Lori’s Trip to Scotland and Ireland

April 17, 2012 thru April 27, 2012

Part III

On Thursday morning, I woke up and had a nice long visit with Colm about a range of topics.  We discovered that we have many of the same interests and philosophies. After tea and toast, we headed to one of Colm’s volunteer organizations.  Fife Migrants Forum, an organization which helps immigrants with any legal or social issues they are dealing with, is located in Merchants House in Kirkcaldy.  This is the oldest building in town (built in 1515) and has undergone many renovations to allow its continued use.  We then met Bernadette for lunch at a local restaurant and shortly after 1 pm headed to St. Andrews.

On the way to St. Andrews, we stopped in a small town called Ceres to see if we could locate a Wilson Family farm in the area.  We spent a little while there with a local historian but he was unfamiliar with the name.  We were looking for a farm called Carskerdo where a man named James Wilson was born.  This James Wilson (1742-1798) traveled to the United States where he became a lawyer in Philadelphia. He also signed the Declaration of Independence. We traveled on the back roads to St. Andrews and saw many quaint Scottish villages.  Colm told me that many tourists stick to the highways and miss this side of Scotland. It really is a shame as these villages tell you more about the people than a highway ever can!

We then headed off to St. Andrews where we saw the St. Andrews Blackfriars' Chapel which dates to between 1500 and 1550.

St. Andrews Cathedral was absolutely amazing!  The ruins reveal just a portion of the magnitude of what this Cathedral must have looked like in its heyday.  In 1318, it was the largest building in all of Scotland!

So much wonderful architecture in St. Andrews.  The beauty was overwhelming.

We then walked down to the Old Course at St. Andrews.  It was an overcast, raw and windy day but absolutely great to see such an historic golf course.  I may not play golf but I can appreciate greatness when I see it!

While in St. Andrews, I looked for a tartan plaid for the Wilson Clan as we knew that our Irish family originally came from Scotland in the 1500's. Come to find out, the Wilson's were actually part of the Clan Gunn! And "wilson" derived from "son of William" Gunn.  Geneology is fun!!

After a great afternoon in St. Andrews, we drove home along the coast of Scotland.  Back to the Lodge for a nice dinner prepared by Bernadette and a great evening of visiting.  Tomorrow - Edinburgh!

Lori’s Trip to Scotland and Ireland

April 17, 2012 thru April 27, 2012

Part II

We drove the ½ hour to his home in Burntisland, which is actually the former Cemetery Lodge at Burntisland Cemetery.  It is a charming two story brick cottage which sits right on the Firth of Forth.  Colm made me very welcome in his home and after a short visit over another cup of tea, we decided to venture out. 

I expressed an interest in seeing castles and old buildings so Colm took me to Aberdour Castle.  Aberdour Castle was first built between 1240 and 1280 with the last major addition done in 1648. The East Range is the only part of the castle still roofed.  There are still Douglas family members in the area and they are allowed to hold two private events at the castle per year. The grounds are very beautiful and many weddings, wedding receptions and other private events are held on the grounds each year.

Sharing the grounds with Aberdour Castle is St. Fillans Chapel, which was built in 1123. It is a beautiful little chapel very proud of its longevity.  Services are still held weekly and many celebrations have taken place over the years commemorating its heritage.

We returned back to the Lodge and Colm’s wife, Bernadette was there to greet us. After a quick visit, we went to a local restaurant where I had scampi for dinner.  Rather than a style of cooking, “scampi” is actually breaded monkfish tail.  It was very good and the view overlooking the Firth of Forth was beautiful! By the time we returned home, it was about 9 pm and I was exhausted.  I had been traveling and going non-stop since yesterday morning and I was ready to drop.  I headed for bed and slept like a brick!!

Lori’s Trip to Scotland and Ireland

April 17, 2012 thru April 27, 2012

Part I

I left JFK International Airport in New York on Tuesday, April 17th around 5:30 pm to begin my trip to Scotland and Ireland. First leg of the trip was to Dublin, Ireland. I flew on Aer Lingus and it was a very good flight. We were on time, the plane was only about ¾ full and the staff was very pleasant. I sat in the exit row window seat with no one next to me and therefore had plenty of leg room. This more than made up for the slightly narrow seat. Plenty of food for dinner and it was very good. Headphones, pillow and blanket were all free of charge.

Flight took us over Cape Cod, Boston, Halifax, Newfoundland and Labrador. The flight attendants sold jewelry on the plane and I purchase a necklace and some bracelets for Sara. There were plenty of movie and television show choices on the plane but I didn’t watch anything. I listened to music, read my book and cat napped a bit. Orange juice was served slightly before landing.

We landed in Dublin about 5 am on Wednesday, April 18th and the airport was virtually empty except for the people from our flight. The wait to go thru customs and security was quite slow as they only had a few people working at such an early hour. I made my way to the gate for the flight to Glasgow, Scotland. There were only about a dozen people on my flight. We were transported by shuttle bus out to the small plane where we boarded by walking up a narrow flight of stairs at the rear of the plane. Flight time was about an hour and once again we were transported by shuttle bus to the terminal. After getting my bag, I took a shuttle bus to the main bus terminal where I boarded another bus for the 1 hour 45 minute ride to Kilkardy.

Upon arrival in Kirkcaldy, I desperately needed to use the public restroom inside the bus station but unfortunately there was a 30 pence charge to access the facilities. As I had not yet converted any US dollars to British pounds, I was stuck. I went into the tea room but she could not do a conversion. With her permission, I left my luggage behind and she directed me to a local bank where I withdrew 40 pounds from the ATM. I returned to the tea room, ordered a pot of tea and English muffin and she gave me the proper change for the restroom. After enjoying my tea, I tried to locate a pay phone to contact Colm but there were none in the bus station. In desperation, I borrowed one from a young woman working in the newspaper stand and called Colm. He arrived about ½ hour later – I have finally met my cousin!

Dreams Do Come True

By tomorrow this time, I will be in the air on my way to Burntisland, Scotland to meet my cousin Colm. My sixth cousin, once removed, whom I have never met before.

A brief history for you. I am an amateur genealogist and have enjoyed filling in more details and adding to the work done by my great Uncle Joe before he died. Uncle Joe verified that our Wilson ancestors came to America in 1777 from Ireland. Peter Wilson, my 5th great grandfather, came over with his parents and his brother George stayed in Ireland. Colm is a descendant of George. So - for the first time in 235 years, decsendants from teh two brothers will be meeting!! This is very exciting for me.

I will spend a few days in Scotland with Colm and his wife and then on Saturday morning we will fly to Letterkenny, Ireland and then drive over to Clonmany where I will spend the next week.

Going to Ireland has been the # 1 item on my bucket list for almost 30 years. I am so excited that this dream is finally coming true.

I plan on updating my thoughts, observations and photos of my trip over the next ten days. I hope you will have the chance to share my journey with me.