Yes we are still here. Our plans took a rest on Saturday when Callum woke up out of sorts and promptly threw up. So all tourist/family activities were put on hold until he felt better. Fortunately it wasn't long before he came good and by the afternoon he was back to his usual self. We all benefited from the rest day away from touristing. Sunday we all woke up refreshed and ready to hit the road to North Berwick, about 1 hour drive from Linlithgow and on the mouth of the Firth of Forth. The primary reason for embarking on the journey was for me take a boat trip to a small island off the coast to see puffins. The whole family joined us on this trip in a 3 car convoy. While in the area it would have been a shame to miss Tantallon Castle which sits on the edge of the cliffs and has a fantastic view out to the North Sea and Bass Rock, home to thousands of Gannets, so much so the rock looks white. After driving to North Berwick and while walking around the castle we all noted the gale force winds that had arrived that day and the choppy seas it had created.
Unfortunately for me on arrival to North Berwick harbour we discovered all boat cruises were cancelled due to the weather. We will just have to visit again at this time of year (the puffins only come to shore for 3 months of the year to nest then spend the rest of the year at sea). Ironically, Saturday's paper had an article about them walking down the high street of town but no sightings so, oh well, it wasn't meant to be. Now that we had extra time on our hands we had a quick lunch and headed on a very short journey down the road to visit Direlton castle (yes another one). It was an interesting castle with lots of tiny rooms, a huge kitchen and dinning hall so we now know what was important in their life. The gardens were gorgeous with lots of beautiful flowers and manicured lawns. To those of you thinking Neil is being very patient with the castle visits 1. He is gaining serious brownie points for France; and 2. For castle, he sat this one out and sampled the local brew with Alf, Kevin and Mags instead. On the way home we stopped in to visit Jenny's sister in Musselburgh. It was nice to see more family.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad