Edinburgh, Scotland We started out with great ambitions today, booked on a tour that would take us to the Holy Island, Lindisfarne. The priory on this island was a prime target of the Viking raiders, who thought those monks had a great gift shop. It was going to be a long day, but we were very eager to see this famous place, where Saint Aidan founded his monastery in 635AD.
About 45 minutes into our trip, the guide announced that we wouldn’t be going to the Holy Island, as the tides would not be in our favor, and we wouldn’t make be able to make it out.
This was a problem, as the other sights on the agenda were rather second-rate. We were not happy,
But Don, despite the steam coming out of both ears, came up with a solution. Rather than spend the next 9 hours in the van to nowhere, he arranged to have us left off at the noteworthy Berwick-upon-Tweed train station, where we caught a quick train back to Edinburgh.
Our new goal for the day was a visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia, docked just down the road in the Firth of Forth. (We did check to make sure they hadn’t moved it recently.) Access to it was well-concealed in the middle of a mall, but we finally found the way in.
While it may have seemed homey to the royals, any habitation that takes 240 people to get you from place to place might be considered a bit excessive by some, which is why it is no longer sailing the seven seas. Going around the globe 44 times was possibly quite enough. If I remember the scene in “The Crown” properly, when John Major announced that Parliament would not cough up the million some pounds to update and refurbish the yacht, there was no question of the royal family dipping into their own pockets.
Oh well, it’s still great fun to see it as it was in Queen Elizabeth’s day. Every level of those who sailed on the Britannia is viewable, and things get progressively more humble as one went down in rank.
Let’s start with the Queen. We saw her favorite sunroom and deck, plus her bedroom and office.
Philip has his own space too.
Then there was the only suite with a double bed, given over to Charles and Diana on their honeymoon.
The Commander lived well, and then the accommodations got progressively more humble below him. But no matter what, bars and drinks were available to all. Every level had some type of lounge area, but it was certainly preferable to be an officer. The sick bay and laundry facilities were impressive, and everything was polished to the nines.
On formal occasions, the Queen had a large drawing room available, adjoining the formal dining room.
Here are some other moments that give a feel for life lived on the royal yacht.
To sum it all up, we will let the Queen speak:
Don’s Food Corner
On the way back from the aborted trip to Holy Island, which I had been looking forward to for months, we stopped for a little hot food at the Waverly train station and then made our way to the Britannia. The first stop there was the on-board tea room.
This lovely room had a very nice menu, but we didn’t have full meals. Instead, Jo had a slice of carrot cake and a ginger beer and tea. I had an embellished cream tea, with a little egg salad sandwich added to the obligatory scone and tea.
The egg salad was great — although not as great as those egg salad sandwiches in Japan.
And then on to the scone. A “fruit” scone today, meaning raisins and “sultanas,” the Brit version of golden raisins. It turned out to be the best scone of the trip. Nice crisp exterior with a dense but moist interior. It also had an impressive height. Not a hint of a bitter baking powder after taste. This was, in all regards, correct. I complimented the waitress on the scone’s perfection. She said that she knew they were made fresh every day in the on-board kitchen. You could tell someone knew what they were doing when they made it. I assume the royal family enjoyed similar scones of such a high standard. I’m giving it a solid A, because I’m still holding out hope for an A+.
Just a few more days to find one.
Finally you found your scone. YAY!
The tides were not in your favour? Don’t they know those things way in advance and actually print out tables of them, they are known so well?
Anyway Britannia seems like an excellent alternative, very interesting. The tea room also a great choice. It’s a shame she had to give up one of the places where she felt so comfortable, she worked so hard.
I had the same thought about the tide tables. They say they sent us a email re the change in plans. Unfortunately we never got one. Currently the senior concierge at the Intercontinental is rattling their cage for us.