Rosslyn Chapel and Roslin Village

We decided for our first trip as a family of 5 - other than to something necessary, like the shops - was going to be a beautiful hike around the ruined castle and scenic village of Roslin.

The route 15 just so happened to run all the way there - mostly. We learned the difference between all the way there and mostly is huge when you have 3 kids under the age of 6.

It drops you off at Gawkley Moss roundabout. You can walk along the major highway or take a footpath/cycle path off road, which we did. Apparently mid July is the perfect time to go as there were hundreds of wild raspberry canes dripping with fruit. My eldest son and I stuffed ourselves with raspberries while everyone else marched ahead and then waited impatiently just beyond where we could see them.

We also saw a horse which thrilled the children.

The air was so fresh compared to Edinburgh in July. The views of the Pentlands and the rolling hills of the Borders were amazing!

We got to the village of Roslin and ate our sandwiches on benches by the war memorial.

Then we walked up to Rosslyn Chapel and began 'the real hike' - the one we had come to take. The first hour wasn't so bad. We visited the ruined castle, where it started to rain, so we sheltered under a tree and watched the rain billow over the vale below the castle.

We should have stopped there.

But we pressed on. The boys were desperate to find 'Wallace's Cave' - a secret hideout on the far side of the river where William Wallace was supposed to have hidden before a major battle. We have been reading a book about William Wallace in homeschool.

So I had just grabbed my normal shoes that morning without thinking, without any treads or grip to speak of. We began squelching through mud and one moment I'm 'showing the boys how to walk around the mud without slipping' and then I was on my butt in the mud - not once but twice!

Luckily I wasn't carrying the baby but I was terrified the bus driver wouldn't let the new, muddy me on the bus!

and there were giant stumps

I managed to scrape most of it off and we walked under the stone arch holding up the castle's foundations to a river side walk but it just got muddier and muddier. We had to crawl along on fence posts at one point. At another point the path was overgrown with hogweed - common or giant I have no idea but we gave up at that point.

We were pretty desperate for real toilets at this point so we bought the extortionately expensive tickets into Rosslyn Chapel to use the visitor centre's toilets which are really almost worth it - they're so nice and clean! I got tidied up from the mud incident, D got a coffee, the boys planed the Rosslyn Chapel version of 'shoots and ladders' (yes they had a personalized board game) and built an arch and did some mazes and doodling. There were also costumes but the boys weren't interested. We bought some Mars Bar cake and the nice cafe people filled up our water bottles for us for free.

We hit the chapel a bit past our prime but managed to stay for a 'Visit from a Knight talking about Armor' which was fun and only slightly inaccurate, according to D. Even I was dubious about the knight claiming the 'kettle helmet' was used to cook soup in though further research shows the British Museum has a kettle helmet that looks like it might have been converted for such a use though others disagree https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/BMTRB_5_Hood_et_al.pdf.

The interior of the chapel is lovely and the boys particularly enjoyed hearing the story of the Apprentice's Column - they demanded to hear it twice!

Durham

Durham is famous for its cathedral which was recently ranked the top cathedral in the UK. This city is on the fast train route to London so it is easy to access. With the cathedral, castle, and riverside walks there feels like loads to cram into a day trip - or a series of day trips!

Fast facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh: 125 miles
• Using public transport: 1 hr and 46 minutes
• History: It has been in continuous use as a city since at least the 900's with the body of St. Cuthbert being brought to rest and the eventual rise of the cathedral and castle following this.
• What there is to do: visit the cathedral and the castle, many beautiful walks, Krispy Kreme's

Pros

• One of the best cathedrals in the UK to visit
• great castle tour available
• lots of quaint, English brick houses
• good transport links
• clean bathrooms
• lots of places to eat
• wonderful walks
• not too busy

Cons

• lots of hills - quite tiring to get lost here!
• lots of construction - including work on a new Odeon cinema - which caused the area to be harder to navigate and of course smelled very much of pollution
• the signage and street layout could be marked a little better
• it's a student town and there were parts that felt like they weren't kept up very well

one of my favorite attractions - a Krispy Kreme's on the hill road up to the old part of town!

beautiful riverside walks

Day Trip: Linlithgow

Linlithgow has the most interesting church in terms of blending old and new. Within easy striking distance of Edinburgh, Linlithgow castle is a fun one to go to on a medieval tournament day! 

