Day 8 - Dunfermline and Edinburgh

The Firth of Forth Bridges

As I said before, Day 7 was unfortunately a bust. Not sure what I've come down with but it is very similar to what Junior Green brought to Tennessee last year. (I'm calling it JUVID22 - Junior Viral Disease 2022.) Then, I didn't eat for nearly a week and lost 10 lbs (which I put on in about another week). Anyway, this has really sapped what little stamina remained after the Covid. But today is checkout day here at Oak Cottage and so I must muster the effort. For the next two nights we will reside in Edinburgh near Holyrood Palace at the foot of the Royal Mile.

To get to Dumfermline Abbey, we must cross the Firth of Forth on the new Queensferry Crossing. On my first trip with Alex back in 2003, we left out of Edinburgh headed north. We stopped at South Queensferry for a fabulous view of the Forth Road and Rail Bridges. The Forth Rail Bridge (often referred to as simply the Forth Bridge seeing it was the first to cross the Firth of Forth) was constructed in 1890! The world's first major steel structure, it still holds the record as the world’s longest cantilever bridge. In 2015, UNESCO named it the sixth World Heritage site in Scotland.

The Forth Road Bridge was opened in 1964 and has one of the longest main spans at 3300 feet. Not long after I crossed, the bridge was deemed to have surpassed its capacity. It was closed for repairs and when it reopened it was designated as a dedicated Public Transport Corridor, no longer accessible to commoners but restricted to buses and taxis.

The Queensferry Crossing was opened in 2015 and is a modern cable stayed design. The 1.7 mile structure is the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world. I trust it will be there when next I cross the Firth.

Dunfermline Abbey

Dunfermline Abbey is one of the must sees on Cissy's list. Dunfermline Abbey occupies the site of an ancient Chancel and Transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation and permitted to fall into disrepair. The roots of the Abbey can be traced back to the reign of David I (who just happens to be my 26^th great-grandfather). In the mid 11^th century, Malcolm III (my 27^th great-granduncle) named Dunfermline the de facto capital of Scotland and from this time on, the Kings of Scotland were interred there. And so, on his death in 1329, Robert the Bruce was buried there. And that's why we are here!

We first entered the east processional doorway into what was the original church, knowns as Queen Margaret's Church built c.1072. This area today is bare fo furnishings though it contains some lovely stain glass window. These were assuredly added much later than the original church. This is now the Nave of the Abbey.

At the east end of the Nave is a screen and door that leads to the Transepts, Choir and Apse which were added to the Nave in the period of 1126-50. The Choir and Apse were modified and when completed in 1250, included a Shrine to St. Margaret. The Lady Chapel was added in the 14th century completing the Abbey. Only this portion of the Abby is used for worship today.

The ruins to the south of the Abbey are the sights of the Chapter house and Cloister.

The Abbey as it currently stands is quite beautiful. The window above the Shrine is a large depiction of the Last Supper. Two of the faces of on this window are the two creators. I'm not sure which is which, but I'm pretty sure neither is Judas. The Abbet is adorned with many banners and includes a very impressive pipe organ. At the time we were there, the organist was playing a familiar melody. I finally identified it as "All You Need is Love". The docent explained that he was practicing for a wedding on the morrow.

Many of the windows in the Abbey were donated by Andrew Carnegie. While he made his fortune in America, he was born in a lowly weaver's cottage in Dunfermline in 1835.

As we were leaving the Abbey, it being the docent's lunch hour, John inquired where we might find a simple soup for lunch. We were directed out the front gate, half a block on the left to the open doors. This was the church's luncheon kitchen were we could pick up a cup of soup with some crusty bread and a drink for a mere £3 each. Turns out it doesn't take much charm to get a second bowl. And the soup of the day was an excellent carrot and coriander.

The docent also recommended that we pay a visit to Culross Abbey, a sister Abbey just to the south. The abbey was founded in 1217 by Malcolm I, Earl of Fife.

Culross Abbey & the Royal Burgh of Culrose

Before returning, stopped for a brief visit to the The Royal Burgh of Culross. Not only was in a thriving In the 17th century port, but it was also used for many of the street scenes in the series Outlander.

In Cissy and John's ramble through the burgh, they came across a fellow Tennessean in the Town House. Larah Graham had attended Tennessee Tech in Cookeville. Her husband was a native Scot working in the U. S. as an Electrical Engineer. They decided to return to Scotland where he took up his life long passion as a photographer. She owned the Graham Harris Graham - Fine Art Photography studio that displayed and sold her husbands work.



After our brief visit to Culross, we proceeded back across the Queensferry Crossing to our new base of operations in Edinburgh near the Holyrood Palace. Unfortunately, my continuing illness resulted in my self imposed quarantine on our next day, Friday. My next post will be day 10.