"I saw him a few times in the Bleeding Horse in Camden Street with Boylan the billsticker."
James Joyce - Ulysses - 1922 - P.711

Out Standing in Front of the Bleeding Horse Pub

Word of the Day

Tch - An expression of disagreement.


BW Babe and I got up REALLY early so we could finish packing and haul all our bags down to the lobby. Our driver, Trevor, picked us up at around 8 AM. He drove us to the airport in Glasgow where we connected with our Aer Lingus-Aer Arann flight to Dublin. We flew through the check in process and didn't have to pay for the extra bag fee. I think it helped that we were able to print out our boarding passes at the hotel last night. Since we didn't have to pay the extra bag fee, BW Babe has agreed to reimburse me for half of the fee for our last flight. Security didn't seem to be an issue either this flight. I dutifully removed my belt and shoes, took off my coat and set my laptop case on to send through the X-ray machine. The attendant hadn't ever seen a laptop case like mine before and requested that I remove my laptop from the case. I questioned this but did what I was told but...after a quick look at my bag, she told me that I didn't need to remove the laptop after all...so I put it back. BW Babe got through without taking off her shoes.

Our plane (two props) arrived late but we weren't in a hurry. The flight only took a bit more than a half and hour. We stood in line to show our passports longer than the flight. All the luggage arrived safe and sound. Yes! Then it was off to get a taxi...two taxis. The taxis here can only carry four passengers and we had five. We split up. My cousin, BW Babe and I took one taxi and our cousin's husband (henceforth to be known as Lord Douglas) and Mr. D took the other. We arrived at the hotel at around the same time, hauled all the luggage to the hotel lobby, checked in, hauled all the luggage to our rooms, re-packed and re-organized and then rendezvoused back in the lobby to head out to The Bleeding Horse.

The Bleeding Horse is a pub that is right next door to the hotel. It's VERY nice and historic. The food was excellent...the Guinness was excellent....and it's historic.

At the time in which the events that we have undertaken to record took place, there stood at the southern extremity of the city, near the point at which Camden Street now terminates, a small, old-fashioned building, something between an ale-house and an inn. It occupied the roadside by no means unpicturesquely ; one gable jutted into the road, with a projecting window, which stood out from the building like a glass box held together by a massive frame of wood ; and commanded by this projecting gable, and a few yards in retreat, but facing the road, was the inn door, over which hung a painted panel, representing a white horse, out of whose neck there spouted a crimson cascade, and underneath, in large letters, the traveller was informed that this was the genuine old "Bleeding Horse."

- Cock and Anchor (1845), Sheridan Le Fanu

We're only staying at this hotel for one night. Tomorrow morning those of us who have arrived early for Irene Middleton Music Tour of Northern Ireland 2013, hosted by Irish Storyteller Batt Burns, will pile into our tour bus and pick up the remaining tour..ists at the airport. Our tour of Northern Ireland will last ten days. I'm not sure if I'll have internet for all of those ten days but I'll blog and post when possible.

Random Quote of the Day

The undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Hamlet, Act III, sc. 1

 

Applegarth Church and Cemetery

 

James Dinuoodie

William Dinwoodie

Margret Dinwoody

The Three Cousins with our Family Crest

The Family Crest

Caerlaverock Castle - Maxwell Clan

Caerlaverock Castle - Maxwell Clan

BW Babe - Exploring the Family Seat

The Family Home

 

BW Babe, My Cousin, and Her Husband

Word of the Day

Taterfamilias - The head of the Potato Head family.

We started our morning, in pouring rain, with a tour of Applegarth Church and Cemetery so we were able to commune with our family ancestors. We found three grave stones that we think may have been misinterpreted. James Dinuoodie, William Dinwoodie, and Margret Dunwoody. We also found several possible family relatives with different surnames that died at Dinwoodie Mains.

After that, we sallied for to visit Caerlavorock Castle. Maxwell Castle. We toured the old family stomping grounds. What a beautiful castle this had been at one time. There were so many Kodak moments that BW Babe and I both almost ran out of battery strength for our cameras. Such a beautiful spot for wedding pictures. I gave into temptation and purchased a few items in the gift store on the site. I really needed some family tartan.

For lunch we decided to eat at the Hullabaloo once again before we proceeded to the Dumfries Museum. We all paid to see the Camera Obscura exhibition. Unfortunately, I should have realized that this sort of exhibition tends to trigger my motion sickness. No, I didn't get sick but I couldn't give the museum my full attention for the rest of our stay.

After finishing with the our tour of the museum, we returned to the hotel for the night, bidding our tour guide and driver, Donny, goodbye. We'll have another driver tomorrow morning who will take us to the airport in Glasgow.

Tonight we enjoyed a final dinner here at our hotel in Dumfries. Very nice. Now...time to pack it up and get ready for tomorrow.

Random Quote of the Day

Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers, that the mind can never break off from the journey.

Pat Conroy (1945 - ), The Prince of Tides

The Twelve Apostles

The North Stone of the Twelve Apostles Circle

Cairn Holy I - Two Chambered Tomb

My Cousin Examining Possible Markings at Cairn Holy I

Cairn Holy II

The Happy Traveler's  Checking out Cairn Holy II

Carsluith Castle
Site of the Marrbury Smokehouse

This Place Serves Fish and Chips Using Smoked Salmon
What an awesome lunch!

Drumtroddan Standing Stones

Of the Three Drumtroddan, Only One Remains Standing

Our Very Special Guide, Donny MacDonald at Port William

Drumtrodden Ring and Cup Marks

Welshman We Met

Bladnoch Distilllery Tour

Word of the Day

Tarnation - The land flowing with tar. The majority of the world's tar is exported from this country.

Today is the day we celebrate the summer solstice, therefore it seems appropriate that we started our morning with a tour of The Twelve Apostles Stone Circle south of Holywood. My cousin, using a compass, discovered that the largest stone was located at the northern-most point of the circle. Using this information, we located the stone that was lying on the southern-most point of the circle, the stone that was on the east point of the circle and then the stone on the west. We followed around the circle, examining each stone in the circle for any markings but found none. BW Babe found a few feathers in the surrounding field that we left as an offering on a natural shelf of the north stone.

Our next stop was to Cairn Holy I and Cairn Holy II. As we hiked around the two tombs, we encountered two men walking their dog so I got my dog fix for a bit. The burial tombs were very impressive.

At this point, it was time for lunch. We stopped at the Marrbury Smokehouse which has been featured on a Scottish television show that I think may be something like on The Food Channel. The food was spectacular. I've never had fish and chips like it was made at this restaurant. The fish was smoked salmon, battered and fried, served with "chips", something like steak fries in the states. The flavor was VERY good. I'd definitely recommend a stop at this place if you're hungry for lunch...or dinner. We all enjoyed our choices. I believe our tour guide, Donny, enjoyed some smoked haggis. He gave BW Babe a bite and she proclaimed it VERY good.

After lunch we continued with our celebration of the summer solstice by stopping to see the site of three standing stones at Drumtroddan. Sadly, only one stone still remains standing, the other two having fallen and thus are resting on their sides. The views in the area were quite impressive, leaving no doubt as to why someone would chose this site to worship. None of us pulled an Outlander-style leap into the past and the view was really nice.

Since we were so close to the coast, we decided to make a stop at Port William to take a walk around Harbour Park. It looked like a man, leaning on a fence rail had arrived before us. It was a statue by sculptor Andrew Brown done in 2005. Of course, at this point we all had to get into the action and pose with our new bronze friend who rudely ignored us as he stared out to sea. I snuck a picture of our tour guide Donny posing with his new bronze buddy before he could duck out of camera range. I can highly recommend Donny as a chauffeur/tour guide. He's really provided us with a well-researched tour, tailored to our varied personal interests.

Our next stop was a farm near Drumtrodden where we hiked through a working farmyard, past the dead cow which BW Babe had to stop to photograph, and across the farm's pasture filled with VERY large cows. They didn't seem to be too interested in us but we watched where we stepped for more than one reason. The site is known for incised Celtic rings and cups. We met a Welshman who had some Celtic rings tattooed on his shoulder and his girlfriend. The man was wearing a very nice kilt and belt that I thought my daughter Sarge would appreciate. I asked him nicely if I could take his picture and he seemed flattered. We chatted for a while before we headed back to our van, past the really large cows, past the dead cow (very dead), and back to the van as our cousin photographed a large, rather fragrant truck as it drove past...to collect the very, very, dead cow.

After driving quietly away, we continued on down the road, stopping for a surprise tour of the Bladnoch Distillery in Bladnoch. Our cousin and her husband knew that their friend (let's call him Mr. D) is a huge fan of Scotch whiskey and quite knowledgeable of the process of making it and the various brands. They knew that he'd love to stop for a tour of this distillery while we were here in Scotland. I'm so glad we were able to stop since Mr. D's been so patient with all our genealogical tours. He was so pleased that he paid for everyone's ticket to tour the place. The tour was very interesting and I have to admit that the sample of Scotch whiskey that I got to try after the tour ended was OK. I've never liked Scotch whiskey but if I had to drink it...this wasn't too bad. Mr. D seemed VERY pleased with his sample so let him be the judge of quality and taste. I purchased a couple of small bottles to bring to HTP and #1 Son...just to taste. You can't buy this particular Scotch whiskey in the states. The tour was very interesting and we all thanked Mr. D for treating us to a new experience.

By the time we arrived back at the hotel for the evening, it was time to start thinking of dinner. Once again, Donny, graciously offered to drive us downtown so we could pick out a restaurant for dinner. Mr. D decided to stay at the hotel instead of joining us tonight so it was just the four of us. We decided that we liked the place that we ate last night so well that we'd give it a try again tonight. The place was packed but after a short wait in the bar, we were seated. Once again the food was excellent. Aside from BW Babe's duck which she had to send back because it was over-cooked (we had three people stop by the table to apologize profusely), and the curry that our cousin's husband ordered (he said it was rather bland), my red-snapper was VERY good and my cousin seemed to be enjoying her pork.

After dinner, we meandered down the walkway by the River Nith, stopping to be a bit silly, posing as statues at a spot which encouraged such behavior. A couple of men stopped to watch and chat with the crazy Americans for a bit before we continued on our way back to the hotel, meandering through the same gardens that we'd visited last night. They look a lot nicer in sunshine than in rain, but, artistically speaking, both aspects were beautiful in their own way.

Tomorrow is going to be our last full day touring here in Scotland. We're going to miss our tour guide, Donny, as he will be leaving us tomorrow night when he drops us back here at the hotel for the evening. Another driver will be taking us to the airport on Sunday for our return flight to Ireland.

Random Quote of the Day

The traveler must, of course, always be cautious of the overly broad generalization. But I am an American, and a paucity of data does not stop me from making sweeping, vague, conceptual statements and, if necessary, following these statements up with troops.

George Saunders, The Guardian (UK) July 22, 2006

Hadrian's Wall Plaque

The Three Cousins

BW Babe Posing on a Stile

The Roman Fort

Farmhouse in Roman Fort - Now used as a Group Hostel

Three Cousins Posing at the East Gate of the Fort

Long Meg and her Daughters
Druid Stone Circle

Long Meg with My Cousin's Husband and Their Friend

One of the Carvings on Long Meg

The Three Cousins Failed to do the Outlander Leap into the Past

Gretna Green

Gretna Green

Erected to the Memory of John Dunwoodie who died at the Elebehead of Ruthwell on the 25th day of August 1786 in the 72nd year of his age.

Word of the Day

Tarmac - A native of tarnation; tarmacs are almost always going somewhere, but make awful tour guides.

I managed to fit in an hour of yoga and a shower before BW Babe and I headed on down to get some breakfast. I am so glad that I took some time to do the yoga. It really woke me up and got me moving this morning. As a result, our full day of touring and walking didn't knock me off my feet...except when I almost slipped on some rain-slicked pavement.

Our tour guide picked us up at 9 AM and we headed out immediately for our tour of Hadrian's Wall. BW Babe and I have never been to England before. Wow! We can now say that we've been in Ireland, Scotland AND England. We got our first taste of Hadrian's Wall at the Banks East Turret to Piper Sikes Turret. Just a short stop before we continued on to the Birdoswald Roman Fort, part of Hadrian's Wall. It was amazing to see how much of the fort remains. My cousin and her husband and BW Babe and I all walked the entire perimeter of the fort while trying to avoid ticking off too many sheep. At one point, I was concerned to see them chuffing at us but no-one got attacked. However, we did get a few sheepish looks of disgust.

