The dramatic skyline with black, or rather, sooty gothic buildings and spires in Edinburgh held promise of an interesting stay, and invalidated our need to venture farther into Inverness or Lochness. Instead we opted to drive northwards to East Lothian to see the Tantallon Castle which is perched on a promontory, not unlike descriptions in Enid Blyton's books I read in school. Toby’s Carvery in Corstophine, with its 6.99 GBP dinners, offered great value for money when our carnivorous cravings surged. After all, the 20-minute walk from Holiday Inn where we lodged was good excuse for us to pile on the protein-rich servings. Not that the English meal didn't satisfy, but my Asian taste buds did work up my appetite when we strolled past a Chinese restaurant called Wong's. Thankfully, the Hong Kong cuisine was authentic.
Apart from the backdrop of unusual skyline and smouldering wintry air which is perhaps well-used by movie producers, I can still hear engines booming from race cars.
En route to the castle, the traffic jam had us wondering. I had not expected traffic congestion in a spacious country like Scotland. It eventually became clear in the foggy and chilly afternoon that one lane was completely blocked to prevent dangerous overtaking, and this was enforced by one single vehicle that paced overtaking vehicles. I clung to the hanger holder as my husband drove up the slope in foggy visibility. “We’re on the road to heaven!” I exclaimed. “Not yet” was my husband’s confident stance on his driving skill.
Braving the high and cold winds, I laboured through the stairwell of the castle, a mid-14th-century fortress. The view from the top was every bit worth the breathless struggle up. I was quite sure that I could have collapsed along the steps up, but for the narrowness of the spiral stairwell. The pit prison hinted of how the biblical Joseph, the favourite son of Jacob, suffered in his days in the dungeon.
I never understood the significance of the iconic 100-year St Andrew’s Cathedral back home in Singapore until I stood smack in the middle of, presumably, the original, in Scotland. Standing on a massive compound complete with burial grounds, and a pigeon house, it dwarfs its replica back home. Built in 1158, the building is estimated to be 390 feet long. To call it god-forsaken would not do it justice since it still attracts several visitors who came protected in heavily padded winter wear.
Sadly, my external dock drive crashed and the memory of our Scotland trip was mostly wiped out. Nonetheless, I hope your imagination can afford you a glimpse into this piece of intriguing ancient history where real life was likely more dramatic than those you sampled in Netflix.
Yes, the visit to the United Kingdom, at least, the landscapes and seascapes was a great escape from the mundane (though it may mean something else to people trapped in castles long, long ago). Yea, we’ll not be driving straight to heaven till we’ve seen more of this side of heaven.
[A page from my April 2014 journal]
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