After a breakfast of haggis, eggs, and beans, we left the wonderful Golf Hotel and Crail. Our morning waitress gave me a parting gift—the news that I could get canned haggis in any market and take it home with me. That is seriously good news indeed!
That, along with the tip from the shop next door, will give us one more castle on our list. She suggested we visit a “wee castle” in Anstruther on our way out of town, guaranteeing it wouldn’t take much time. She gave us the name and the postal code because, “If ye follow the sat nav, you’ll end up all wrong,” she said. So, we entered her directions precisely onto my phone app and ended up at a farm at the end of a single-track road with horses over the fence and a big tractor coming right at us! No “wee castle” here! John whipped the car into reverse and off we went, the other way up the single-track road. Just down the street and “next door” to this farm was another road with a gate and posted National Heritage sign and in small letters, “Kellie Castle.” A small sign for a “wee castle.” We took the road and found quite an impressive castle with an abbreviated turret and a lot of decorative touches. In the shop, we chatted with the volunteer who said the tours would start in 7 minutes, but we decided to tour the garden instead, sticking to our plan to only tour castle ruins this trip.
The gardens were lovely—with lawns and walkways and lots of low hedges and flower borders. There was a secret garden with a statue and a bench and lots of paths up and down the rows. I sat in the center on the edge of a statue reading a new children’s book, “I’ve Got a Hole in My Bagpipe” while John took more photos. A lovely start to the day!
The drive to Edinburgh was just fine and mostly through neighborhoods, then over the Queensferry Bridge and through more neighborhoods. Traffic coming out of town was stacked and slow, but our way was steady. As we neared The Grosvenor Gardens Hotel, we fretted about parking. Per an earlier email, our host had said to use Just Park, an app system that allows you to pay for parking on your phone. I bought all the nights we needed, then learned that we could park across the street at the music school. For future trips, Just Park is a great app, but sadly they do not give refunds.
After the tour through this wonderful, older, but beautifully maintained hotel, we settled in, then headed out. It was just a short way to Princess Street, where we’d never been before. We were looking at the back side of the Edinburgh Castle and a huge wall of sheer rock. Quite formidable! With all the jagged edges and staircases, the castle looked like an impenetrable M.C. Escher creation.
But no more castles today. We were on a journey to find a lovely meal. John took us right to The East End Brasserie, a lovely restaurant with terrific ceilings, decor, and food. Lamb for me! Our lunches were absolutely lovely, as was the view of the castle.
After lunch, another great surprise! We found the Waterstones Bookstore, which must be the most wonderful bookstore in all of Scotland! Three floors up a lovely wooden staircase, plus a basement! The first book I picked up was about witch monuments in Scotland. As soon as I peeked at page one, one of the clerks came right over to testify that this was her favorite book in the shop. Indeed, it was a poetic tour of Scotland and page one was very well written. On other tables were the latest Ian Rankin, the new Skinner mystery, and book after book on Scottish things like sheep, seals, sea cliffs, and shadowlands. The tables and shelves were filled in this huge, yet charming bookshop. Knowing I couldn’t pack everything I wanted, we decided to return on Monday for a second look. I wonder if the Scottish Tour of Witches is the real me??
So, no golf today, but a good look at two castles, great dining, and lots of books!
Good night!