After looking at the café's luncheon offerings at the visitor's center at Hadrian's Wall, we decided to snack on granola bars (provided by my cousin and her husband) and fruit juice (provided by our guide, Donny). Munching happily, Donny drove us to our next destination. Some of the local roads are REALLY narrow! About the fourth time we had to pull off to the far left side of the road to let three very LARGE tractors go by, we were all a bit edgy (pardon the pun) but it was that fourth and final time when some sort of HUGE mower squeaked by us that my cousin squeaked in protest and Donny commented, "Oh, Sugar!"

Risking life and limb, we continued on to visit Long Meg and her Daughters, a Druid Stone Circle. BW Babe, my cousin, and I all tried to see if we could try duplicating the Outlander effect...but, we're still here, We'll be visiting more stone circles tomorrow so maybe we'll have better luck then. We did notice what looked like prayer bundles or ribbons hanging from the lower branches of a couple large trees in the center of the circle. Also, someone made offerings at the base of Long Meg, the largest stone in the circle.  It was interesting to ponder the similarities that BW Babe and I found to our experiences of last summer when we attended and participated in an Indian sweat lodge.

Piling back into the van, we continued on to what wasn't the guys' favorite stop. Gretna Green. My cousin had heard of the place...vaguely, but none of them knew of its history. BW Babe and I have read enough Regency historical novels to know exactly what Gretna Green was and its history. Actually, it was pretty much a tourist trap but, what the heck, I've seen it. The next time I read a book that mentions Gretna Green, I can say that I've been there.

Finally, Donny took us back to the Ruthwell churchyard so we could get a closer look at the gravestone that we thought could be a relative. I'd mentioned earlier that sometimes all it takes to read some of these old grave stones is a good brush and some water. Donny produced both so we headed over to the marker that we'd visited yesterday and started cleaning. Soon, it became apparent that the name on this grave stone wasn't James Dunwiddie but James Mundell. Oh well...all was not lost. Donny to the rescue. All of a sudden he shouted out, "I found one!" and then proceeded to apologize all over the place for treating this like some sort of sporting event. Donny is so funny! After a lot of scrubbing with water and brush, we were able to make out the following inscription: Erected to the Memory of John Dunwoodie who died at the Elebehead of Ruthwell on the 25th day of August 1786 in the 72nd year of his age. Maybe a distant cousin?

Returning back to our hotel, Donny was nice enough to drive us downtown to a local pub called Cavens Arms which has won best pub of the year for 2013. It has earned this title of best pub for the last seven years. The food was excellent! Although Donny graciously dropped us off at the pub, we were on our own for our 2 1/2 mile hike back to the hotel. It was "soft"...damp weather...so I'm really glad that I brought my umbrella tonight. All told, it took us about 30 minutes...maybe longer, to walk back to our hotel but we discovered a wonderful garden park on our way home that was totally unexpected.  It was called, The Chrichon Walk.  The plantings were spectacular...we even saw one pine with purple pine cones. We'll have to revisit the park again as we plan to eat at the Cavens Arms tomorrow night too....it was too good an experience not to repeat.

Random Quote of the Day

Little by little, one travels far.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973)

Family Pictures

Lockerbie Bombing Memorial

Lockerbie Bombing Memorial

My Cousin and Sister Standing Near the Family Main

The Family Crest is on the Family Main

Standing on Top of the Hill Looking Down on the Family Farm

A Genuine Scottish Thistle

The Family Lodge

Another Family Member?

The Ruthwell Cross

A Pictish Celtic Cross

The Globe Inn Where We Didn't Eat

Word of the Day

Tar circles - Strange circles and other shapes found etched into a road that are sometimes believed to be created by flying saucers.

