Scotland pictures

Today was Maggie's first day back at work after the summer break; she has three days to put in this week and a couple next in preparation for the arrival of her students. The boys and I did a little shopping this afternoon but for the most part were pretty quiet. Yesterday they took a trip to the local library to get a new crop of books; I know that soon enough (next Tuesday) they'll be in the thick of schoolwork so I'm not going to begrudge them a little down time after the very full five days we spent in Scotland.

This post is primarily photos, starting with our arrival in London's St. Pancras station:


...followed by a quick jaunt on foot to Covent Garden, where we saw big posters of Canadian baritone Gerald Finley next to Renée Fleming.


Then we called up our friend Ros and she and her daughter O. met us at the Tower of London. I heartily recommend the tour, given by a member of the Warders of the Tower, still a Royal residence.


We had a good look around despite our short timelines...


And got back on the train for the trip to Edinburgh just in time.


Rob met us at the station, and we headed off together by car to beautiful Garvald, and their lovely house. The boys were thrilled to see Rob and Viki again, and to collect some eggs from the chicken coop.


The next day I went to see Christopher Maltman perform the Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer with the Hebrides ensemble while Maggie and the boys saw some Fringe performances, including street theatre...


...and checked out the local cuisine, including pork-on-a-bun.


We toured a bit around the countryside, and took in the view of fields of reddish earth, green vegetables, and golden barley, wheat and oats...


and toured some castles and gardens, including some with trees planted a hundred years ago, to commemorate the coronation of kings like George V...


... and the boys loved the trees too!


We visited some beautiful beaches, and picnicked, but didn't brave the waters for a swim...


...and in the evenings went out for walks around the village of Garvald...


... to take in the sights of Scotland on a summer evening, and to pick blackberries for breakfast.


... to be continued...