Fast facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh: 19 miles
• Using public transport: 20 minutes
• History: Mary Queen of Scots was born here
• What there is to do: visit the church and the castle

Pros:

• The castle is an easy walk from the train station
• The train is quite direct
• The castle is on the Historic Scotland pass
• It does not feel like an overwhelming amount to see and do - unlike Stirling Castle for example

Cons:

• The castle is so ruinous that it is hard to imagine it ever being a cozy home - it is freezing even in June!

Day Trip: Holy Island, Lindisfarne

Holy Island is the site of the first Viking attack. With a castle, a ruined monastery and several beaches complete with an icecream truck, what more could you want in a day trip? This is one of our favorite places to go for the day.

Fast Facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh: 70 miles but some of it is under water periodically so check your tide schedule carefully when planning this trip!

• Using public transport: 2 hours and 12 minutes

• History: St Aidan established a monastery in 635 AD

• What there is to do: explore the hills surrounding Lindisfarne Castle, stack pebbles on the rocky beach, visit the church and the ruined monastery and imagine the Viking attack!

• Tip: after getting of the train in Berwick-upon-Tweed, coerce all family members especially kids to use the toilet before getting on the bumpy bus to Holy Island!

The church is well worth a visit - and free! This awesome live-size sculpture didn't impress our youngest but we thought it was a fascinating nod to the history.

Do not miss out on the lovely beaches - some sides of the island are all pebbles but near where the monks went out to pray there is a lovely sandy beach.

The toilets are reasonably clean and free at the bus stop. We have never actually gone into the castle, which is of Victorian origins, but it looks beautiful.

Day Trip: Arniston House

Arniston House is a hard-to-find gem tucked away in the wilds along the Border Railway. What is really special is you get a guided tour by the owner so it is a must-see! Full of rich history and everything a historic house should have - amazing artwork, tapestries, painstakingly redone wallpapers. Sir Walter Scott dined here. Much of the stonework which might have been discarded and lost forever from the old Scottish Parliament has been preserved at Arniston. When the new parliament building reopened, Arniston re-gifted stonework.

Fast Facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh:  13 miles
• Using public transport: 1 hour and 20 minutes but quite a lot of this is walking from the train station!
• History: this land originally belonged the Knight Templar and then the Knights of St. John. Their stone keep was knocked down to be replaced with the beautiful house which has been in the Dundas family for 400 years! They were one of the most influential families in Scotland in the 1700's.
• What there is to do: walk the fairytale woodlands, explore the stream, play spot the stonework, admire ancient trees, walk around the outside of the house (the owner has stashed some guided tours on printer paper in the foyer which we read while we walked), and take the tour of the house! The owner and her daughter take turns doing parts of the guided tours which are fascinating and riddled with family lore!

Pros:

• Beautiful gardens and woodlands
• Historic house
• Famous artists
• Convenient benches out front for picnicking
• Clean bathrooms attached to the stableyard
• the owner herself guides the tour

Cons:

• This would not be a good day trip on a rainy day as there is a long hike involved and most of what you can see is outside - you only go inside for the scheduled tours
• Also not good if you are having problems walking long distances. I am sure we must have clocked at least 7 miles between walking from the train station to the house, all around the gardens and house for hours, and then back to the station.
• Tours only take place during summer months on certain days of the week and at certain times - it can be tricky to schedule it in!

Day Trip: Dunfermline

Dunfermline is best on a good day when the leaves are on the trees or just starting to fall. There is nothing more magical than walking through the Glen and seeing the old church loom up through the foliage or stumbling upon Malcolm's tower in the undergrowth. You feel like you can bump into history anywhere and everywhere in Dunfermline. One of the best medieval fairs in Scotland is the Bruce Festival, but it has not been held in several years.

Quick facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh: 45 miles

• Using public transport: 35 minutes minimum including a train ride over the Firth of Forth which small boys will love!

• History: Dunfermline was the royal seat and the capital of Scotland until the 17th century. It is still the 10th largest population cluster in Scotland.

• What there is to do: ramble through the Glen or Pittencrief Park with the foundations of a tower built by Malcolm Canmore, who defeated Macbeth and married St. Margaret. The ruins of the palace and connecting abbey, and the chapel where parts of Robert the Bruce are buried, are well worth a visit.

You can find wobbly rocks

And poke into old churches. Bruce's heart is supposedly buried under the altar part of this one!

The following are from the Bruce Festival, held in Pittencrief Park in August 2009:

this talented horseman is riding two horses at once!

the best 'Children's Army' event ever!

And it was of course an excuse to dress up in costume

Day Trip: Sweetheart Abbey

This ruins is deeply romantic even without the name. On the historic Scotland pass, the abbey is outwith the 'central belt' section of Scotland. We were in Dumfries and Rockcliffe and decided to visit the abbey. I do not know if it is worth making the trek unless you are already in the area but as old church connoisseurs, we enjoyed it.

Quick facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh:  80 miles
• Using public transport: 2 and a half hours
• History: founded in the 1200's in memory of Lady Dervorgilla's husband, John Balliol, the abbey was named Dulce Cor. An order of Cistercian monks built it and lived there till the Reformation. The abbey is part of Historic Scotland.
• What there is to do: stroll around the inside of the abbey, then go through the gate and walk around the beautiful fields but watch out for the clingy sheep!

the funniest part was that these sheep wouldn't stop following us around

the old wall which the monks built

there were beautiful flowers in the fields around

It is amazingly well preserved for a ruins

Other things in the area

there USED to be the Costume Museum in this lovely old ancestral home - but they closed it in 2011 or so! Luckily you can view a lot of the treasures of historical dress in the National Museum in Edinburgh now - but I do miss this quaint old house

This old mill with a working water wheel

beautiful beaches - do not be put off by names like Rockcliffe!

Bamburgh Castle Day Trip

Bamburgh really has it all: a beach, a castle, a quaint English town, and the best ice cream. It feels off the normal tourist track and although the castle isn't one of the giants of British castles for history, size or importance, you can definitely spend an hour or three wandering the fascinating exhibitions!

Note: we went in April so our pictures aren't as good as others online - just type in Bamburgh Castle for some great sunsets etc!

Fast Facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh: 76 miles
• Using public transport: 1 hour and 47 minutes
• History: an Egyptian in the second century wrote about Bamburgh. Nomadic tribes wandered this site and Romans used the hilltop position of the castle for their beacon system but it was really in the 6th century that Bamburgh's recorded history begins as the royal seat for the Bernician monarchs. Bamburgh is also famous for the Bamburgh beast. King Oswald brought Christianity to his lands by inviting St. Aiden to come and teach them.
• What there is to do: explore the walls and the interiors, walk along the beach, stroll through the English village, eat the best icecream.
• Website: http://www.bamburghcastle.com/castle.php

Pros

• Space in the castle for picnicking
• The castle's ballroom/great hall was the best, with the weapon collections in glass cases and the musician's balcony
• The beach can be lovely to walk
• ice cream trucks seem to park there year round and the tea shops sell icecream as well

The view from the castle to the islands is amazing - Holy Island can be seen on a good day!

Cons

• It can be freezing at Bamburgh even on a sunny day
• Even the tea room is freezing

inside the castle scullery