Uphall and West Lothian
Monday Sept 19 was the day we planned to spend with Pam and Al. They were looking forward to showing us the sights around Uphall which is just ten miles or so west of Edinburgh. It was also the day of Queen Elizabeth's funeral so a lot was happening. The morning was pretty much dominated by the funeral. We left the hotel a little after 10. It was a Monday morning. The streets should have been bustling but they looked like this.
As we walked to the train station every church bell in Edinburgh began to ring. We knew this was for the Queen but it was a peel I had not heard before, neither joyful nor was it a funeral dirge. Presently they stopped for several seconds and then started again, same melody. This pattern continued until we got on the train to Uphall. We learned later that it was repeated 96 times, once for every year of her life. Al and Pam picked us up at the train station and we went to their house to watch the last 30 minutes of the funeral. At the very end was the two minutes of silence. The station we were watching had cameras all over the UK and the Commonwealth. This was a very moving thing to see. Large crowds of people all over the world, standing in silent tribute to a great woman.
We then watched several segments of a documentary about the building of the Forth Road bridge in the early 60s. It is quite an engineering triumph and is the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world. That's why they call it the Forth Bridge. I think. Not sure about that. It makes sense though, doesn't it? So when we were planning the day Al mentioned that we would be seeing this bridge and that his older brother Hector "had worked on it". When we watched the documentary though it became clear that he worked on it as in "built it". Hector was one of two engineers who were on the site throughout, directing the construction. He was extensively featured in the documentary. The link below is either a shortened version of the film we saw or they used the same archival footage. It all looks familiar. No Hector interviews though. And they also left out the snafus and near disasters. Still quite interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCVWKZ6OxLQ
We were observing this from the village of Queensferry which was the site of the main ferry crossing for many centuries. Also here is the iconic Firth of Forth railroad bridge which was built in the 1890s. It also was an engineering marvel when it was built.
As I took this picture of the bridge, right behind me is the Hawes Inn. It is featured in Robert Louis Stephenson's book, "Kidnapped". In the book this is where the protagonist, David Balfour is actually abducted.
We scouted around the area and checked out the old canal that connected the river Forth to the Clyde which flows to Glasgow on the west side of the island. These canal boats are now pleasure craft.
Another place we visited was Houstoun House and Gardens, just a short walk from their house. Going back to the early 1600s, it is now a guesthouse, restaurant, and event space.
Everything is kept original including the bar.
And Al. He's definitely an original.
Sometime driving around we got this great view of the three Forth bridges. Not the three fourths bridge. That wouldn't be a whole bridge. You would fall in the water.
We then had a great lunch at The Bridge Inn in Linlithgow.
After lunch we headed over to Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots. The palace was built by Mary's grandfather, James the IV, at the time that royal residences were morphing from fortresses into palaces. Still, it has very strong walls and originally, a drawbridge; however it is not really sited for defense but more for enjoyment of the countryside. Mary loved staying here. Leading up to the main gate there is a plaque on the wall for each Scottish monarch starting with Mary. Here is Pam with her favorite.
The little town of Linlithgow, Scotland pays its respects to the late Queen.
On the palace grounds was this impressive church.
The palace itself had scaffolding up and a metal barrier all around it so it didn't exactly scream, "Photograph me!" and everything was closed due to the funeral. Still all quite interesting. I had read a couple of biographies of Mary so seeing the place where so much of her story played out was very cool.
We then walked back down to the town. Still full from lunch but maybe room for a wee dram. For once I didn't have to worry about driving. And look at what we found.
And these four Marys do not include the Queen herself!!
Then back to Pam and Al's for another wee dram, hey it's Scotland and again, I'm not driving! Then back to the train station. The day had been so full and yet too short. The train was coming as we pulled up so we had to rush our goodbyes. We sure hope to see them again in way less than 23 years!!
There are more Edinburgh and Uphall photos in the slide show at the end of the post.
Next day, Tuesday, we had the long drive back to London. Jeanne Marie had found us the perfect hotel for a short stay like we had.
This is the look of a man who has cheated death again. Two weeks of driving all over England and Scotland on the wrong side of the road and is headed home in one piece.
