Peebles to Pitlochry

Sunday saw us set off to visit a new country ..... Scotland. Travelling up the M6 on a Sunday is the way to do it, not many lorries and quite quiet after Kendal.

Welcome to Scotland

Nearing our overnight stop we spotted Neidpath Castle standing proud above the River Tweed. Without hesitation we stopped and followed a grassy footpath to get a closer look, it was pure joy to just walk along the uneven ground without being unbalanced. 

Nick at Neidpath Castle

Our first stop was at Peebles, a small town in the Scottish Borders just south of Edinburgh, with the River Tweed running through. We stayed at The Park enjoying a glass of whisky before bed and a full Scottish breakfast including haggis.

River Tweed at Peebles

The Park Hotel

Jura and Old Pulteney night caps

Our reason for choosing Peebles was so we could visit Rosslyn Chapel. Only a short drive north we soon arrived at the small in size but huge in influence building. It has connections with the Knights Templars, the Da Vinci Code and I now think Harry Potter.

The inside of the chapel has so many carvings, all of which leave you wondering why they were put there, why they were carved in that way and what the bigger connection is. My reasoning about Harry Potter is the Apprentice Stonemason upset the Master Mason by crafting a beautiful pillar with intricate vines spiralling up it.  The Master Mason was so cross at being upstaged he struck the Apprentice on the forehead and killed him. The Master Mason was then hanged for his crime. There is a carving of the Apprentice's face complete with scar and opposite is a carving of the grumpy Master Mason, who is looking forever at the Apprentice's work. J K Rowling lived in Edinburgh ..... I wonder if she has visited Rosslyn Chapel!

Rosslyn Chapel

Beautiful carvings all around

After the chapel we travelled north, not visiting Edinburgh as we plan to do this as a city break but over the Firth of Forth into Fife. There are now three bridges crossing this expanse of water, the Forth Bridge which is a rail bridge, the Forth Road Bridge which is being repaired and is currently for buses and taxis only, and the Queensferry Crossing which is the M90. Such stunning structures, it was amazing to watch the traffic and trains crossing over the three Forth Bridges 

Our Forth Bridge selfie 

The Queensferry Crossing (which we then travelled over)
and the Forth Road Bridge

Hubby had seen that Loch Leven was on our route so taking a slight detour at Kinross we discovered our first loch of our holiday. We decided to visit Loch Leven Castle where Mary Queen of Scots had been held .... I hadn't realised it was on a small island in the middle of the loch which meant taking a small boat ride. The weather is glorious so being on a boat didn't worry me, the actual stepping on and off did ... or used to. With just a slight hesitation each time to ensure my balance I stepped on, off, back on and off again ... and so we had a return trip to Loch Leven Castle.

Loch Leven Castle

The tower Mary was kept in

Our second stay is at Pitlochry, a couple of nights to explore a little bit of Perthshire. A few miles before the town we spotted a National Trust for Scotland sign to The Hermitage. As National Trust members parking was free so we set off for a quarter mile stroll on a level path through tall pine trees. The stroll turned out to be a little further than signposted but certainly worth the extra as at the end was a beautiful tumbling Black Linn Falls on the River Braan.

Black Linn Falls

Spectacular waterfalls

It's been a superb two days travelling up to Scotland and doing some sight seeing. We've settled in, had a coffee in the garden (writing this) and are now ready to go exploring in search of dinner ... I wonder what we'll discover next!