{"id":520,"date":"2011-09-18T09:38:30","date_gmt":"2011-09-18T09:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/?p=520"},"modified":"2019-03-26T11:27:48","modified_gmt":"2019-03-26T00:27:48","slug":"scotland-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/?p=520","title":{"rendered":"Scotland. 2011 \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having crossed the River Forth west of Edinburgh, we take the A92. \u00a0We soon start to see signs for Saint Andrews as we head east. \u00a0It’s past lunch time and we stop in Cupar. \u00a0We find a parking spot easily enough, there are few people about. \u00a0As we walk up the street, we know why, it has turned cold and windy. \u00a0We step into a little cafe come bakery and start looking at the menu board. \u00a0The young woman at the counter asks if we are eating in or takeaway ? \u00a0Eating in we say, then we can only order from the written menu she states. \u00a0We sit and order, Dave walks over to the fridge and gets a soft drink. \u00a0He is quickly rebuked ! \u00a0You can only have drinks from the top shelf if your dining in she states. \u00a0Welcome to Scotland !!!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Mercat, Cupar, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cupar once had Royal status as a market town, apparently the mercat cross column pictured above at the main junction symbolises that authority.<\/p>\n\n

\"Spring<\/a>
Spring in Scotland, Cupar, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Half an hour later we arrive in Saint Andrews, the golf course is on the way into town and we stop at the new club house and wander around taking a few photos, visit the gift shop and buy a couple of souvenirs. \u00a0The weather has changed, the sun is breaking through. \u00a0It is however a wild and windy place, the trees are bent and stunted. \u00a0We look out over the course, it appears most of the players are Asian today.<\/p>\n

\"That's<\/a>
That’s one off Dave’s Bucket List, Saint Andrews, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Saint<\/a>
Saint Andrews Golf Course, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We drive up the hill and park overlooking the gardens and cliff beyond. \u00a0There are a series of huge stone houses lining the road, probably guest houses built early last century. \u00a0The gardens and grounds look stunning. \u00a0At the top of the hill the ruins of Saint Andrews Castle stand, defying the weather and time past.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Old Clubhouse, Saint Andrews Golf Club, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s now late in the afternoon and we drive on to Montrose. \u00a0The tourist information is closed but we take down a couple of numbers and find ourselves at The Mall B&B, it proves to be the most wonderful old home we would stay in during our travels. \u00a0Apparently the Mall was once the presbytery of the neeagbouring<\/p>\n

\"Far<\/a>
Far enough, Montrose for the night, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"The<\/a>
The Mall B&B, Montrose, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We head out for dinner and drinks at the Picture House an old theatre transformed into a very fancy pub. \u00a0It’s a great night, but it’s been a long day and we head for the B&B and bed. \u00a0Pam and I are up early and off for a walk around Montrose. \u00a0The golf course looked magnificent as did the local parks as we walked by. \u00a0Somehow we end up on the bridge over the estuary from the Montrose Basin. \u00a0With the falling tide it was a amazing to see the strength and speed of the water passing under us.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Picture Show Hotel, Montrose, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After another full Scottish breakfast with black pudding where heading north again. \u00a0The road runs along the coast, often only a stones through away. \u00a0There are no sandy beaches however, but we find the coastline is interesting wherever we are. \u00a0We turn west at Stonehaven and head for The Cairngorms National Park and the Scottish Highlands. \u00a0We cross the River Dee and head for Crathes Castle.<\/p>\n

\"Crathes<\/a>
Crathes Castle, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Crathes Castle was really more impressive for its gardens and grounds than the Castle itself. \u00a0The castle is maintained as a museum, with many rooms fitted out with period furniture and fittings. \u00a0But there is no moat, draw bridge or battlements, so a bit disappointing. \u00a0The castle is really a high house with little tiny windows. \u00a0I am being a bit harsh I suppose, too many television castles I presume.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The gardens, Crathes Castle, Scotland. 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The gardens surrounding Crathes are quite special, they are divided into sections which follow themes. \u00a0Must be a full time job for 3 people just cutting the hedges. \u00a0Once again we hit the road into The Cairngorms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having crossed the River Forth west of Edinburgh, we take the A92. \u00a0We soon start to see signs for Saint Andrews as we head east. \u00a0It’s past lunch time and we stop in Cupar. \u00a0We find a parking spot easily enough, there are few people about. \u00a0As we walk up the street, we know why, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=520"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23370,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions\/23370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michaelandpamstravels.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}