninsula. Berwick is situated right on the English border, so I guess we popped back into England for a short time. Had lunch then drove back to check out some campsites we saw on the way. There was a city, also very near the border, called Conundrum and we wondered if it was called that because it couldn’t’ decide which way to go—English or Scottish.
Fractions are done differently here, too—there is no line between the numbers. ½ would be written exactly like that but without the line. Hmmm….
We checked out a few campsites and put them on the maybe list for the summer while we are back in Edinburgh. Then we saw a sign for St. Abbs. I thought I remembered hearing something about it, and we made the turn and headed off down a single-track road, around winding turns and hills, then finally came to a tiny fishing village that was amazing. I will have to let the pictures tell the story because it was just too much for words. Right out of a storybook. We pulled into the car park and got out to look out on the towering cliffs and the crystal clear waters. A stunning rocky coast here and houses dotting the cliffs. I would have loved to stay there for a week or so. Just to hear the waves at night and wake up in the morning to what are probably incredible sunrises. We definitely have to come back.
Then, amazing as it may sounds, we navigated our way back into the city and over South Bridge and down the Royal Mile and into our hotel’s car park. This was even more amazing because when we got to the city, we thought we were coming in on the south side and in actuality it was on the north side. All of a sudden, though, we knew where we were and made our way back.
Then we went in search of dessert and after perusing the menus of every place on the Royal Mile up to St. Giles, we decided on The World’s End pub. Ray had a Guinness and the Lemon Lime Cheesecake, and I had water and the most sinfully delicious dessert I have ever eaten—Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice cream. Oh my goodness. At home I make a really good Scotch Cake, which is an old family recipe that my ex-father-in-law shared with me. It is gooey and has this crackly good icing that leaves everyone wanting more. Well, this Sticky Toffee Pudding would give it a run for its money. Moist chocolate cake with a slightly gooey toffee icing that is warm and just melts in your mouth. Yum.
And I have joined the Edinburgh Pub Tour where you visit and buy a drink at 8 out of 10 of the listed pubs and at the end you get a T-Shirt. So I will get Ray onto the drinking part and I will get the shirt. Sounds fair to me.
This part of our trip has been very nice. Good to see my favorite city again and now we are off on the camping/B&Bing part of the trip. Hopefully all the midges are off on their own vacations—to Australia, or anywhere else but here.
We navigated our way out to take some of our belongings to the storage locker then decided we would go for a drive out to Berwick-upon-Tweed (pronounced “berrick,” my personal translator has told me). We did roundabouts perfectly today. I was very proud of us. We were confused for a while, though, as the speed limit sign said 70, and Ray was going 70 but everyone else on the road was leaving us behind. We finally surmised that it was 70 MILES per hour not Kilometers. I truly couldn’t figure out why they were using miles instead of kilometers—Canada uses kilometers. Oh well.
They have signs on the dual carriageways that say, “Caution—high risk of deer on road.” Ashley would love that.
So we made it to Berwick-upon-Tweed and went to Spittal also, both lovely little towns right on the coast. The cliffs were shrouded in fog and the lighthouse was very pretty sitting out on the small peninsula. Berwick is situated right on the English border, so I guess we popped back into England for a short time. Had lunch then drove back to check out some campsites we saw on the way. There was a city, also very near the border, called Conundrum and we wondered if it was called that because it couldn’t’ decide which way to go—English or Scottish.
Fractions are done differently here, too—there is no line between the numbers. ½ would be written exactly like that but without the line. Hmmm….
We checked out a few campsites and put them on the maybe list for the summer while we are back in Edinburgh. Then we saw a sign for St. Abbs. I thought I remembered hearing something about it, and we made the turn and headed off down a single-track road, around winding turns and hills, then finally came to a tiny fishing village that was amazing. I will have to let the pictures tell the story because it was just too much for words. Right out of a storybook. We pulled into the car park and got out to look out on the towering cliffs and the crystal clear waters. A stunning rocky coast here and houses dotting the cliffs. I would have loved to stay there for a week or so. Just to hear the waves at night and wake up in the morning to what are probably incredible sunrises. We definitely have to come back.
Then, amazing as it may sounds, we navigated our way back into the city and over South Bridge and down the Royal Mile and into our hotel’s car park. This was even more amazing because when we got to the city, we thought we were coming in on the south side and in actuality it was on the north side. All of a sudden, though, we knew where we were and made our way back.
Then we went in search of dessert and after perusing the menus of every place on the Royal Mile up to St. Giles, we decided on The World’s End pub. Ray had a Guinness and the Lemon Lime Cheesecake, and I had water and the most sinfully delicious dessert I have ever eaten—Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice cream. Oh my goodness. At home I make a really good Scotch Cake, which is an old family recipe that my ex-father-in-law shared with me. It is gooey and has this crackly good icing that leaves everyone wanting more. Well, this Sticky Toffee Pudding would give it a run for its money. Moist chocolate cake with a slightly gooey toffee icing that is warm and just melts in your mouth. Yum.
And I have joined the Edinburgh Pub Tour where you visit and buy a drink at 8 out of 10 of the listed pubs and at the end you get a T-Shirt. So I will get Ray onto the drinking part and I will get the shirt. Sounds fair to me.
This part of our trip has been very nice. Good to see my favorite city again and now we are off on the camping/B&Bing part of the trip. Hopefully all the midges are off on their own vacations—to Australia, or anywhere else but here.
***pictures from top: black pudding that Ray (and only Ray had for breakfast), 2 pictures of St. Abbs Head and harbour, St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile
