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!!