In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry learned to fly. It was filmed at Alnwick Castle where they hold broomstick flying lessons. I was too big.
I started the day heading through the square with it’s cross and viking dragon ship
But before I went in I decided to do a wander to see the castle from afar.
Was the lion’s tail a directional signal or was he simple “happy”?
That’s about as close to fall foliage one gets in Britain. No sugar maples.
This home has been lived in for hundreds of years and is quite spectacular. It’s closed for a few months starting late October when the family returns. What must it be like to live in a place so old, enormous and full of history? Sitting where a grand dad sat some 800 years before you? Boggles the mind.
Hotspur. Henry Percy
The most disappointing part is the interior tour because photos are not allowed and security is everywhere.
But even on a mid October morning the surrounding gardens were brilliant
The treehouse is a restaurant
And as Nov. 11 approaches, and this, the one hundred anniversary of the end of WWI, poppy wearing silhouettes of soldiers dot the country
A nice terraced water display suddenly came alive!
The guard house for the Poison Garden. Really
Many of the plants in this garden are found all over the UK and in America too. A good reminder to know a plant before ingesting it.
I grew the datura or trumpet flower when I lived in Wareham Ma. I did not know it is also called Jimsonweed after the first English settlement in America, Jamestown. During a period of famine some of the inhabitants ate this plant and had violent hallucinations and were locked up for their own security
And the beautiful Caster bean plant produces the deadly toxin ricin. I pictured a large display of them in a post of Beamish Village.
I can’t recall which one this is. Maybe Khat. but it is secured in a tight cage so it must be powerful
And yes, I did ponder how I might inconspicuously slip a bud of this cannabis into my pocket to no avail. As the group moved on and I lingered, a woman came up and said “nice buds!” We joined the group.
The treehouse restaurant had a nice warm fire burning inside.
Ingenous and simple way to keep the water out
Never know when you’ll need the good carriage.
In the wee military museum I saw Incident on Temple Cliffs, Aden 1967
This wraps up another short wander of only 40 days. I was disappointed that once again a medical issue brought this trip to a premature close. Getting old allows the time to see our world that we worked our whole lives so we one day could but it sure is hard when your mind is so much younger than your body. Pain from the hernia surgery is much worse than pre-operation and right up there with a kidney stone which is about as much pain as I’ve ever felt. From here I’ll work my way to Edinburgh and then jump to Dublin for the flight back to the US.
Just walking Edinburgh streets I couldn’t recall walking before when I saw this sign. That meant it was a Belhaven owned pub not a free house and since Dunbar is less than an hour away, I had my hopes set on the Best Brew in the World, Belhaven Scottish Ale. For a decade or so I had a barrel of this nectar in a kegger in my house. Come home from work and pour a quick 6 oz or a pint depending on which fit. Beer heaven. Many of my older friend will recall their satisfaction once they had tasted this Best of Belhaven (not to be confused with the good but not nearly as good Belhaven Best). Alas, it turns out I might have been in that moment the only person in Scotland and outside the brewery itself who had ever tasted Scottish Ale as I was informed it is export only!
But along the way I did get to celebrate another Red Sox win to get the Boys of Summer back to the World Series half 5 AM in the airport with my oilskin cap and hand sewn “B” & the last good pint of “G” for awhile. Guinness really does taste better in Ireland and the UK than in the US.
Ireland in the morning
Stewart international also in the morning. The 7 hour flight takes about 2 on the clock.
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