On Friday we had a pleasant drive to Balmoral Castle, arriving around 11:00 am.
We enjoyed the sunshine and gardens. King Charles has added 130,000 trees since we were last at the castle in 2019. We noted a lot of other changes in the gardens with new mazes being developed, the kitchen gardens modified and more. It's all beautiful and creates a very peaceful environment. We were able to tour the Ballroom, but while the King has opened the house for tours, we weren't able to secure the castle tickets.
At noon we had a very elegant, posh British tea for lunch.
Around 2:00 ish we headed toward Edinburgh. It was beautiful but slightly less dramatic than our morning drive, and David performed his driving duties with aplomb as usual.
We arrived at the airport around 5:00 pm. We were staying at an overpriced Moxy Hotel and Jon & Rebecca were staying next door at the Hampton Inn. The decision was made to stay at the airport as they had a 7:00 am flight the next morning which means they had to head to the airport before 5:00 am (ouch) and this would allow them to sleep a wee bit longer.
After a refresh we took an Uber to The Table restaurant, where we met Ben Lloyd Bucker & Jules Chen for our 7 course dinner.
Owner and Chef, Sean Clark opened The Table in 2015 following 10 years of training and working at some of the best restaurants in Edinburgh, Milan, Rome and London.
Sean has honed his culinary talents and expertise under the tutelage of Anthony Garlando (Aqua at the Shard, London) Adriano Cavagnini (The Hotel Eden, Rome) and Davide Degiovanni (Four Seasons at Park Lane, London), interspersed were stints with Michelin Star chefs, Martin Wishart (Home House, Edinburgh) and Gordon Ramsay (Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London).
There are 10 seats, all at a long counter, where we watched Sean and his assistant prepare the food. Each course is explained in detail. We did the wine pairing and we enjoyed trying new and unusual wines throughout the meal.
Most courses were great but there were a few misses. It was a bit challenging holding conversations across six people while at the counter but we did a bit of musical chairs and the evening flew by.
We returned to the hotel after 11:00 pm where we said a quick good-bye to Jon & Rebecca as every moment of sleep was going to be precious for them.
On Saturday, we walked over to the airport and took the Tram into the city.
Unlike the entire rest of our time in Scotland with beautiful sunshine, the country returned to its reputation and we had drizzle the entire day.
We walked 20 minutes in the rain from the tram stop to Holyrood House, which is the official royal palace in Scotland.
https://palaceofholyroodhouse.co.uk
The palace's beginnings were as Holy Rood Abbey. The ruins still visible on the grounds were once an Augustinian Abbey ordered by King David I of Scotland. The name Holyrood comes from either the legendary vision of the cross witnessed by the King or from a relic of the True Cross, known as the Holy Rood.
James IV constructed a new Gothic palace next to the abbey which became the lodgings of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1561. Holyrood is where she wed both of her Scottish husbands and witnessed the murder of her private secretary. After the Union of Scotland and England in 1707, the palace began to fall into disrepair. When Bonnie Prince Charlie moved into the palace, he chose the Duke’s apartments over the unkempt King’s. Neglect continued as the abbey church roof collapsed, leaving it as it currently stands. George V transformed Holyroodhouse into a 20th-century palace.
Mary Queen of Scots lived at Holyroodhouse between 1561 and 1567, and her bedchamber, outer chamber and supper room, all of which we were able to visit, are all filled with items relating to her life at the Palace. One of the most fascinating pieces on display is the Darnley Jewel, a brilliantly coloured, heart-shaped gold locket that has to be seen up close to be appreciated. The supper-room is the site of the murder of David Rizzio, Queen Mary’s Private Secretary. He was stabbed 56 times by the Queen’s husband, Lord Darnley.
So to say this palace has history is an understatement.
That said, first we went to the King's Gallery to view a history of royal photography. The gallery itself is very pretty with cathedral ceilings and beautiful balustrades.
For centuries, portraiture has played a vital role in shaping the public’s perception of the Royal Family. This exhibition charts the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day.
While I love photography David spent even more time than I did at the exhibit which is very unusual for us.
Then we walked for 20 minutes, again in the rain, to St. Giles Cathedral so David could pay respects to the plaque laid for the late Queen.
The stone commemorates the Service of Thanksgiving and Vigil for the life of the late Queen which took place on the site on 12 and 13 September 2022. It is located on the floor near the Holy Table where HM The Queen's coffin lay and is formed of a simple black slate engraved with the Scottish Crown and ER cypher together with the dates when the coffin was at rest in the cathedral.
No other sovereign has had such a Service of Thanksgiving in Scotland. Following the service, a vigil was held and, over the following 23 hours, more than 33,000 people queued to pay their respects. The engraving on the stone was carried out by Roxanne Kindersley from the renowned Cardozo Kindersley Workshop in Cambridge.
Then we were off to meet the wonderful Oscar. Oscar is the three year old son of Jules & Ben. We have been following him since his conception but had not had the pleasure of meeting him. He was delightful as we expected and he entertained us all for the 4 hours we were with him. Oh, yes, Jules & Ben were there too and we enjoyed catching up on their lives and spending time in their warm, welcoming flat.
Sigh, the next morning we were informed our 11:00 am flight would be delayed until 12:20 pm, so I had a workout before we walked over to the airport.
Jon's Post script-
I expected to really enjoy being there with you all (and knew the food would be good), the attractions/sites/activities were better than anticipated, and the people we met along the way really enhanced the entire experience. That is a big part of why I love Scotland – the people/culture really resonate with me (yeah, and the golf).