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Edinburgh, Scotland Nearby our hotel is the beautiful National Portrait Gallery, always worthy of a visit.

Edinburgh, Scotland Today we explored more of the National Museum of Scotland, to see what could top Dolly. We were most interested in our friends the Vikings, but ended up starting a little earlier in history — with prehistory.

Edinburgh, Scotland We ended our day at the National Museum of Scotland, greeting the world’s most famous sheep. Dolly was the world’s first cloned mammal, born in Edinburgh and proudly preserved here.

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 wereContinue reading “A rather unholy day”

Edinburgh, Scotland Today we walked the Royal Mile, the ridge where people have lived before recorded history. At its top was the perfect place to place a castle, and to start our walk. We have toured the castle previously, and have also been here on the esplanade when the Military Tattoo was gloriously paraded.

Edinburgh, Scotland We took the train north to Edinburgh today, and it felt nice to be back in a place with so many memories.

Beamish, outside of Newcastle, England If you ever wondered what life was like in 19th and early 20th century northeast England, Beamish is the place to visit. This 300-acre open air museum is rated England’s best.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England We took a small jaunt today to visit one site of Hadrian’s Wall. This defensive fortification, begun in about 122AD, stretched 73 miles across the narrowest part of northern England, and the northernmost part of the Roman Empire.

Grantham, England Grantham has a special place in the hearts of many Britons, specifically those who were fans of Margaret Thatcher. She was born here, where her father owned a corner grocery store, and despite her humble beginnings, rose to lead her country. This is a photo of that grocery store today, housing a chiropractor/beautyContinue reading “Exploring the ‘hood”

Near Grantham, England Today we went to visit the home of the gentry at Belton, sometimes called the ‘perfect’ English country house estate. It was built in the late 17th century by Sir John Brownlow and was home to the same family for nearly 300 years. Each generation made their mark on Belton, commissioning theContinue reading “Visiting the neighbors”