Summer Vacation - Day 10

Very Hot! Record temperatures in Scotland and everyone talks of nothing else! We traveled to Edinburgh today to tour Edinburgh Castle. We did not realize that Queen Elizabeth was in town today to address the Scottish Parliament so our trip was cut short. We visited the impressive Edinburgh Castle which is built high up on a craig of volcanic rock and historically a military stronghold for that reason. Mary, Queen of Scots, chose it as the location to give birth to the future heir to the Scottish throne instead of the more comfortable Holyrood Palace (where the Queen Elizabeth II was currently in residence) after the murder of her Italian secretary (and favorite courtier) Rizzio in her presence just weeks before. The highlight of the tour was seeing the tiny room – no more than a closet really – where she gave birth. I reasoned that the woman must have been feeling very threatened and insecure to subject herself to labor and delivery in that claustrophobic space!
After leaving the castle, we walked a short distance down “The Royal Mile” and went inside St. Giles cathedral where I happened upon a stained glass window emblazoned with the McClain coat of arms. In the courtyard of the cathedral was an enormous statue of one of the Dukes of Bucclegh – the owner of BowHill and Carterhough Farm where our ancestor James Vair was head gardener at one time. Certainly our ancestor must have been proud to work for such an illustrious man.
On our way back to Melrose, we stopped for lunch at a very nice inn just outside of Peebles. I ordered a penne pasta dish which arrived at the table covered with a sauce in the most unusual and unappetizing shade of green. I was too hungry not to eat it. The taste was not bad but for the life of me I could not figure out what ingredient was used to make to that particular shade of green and did not have the courage to ask the waiter!
After lunch, we spent the afternoon touring Traquair House, the oldest existing private residence in Scotland continuously inhabited by one family – a branch of the Stewarts – which is of course, the royal family of Scotland. The royal family did not run directly through their line…they were an offshoot and contained a man who served as royal steward to Mary, Queen of Scots and actually helped her escape assassination when her secretary Rizzio was so brutally murdered in her presence. Mary rewarded his loyalty with an extended visit at the house with her disgraced husband Lord Darnley and infant son in tow.
The house dates back to the 13th century with additions in the 15th and 16th centuries and is still occupied as a home by the current heiress, her husband and 2 young children. What made the house so interesting was an astounding collection of historical artifacts the family has collected over the centuries which are on display for visitors. The family also has a working brewery on site and we were treated to samples for tasting. In the back of the grounds, a branch of the River Tweed runs alongside which grows a grove of 1000 year old Yew trees. It was like walking in an enchanted forest – quite spectacular. It was quite daunting to contemplate the age of those magnificent trees while considering all the events in human history which have occurred during their existence.