Today was our first chance to go visit the stomping grounds of my Scottish family ancestors. But first, our guide, Donny, took us to visit Gordon Dinwoodie who runs a sport shop in Lockerbie.  The first thing he told us was that we spelled our name wrong, we should change it.   It was fascinating listening to his tales of a family feud with the evil Jardins back in the old days.  On the otherhand, we were told that the Johnstone's were our allies and friends.  His version of the family crest is different from the one that we've always heard.  I think our version is probably the correct one but...hey...that was a long time ago.  I just can't imagine commemorating the loss of the a couple of family members who were hung for stealing sheep by making that hanging into our family crest.   That aside, it was great talking to him and learning all about his son who plays the accordion and in a band.  After a long chat, BW Babe and I  purchased some items from him.  BW Babe's watch had died a couple days ago so she purchased a wrist watch...cheap.  Me?  I noticed a set of Scottish fishing flies.  I couldn't resist. After exchanging e-mail addresses,  Gordon gave BW Babe,  my cousin and I some gifts.  We each received a Scottish refrigerator magnet and a Scottish key ring.

Since we were in Lockerbie, we decided to visit the Lockerbie Bombing Memorial.  Our cousin spotted a grave stone with what is probably a family member and she took pictures.  Nearby, our allies and friends, the Johnstones seemed to stand watch over our ancester's side of the cemetery.  We also felt we needed to find out where the evil Jardins were buried.  Aha!  Clear on the other end of the cemetery...far, far, away from the Dinwoodie gravesite.    Got to keep these feuding families away from each other...even in death.

The next stop of the day, was a visit to the Dinwoodie Mains which is still standing with our family crest proudly and  boldly displayed above the front door.  After that, we had to go see the spot where the family sheep farm was at one time and a Roman fort.  Of course, the old family farm is no longer held in family hands.  However, we were given permission to hike up the hill, through the pooping sheep and cattle, through three firmly fastened cattle gates and...did I mention all the sheep...stuff and the cow pies?  However, at the top of the hill/mountain, we did get a wonderful view from where a Roman fort used to exist.  We could see raised mounds that looked like they could be covering earlier foundations on a spot where one could see what was coming from all directions.   I'm sure that by the time we hiked back down that hill/mountain, our guide Donny must have thought we'd need rescuing.  Too bad he didn't call out the rescue helicopters.  We might have met Prince William.

We'd planned to eat lunch at Dinwoodie Lodge and Inn,  but...it was closed for the day so we proceeded to a different restaurant called, Hullabaloo.  The food was wonderful and my cousin ordered herself some Fraoch, or heather beer, brewed in Scotland since 2000 BC.  Of course, BW Babe and I were so intrigued by the label on the this beer, we each ordered some Fraoch for ourselves.  It was VERY good.  I'm going to try to bring our empty bottles back home with us...but...I may just have to settle for a picture due to the weight limitations for our inner country flight on Sunday.

Our last stop of the day, with our guide and driver, was to the Ruthwell Cross.  A John Linton Dinwiddie (possible relative?) was the minister of the church where the Ruthwell Cross has been protected and preserved and was the author of the history of the Cross.  Interestingly enough, we also discovered a gravestone just outside the church with the name of James Dinwoodie on it.  It was very difficult to read.  We all took pictures but...we'll have to see what turns up.  I know that HTP has a pretty good record with using technical tools to clean up the image enough to read the gravestone.  T-Square informs me that he hasn't heard of John Linton Dinwiddie and I'm not sure at all that the second gentleman is in his database either.

Donny dropped us all off at the hotel, promising to pick us up tomorrow for a tour of Hadrian's Wall.  My cousin and her husband's friend REALLY wants to see it so we'll be postponing any further visitations with past family members until Friday. 

In the meantime, BW Babe and our cousin did some research on several pubs within walking distance of our hotel.  We took off on foot for The Globe Inn, a favorite haunt of Robert Burns but got a bit lost so asked for some directions.  Thank goodness.  We'd passed right on by it.  Unfortunately, this particular inn wasn't serving meals that night so...we just took a little look see before departing for The Queensbury Pub.  The atmosphere was pretty good but the peas were awful...ly salty.  We'd wanted fish and chips but they only had enough for BW Babe and me.  I'll still take a Wisconsin fishfry over tonight's meal anyday.  The food was OK but...oh well,   I doubt we'll go back, however the Tennets beer, a Scottish beer, tasted very good.

By the time we walked back to the hotel for night, my feet were on their last legs.  Actually, I think my legs were on their last hips....and so on and so forth.   It's been a long day and it's time to call it quits as I find myself dozing with my laptop on my lap, writing cordless on the bed so BW Babe can have her chance at the desk with her laptop.

Random Quote of the Day

To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)