2Feb2009: Day 252: Dumferline, Stirling, Rosslyn & SNOW!

We were surprised to hear about all the snow that the area of Kent received – which is the area where we live. We heard it was coming but to actually hear that it did come and that they got up to six inches and about 50 schools closed was very surprising. Even more, was that we had avoided it by being up in Scotland…but not for long. It was heading our way and during our visits to the different places today, it was coming and going. It would be heavy snow and hail and then would clear up.

We got out to our first place as quick as we could which was to Dumferline Palace and Abbey. It was all ruins but it is a burial place of many Scotland Kings and Queens. Not that we saw any of the burial areas as they were mainly in the church, St. Margaret, and that was closed for the seasons except for worship. The abbey and palace were once one of the largest and most impressive building complexes in medieval Scotland. But in 1603, with the departure of the Scottish royal court for England, the place was abandoned. Some parts were pulled down while others just fell apart on their own. While here, is when some of the first heavy snow hit. It was pretty to see it fall on the ground but not fun to think of driving through. Makenna really enjoyed throwing snowballs at daddy. She wouldn’t do it but took great joy in me hitting him. She also laughed at his pathetic attempts to hit mommy. Of course, he was trying to make sure he wasn’t going to hit Makenna who mommy strategically was holding.

It was then on to Stirling Castle. This castle is on top of a high volcanic rock. There’s been a castle at this site since at least the twelfth century but these buildings are from the 1400’s & 1500’s. James IV, James V, and James VI all resided here. James the IV was of the Stewart dynasty and he did most of the architectural work that is seen in Stirling. It’s assumed more would have been built if he hadn’t died at a battle when he was only 40. His son, James V, was then crowned at Stirling, being only 17 months old. James V is the one who built the palace at the castle. He also died an early death and his daughter, Queen Mary (Queen Mary of Scots,) was the next to succeed him, again here at Stirling Castle. She has a long sordid history, some of which you read in our blogs, but she had a son, James VI who then, as the previous, was crowned at a year old, at Stirling. This James then, through time and the death of Queen Elizabeth I, became King James I of England.

I found this castle a bit of a disappointment. We weren’t able to go into the palace as they are restoring it. I think they said in 2012 it would be ready to be opened. The Chapel Royal had been restored but to me it seemed more modern than old. The Great Hall was also restored and again seemed a bit plain but they say that it can now be seen as intended in the 1500s. I included this picture from the castle walls showing the snow on the hills.

We left there so that we would hopefully have enough time at the Rossylyn Chapel. Not to mention that the snow was getting a bit heavy again. This chapel is the one that was in the movie, “Da Vinci Code” with Tom Hanks. Although, I think I heard from one lady who was giving an explanation to other people that the set was built up so it doesn’t look familiar in the movie. I guess I’ll have to rent it again to see if I can tell where the shots were taken. I have to say this place was absolutely amazing, besides all the scaffolding outside the church as part of its restoration. It was actually a small church but with extremely ornate stone work. The chapel was founded in 1446 but in the 1500s it was seized by Protestant Reformers and in 1650, Oliver Cromwell's army used it to stable horses during his siege of Rosslyn Castle. Just to think of the time and skill it took to do all the intricate and varied work is just unbelievable. I would click on this link http://www.sacred-destinations.com/scotland/rossyln-chapel.htm just to see some pictures of the stonework that’s shown along the right-hand side of the web page.

As the snow was really starting to hit Scotland, as predicted, we decided that we needed to get going. We set off with a prayer and headed back to England. Little did we know that, that it would be the first of many prayers that would be said. It was very beautiful to sit back in the passenger seat and view all the fresh snow through Scotland. I’m sure if I was the driver, that I’d still think it was nice but not as much so. There was one point where if we fell of the side, we’d never be found as I couldn’t see the bottom—it was deep chasm. It definitely made it exciting but nerve wracking.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worse of it (the worse being if we had fallen in). The SatNav (GPS) took us off the main “M” road (interstate) and put us on a back road. It reminded me of driving to the cottage in a bad winter storm. As we were on this “A” road, there was a sign saying that the road would be closed after a certain point. Well, common sense would’ve told us to look to see if we would need to continue past that point. Common sense didn’t kick in until five minutes before hitting that point. So now we had to try another route. Can you say, “really bad idea!~”

We were now headed up a “B” road. This was treacherous. It’s like one of those one lane roads that you don’t want to meet another car coming the other way. Well, we did. We were able to get by him but got stuck shortly thereafter. The prayers really kicked in and the Lord listened as we didn’t have to get out and push or hike to find anyone to help. Well, again, common sense would say go back and find something else. Common sense was again fleeting as we headed up the road, which now was becoming more of a hill and remember, there’s no street lights so we can’t really tell what’s on either side of the road if we happened to slip off. Did I mention that there was blowing snow drifts to add to all of our fun?

It took a lot of knuckle gripping and finally seeing a huge snow drift that we knew there would be no way to get through without most likely getting stuck, that we finally gave up and turned around. Chris did, as he called it, “a 100 point turn.” Looking back, I wish I had recorded some of this adventure to look back on (not for Chris’s mom to see though!). As we finally made it to the bottom of the hill, we met up with another truck that stopped us and asked if the road was passable up there and we said “NO!” Whether he went up or not, I’m not sure.

We finally made our way back to the “M” road, which thankfully was only about 15 minutes from where we were. We made the hotel around midnight. A trip that was supposed to be around four hours turned into eight. Along the way to York, our stop for the night, I was able to see the temple in Preston along the highway.

I do have to say that Makenna was unbelievably well behaved during all of this. Of course it helped that she slept through the most treacherous parts and then we were able to keep her awake after stopping for food (that she didn’t eat,) by playing a movie. We were smart enough to bring the portable DVD player knowing that at times the ride would be long.

Sorry for the long post, but it was quite an exciting day! Hopefully tomorrow will be neat and exciting but not due to traveling.