Here Comes The Rain Again...

My ROCA folks will get the title reference...

I woke (rather short of sleep) to one of those glorious Irish mornings – clear and still, with wisps of clouds in the west. That agreed with the weather forecast, which was planning showers for the west of Ireland. Like me, Martin’s a morning lark (Eileen is a night owl, and staggered up from her bed to give me a hug before I left) and we stood outside and enjoyed our morning coffee (strong Irish tea for Martin) and the new day. I am so glad they’ve made this move, and found a new home so suited to them. What they’ve walked into is perfectly fine, but Martin doesn’t let his stroke disability stop him and is full of plans for what needs to be done to the garden, and how the attic can be converted. And Irish health care is really good, so they’re in much better hands than with the NHS.

Morning from the kitchen door...

We were at Cork airport in under an hour, and it only took me twenty minutes from door to gate, including security, which was all very friendly and Irish. Ryanair was not my favourite experience – I hate those airplane stairs from the tarmac! - but the flight went smoothly. However, we sailed into cloud as we crossed Scotland, and by the time we reached Edinburgh, it was really grey.  Edinburgh airport is not well signed, and finding the car rental was a bit of an adventure. As was getting into the car, to find that not only was there nothing recognizable, but there was no manual, which I ended up having to download before I could work out what button did what, and could hit the road. I’m driving a stick-shift again - which is LOTS cheaper; it makes me laugh when I think that when I suggested getting a stick-shift when I ordered my last Yaris, I was told it would have to be specially brought in from France.

Rosslyn Chapel

Once safely on the road (stay left! stay left!) the rain threatened. My first planned stop was at Rosslyn Chapel (where most of these photos originated) – this wonderful building dates back to the mid-15th century, and is only half of the building that was originally planned.  I’d not known about it till The DaVinci Code, and of course all the discovery stuff in the Crypt was done in studio and not on site – there is no secret hideaway.  But there are hundreds of wonderful carvings.  

Gargoyle

Piping angel

They don’t allow photography in the chapel, so you’ll need to look some of it up, but just the external ones were worth the trip.  The chapel is built from a local sandstone with all sorts of wonderful colours to it, as is the castle (now ruined) down in the glen.

Roslyn sandstone

It was decommissioned with the growth of the Reformation, and, with no windows, suffered from exposure to the elements. Back in the ‘50s, it was “restored” by having a thin film of concrete painted over the sandstone, which then of course had the effect of holding the saturation inside the stone – and more crumbling happened. The Rosslyn Chapel Trust was established in 1995, and with the publication of Dan Brown’s book in 2003 and the movie in 2006, the increase in the number of chapel visitors meant that the trust could access grant funding for their very impressive work of real restoration – much more painstaking than painting it over with concrete!

Berwick-on-Tweed - old bridge
with the new one behind it

I planned to walk down to the castle, but not enough to get soaked – instead, I got back on the road again. The GPS (they call it SatNav) pointed me towards the A1, which is the main north-south road – not really motorway quality this far north, but I decided I’d rather deal with it that pick my way across-country in the rain.  And did it rain!!!  Really heavy – and not fun at all – plus, I was really tired.  I had been aiming for a little town called Seahouses, but I ended up pulling off in Bewick-on-Tweed and finding a cuppa – and when the rain refused to let up, I popped into a little hair salon and got my hair cut. I like what Diana did pre-concert – but getting blown around on walks was wearing thin, so I’m back to my shower-and-go pixie cut!

My new haircut -
and the celtic-cats T-shirt Martin made for me!

When I was done the rain had eased, and I decided to make for my night’s lodging - at a quiet pub in Lowick, called the White Swan.  I’d planned to dump my stuff and go on to Seahouses, for an evening outing to the Farne Islands, but it rapidly became obvious that not all the water would be outside the boat, and I ended up having a pub meal and an early bed.  Let’s hope tomorrow’s outing to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) is not washed away as well!