Looking for Witches in Witchcraig Woods

Back to regular programming with the adventures - Missy and I had a busy weekend (hubby was working, but its never stopped us before!) and we started off with the Korean War Memorial and Witchcraig Woodland. Its neatly tucked away around the back of Beecraigs and parking is simply a lay-by in front of the (rather decorative) gate.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a Korean War memorial, but wasn't disappointed at the pagoda that neatly listed all 1100 men who were killed in the war. Poppies and wreaths had been laid, to show they were not forgotten, and the air had that calm tranquil element to it that is unique in places of respect. After paying ours, Missy was keen to explore the woodland and we decided to explore the trails that snaked off from the main path.

First we went to the viewpoint (I felt that their promise of being able to see Arron was a bit too keen) before losing the afternoon to wondering down deer and rabbit trails in the sun. We briefly saw some cyclists, but mostly had the place to ourselves which was a nice way to spend the day. Missy enjoyed herself tremendously, leading the way and weaving through gorse in the hunt for rabbits. 

Certainly worth a revisit - it was large enough that I didn't feel I was having to add to the walk to justify the drive and there was plenty for the humans to look at too. A win win!

Today was the Besieged at Direlton event and I managed to organise a family get together to go along. Fur cousin Maisie with my brother and his friend, my mum and eldest niece (14).  The event was more successful than my last attempt, mostly because the temperature stayed below 20C, and it was nice e getting to hang out with the older contingent of the family. It was already well stated on the cards that if Maisie took umbridge to the gunfire we'd default to Tantallon Castle or Yellowcraig beach and I was pleased to see my brother copy my lead of sitting well away from the muscat fire and slowly working nearer as she got more confident.

I have previously mentioned that I find the screen generation hard but, as my niece ran about trying to get *the* instagram shot of herself in the castle, I realised she was very easy to get along with these days. I simply had to suggest what I thought would look cool and she suggested what she thought would be neat and between us we got a lot of photos taken and a happy teenager!

And yes, we did manage to get *the* shot!

Owing to the gun displays, whilst dog friendly, the sieges never seem to attract many dogs and Missy was an instant hit. She cosied up to ankles, wiggled under benches for pets and even stood up to ask for some cuddles. My brother, whilst enjoys reenactments, doesn't go for the chatting to random people bit of things, so Missy had a monopoly on it as we worked our way about the village. She was particularly enamoured with a chap who was helping with the cookfire (and he her) and throughout the day he kept coming over and commenting on her temperament and posing skills.

We got a lot of laughs by a wheelbarrow of limbs - I was telling Missy to say "bring out your dead!" in my best Monty Python impression and a couple started whaling with laughter with the idea Missy might steal a limb and run amok with it.

That never happened, I'm not sure if I'm relieved or disappointed! 

Once we hit the heat of the day we decided to all go to Yellowcriag beach - one of the nicest beaches in Edinburgh and always very popular when sunny! My brother got lost trying to find the place that was literally a mile away and got parked at completely the opposite end to us. We had a good laugh about it as we tried to find one another and both dogs got their paws wet.  My niece and myself where the only ones to go paddling, the rest of them are clearly just old bores!

The day took a turn for the worse though after O got a call from my husband saying he was in a cab to A and E on account of cutting his hand open when at work. Thankfully once cleaned it was deemed that no stitches were required, but still, gave me a fright. He's to keep it dry for a week and watch out for any swelling or discharge (read that as I will be keeping said eye out!). It didn't spoil a good day, and he's enjoying the excuse to get some chocolate ice cream and 'sulk' over it. It's the best humoured sulk I've ever seen, but I will leave him to it all the same!

Starting a big sewing project this week, so hopefully I'll have some items to unveil for next post, until then!

Prepare to give Fire!

Its that time of year when all the activities and events are on - and with the tremendously good weather, I've found myself wanting to do all of them! Today, my friend, Missy and I did the Prepare to give Fire! event at Dirleton Castle. Ironically, it wasn't that long ago I last visited this castle, but it seemed worth the trip as the other Historic Scotland events this weekend were at non-doggy castles.

Right from the start it was a scorching day and, sunscreen liberally applied, we arrived early and got a chance to chat with the reinactors - they're great people, and are always friendly. Missy stole cuddles off of a chap in a very dandy hat and enjoyed getting fussed over. They all checked if Missy would be alright with the noise and, after explaining that the only thing that upset her last year at the Seige on the Forth was the petard, they all agreed that it was the noisiest and reassured me that whilst it was on display, there wasn't any intention of setting it off.

There was the canon demonstration at midday, so we watched that before looking about the castle. With us both being into out photography, I'm ashamed to say that we took more photos of the flowers than the castle itself! It was a nice break getting into the cool castle and then it was back into the sun to meet the barber surgeon.

Lets put it this way, with or without medical help, chances were you weren't going to make it - getting help was probably a more painful way to go!

We found a nice cool spot under some trees and chilled out together until two when it was the musket demonstration. Whilst Missy was absolutely fine temperature wise, she had clearly had enough by that point. I'm not going to complain that its too hot (no one wants to be that person), but what it has been is simply too long and she's been getting tired easily. My friend suggested the beach and, with Yellowcraigs only a mile away, it seemed like a great idea.

