Edinburgh and Dunkeld, Scotland: Castles, Georgian homes, and Macbeth

Entrance to Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

(This is an excerpt from my diary of our London trip in the fall of 1998 when we did a short trip to Edinburgh, Scotland.)

On Thursday morning we took the train to Edinburgh.  The five-hour trip is a pleasant ride through the English countryside and, in Scotland, along the coast facing the North Sea.  Art had been invited to give a talk at the Roslyn Institute (the place where Dolly the cloned sheep was produced) and I went along for the ride.  Art gave his talk on Thursday afternoon and I took advantage of the beautiful sunny weather to visit the Edinburgh Castle.  The castle, which sits on top of a huge rock outcrop and dominates the landscape, was the heart of the original medieval city.  It is still a military post and continues the tradition of firing a cannon at 1:00 each day so people can set their watches. 

View of Edinburgh from Castle

On Friday I met a friend for lunch and a visit to a restored Georgian house on Charlotte Square.  (It was good that we had indoor activities planned for Friday because the weather was rainy and cold, making me glad that I had purchased a hat and tartan wool scarf the day before.)  Edinburgh, which apparently was once known as the Athens of the North, had a burst of development in the early 19th century when many wealthy people built elegant homes there.  I didn't realize that many of the homes in Edinburgh were designed by the same architect who had done the houses in Bath (I don't know if it as the father or son.)   The home we visited is now owned by the National Trust and had volunteers in each room to answer questions such as, why were there pockets in the drape just above the pillows on the bed?  For your pocket watch, of course, because if the watch were laid flat it would stop ticking! In the dining room was a double layered gravy dish.  You put hot water in the bottom portion and the gravy in the top, and the hot water keeps the gravy from getting cold. Afterward, we had lunch at a pub in what used to be an elegant bank.

Dunkeld, Scotland

On Saturday morning we rented a car in Edinburgh and drove about an hour and half north to a little town called Birnam by Dunkeld where we had a reservation at a bed and breakfast.  Both Birnam and Dunkeld are nestled in the hills alongside the river Tay, which is your typical Scottish river with cold rushing water and fly fishermen casting for salmon. This is Macbeth country and Birnam is the same Birnam wood mentioned by Shakespeare’s witches who predict that Macbeth shall remain king until “Birnam Wood shall come to Dunsinane.”  (In real life soldiers apparently cut branches of the trees in Birnam wood and carried them as camouflage as they approached the castle at Dunsinane.)  Along the river we saw a giant oak with a sign claiming that it has been there since Shakespeare’s time.

Walk to a lake near Dunkeld

At the tourist information office we picked up a map of various walks from Dunkeld and Birnam and chose one that went through a forest to a small lake, or loch as they say in Scotland.  We were lucky to have a sunny, beautiful day.