We may make a beach dog out of her yet! Getting into some cool water is exactly what she needed and we all had fun splashing about in the shallows. The waves are still too daunting for her, but she certainly went deeper this time before playing with the other dogs about the beach.

A perfect end to the day!

Revisiting Castles

We've previously done Tantallon and Dirleton Castle before, and revisited them this weekend as part of my brothers birthday celebration. He purchased a Historic Scotland pass last year and is now working on getting all the castles in the central belt ticked off the list, so doing these two together seemed like a great idea.

The har almost hid Bass Rock from us

We had a panic about the weather as there had been lightning storms forecast for the weekend and then heavy rain was predicted for the day, so had made a back up option for the Seabird Centre (which I have only discovered now is dog friendly, so expect to see that in the future!) but thankfully the weather pulled through for us. We had some stunning har when we first arrived but it blew over in about 20 minutes to reveal a beautiful day.

Lunch was called for whilst in Tantallon, which was the first castle we did, and we enjoyed a picnic in a lovely sunny spot in the courtyard before moving onto Dirleton where we managed to catch the bulk of a 'Men at Arms' talk about medieval weaponry and life which was incredibly interesting (even though the thought of hurling burning piglet carcasses at the enemy was a bit revolting!). The chap running the show was great and did photos afterwards, my mum wanted a shot with him and, upon my request to pretend he was stabbing her, we got a terrific photo. Good times!

And then back to my mums for cake and take away - a very good ending for the day!

The weekend was finished with visiting friends in town. I had a moment of panic about whether Missy would be allowed on the replacement bus, but there was no problem at all. I popped over to the Meadows Festival as I had time to kill and we saw popped over to the Edinburgh Dog and Cat home stall and chatted away to the staff. Missy also found the fire brigade stand and decided that she was going to go and have cuddles there, so I had to make small talk in order to keep the dog happy!

I met up with my friends at the Holyrood 9a and their twins, now 4, are at that fantastic age where they can actually talk, and it's all sweet ramblings. Both are enamoured with Missy who, as I've said before, is very good with small kids. We then managed a walk around the 'mountain' (Arthurs Seat) and went looking for trolls in the hedges. After that we went back to theirs and the hubby joined us for dinner after work and we all stayed up far too late.

Tired today, but absolutely worth it!

Tantallon Castle and Dirleton Castle and Gardens

It's been a weekend for castles!

Missy loves looking out of windows

The hubby decided he wanted to see a real 'proper' castle and, thanks to our Historic Scotland passes, I found Tantallon. It had a (dry) moat, check, had seen actual battles, check, held a defensive position, check, and wasn't originally built as a palace, check. And as a bonus, there was another castle and gardens (Dirleton) just around the corner to justify the hour drive to get out to North Berwick.

Tantallon Castle

Tantallon is an imposing castle. It grips onto the edge of the cliff like a broken gargoyle, its ruined state mostly due to Cromwells efforts to invade Scotland and the fact that a Royalist band had set up in Tantallon and were disrupting his communication lines. It was mostly held by the notorious Douglas' and its ownership history makes interesting reading. It was refreshingly free of references to Mary Queen of Scots, which makes a nice change!

Bass Rock visible to the left

This was a great site for Missy. There was a quarter mile walk from the car park where we let her off the lead, and the grounds itself is obviously home to fleets of bunnies and voles - her nose didn't stop twitching for the whole visit. There was a multitude of narrow winging stairs, and the other dog owners complimented Missy's mastery of them - I was bemused to meet a German Shepherd that apparently couldn't manage them at all, I had always assumed the smaller breeds would have struggled more!

The winding stairs are worth it. The views from atop the castle are stunning. Bass Rock (home to millions of gannets) can be easily seen out at sea and Berwick Law dominates the inland landscape. I could have spent longer getting pictures, but after stopping for lunch, we decided to move onto Dirleton before the weather turned.

Direlton Castle and Grounds is exactly the kind of castle the hubby had been meaning when he said we hadn't done a proper castle. Built in peaceful times in the 1200s, it was to a show of wealth. Saying that, it has seen its fair share of battle, surviving two wars of independence before Cromwell came along and finished the job, leaving it a ruin. Like most castles, it has been added to over time and is a rabbit warren or old and new parts (or slightly less old, really).

The huge dovecot

 It does have a drawbridge though and perhaps one of the most beautiful dovecots I've ever seen that would have housed 2000 birds in its day. The grounds are beautifully kept as well and Missy was incredibly perplexed at the bowling match we saw taking place. I tried explaining to her that the balls were not bunnies, but I don't think she quite believed me and just stood completely on point and alert.

 

Whilst the stairs are not quite as tight or winding as Tantallon, they are quite uneven and had become rather slippery in the light drizzle. As a result, we decided to let Missy off the lead on the stairs, one of us going ahead to catch her at the other end and clip her back on. The steps leading to the pit (or dungeon) were particularly uneven and the only one she struggled on, but I suspect that was intended in the original design of them!

 

All in all a great day. We called it quits at just the right time as the drive home was in torrential rain and now we're all enjoying some nice hot tea whilst Missy is snoring away on the sofa beside me.

It has made me want to do some more of North Berwick, I did a boat ride out to Bass Rock when I was a kid and fancy doing it again, and Yellowcraigs, the local beach, is perhaps one of the nicest in Edinburgh. If the summer decides to get its act in gear and be nice for more than a morning, we might manage another day trip!

Until next time!