Edinburgh via Coldingham

Coldingham Priory

Today was another day in transit, but it was wonderfully easy since there were no trains and buses and transfers and different rules to deal with.  My friend Toby from Edinburgh drove to Eyemouth to pick me up.  Bless you, Toby!!  We stopped at Coldingham on the way -- a place that had caught our eye in passing a year ago when we went to Fast Castle.  The pictures above and below are on the grounds of the old Coldingham Priory and the current Coldingham Parish Church.  The priory was established in 640 AD (yes, just 3 digits in the date!).  It had it's share of ups and downs over the centuries from fires to Viking raids to border wars, but the medieval building was finally destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1650.  You know, when I was a schoolchild, I was taught to think positively of Oliver Cromwell, but now that I hear at nearly every cathedral or castle I visit that it was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell, I'm not feeling so positively towards him and am beginning to want to rename him "Dr. Destructo."  

This wall of diverse elements is known as a lapidarium.  It was built in the 1800s of stones found during a time of restoration.

The large slabs pictured below within the lapidarium are Templar gravestone slabs. 

Despite the work of Dr. Destructo and his armies, worship continues here to this day.

Like Eyemouth, Coldingham also has a nice beach area - different though - a bit more like some northern California beaches.

On the trip between Coldingham and Edinburgh, I saw windmills for producing electricity like the ones we have in California between where I live and the San Francisco Bay Area.  A couple of differences are that the hills are different in color and that we drive on the opposite side of the road!

When we got into Edinburgh, we stopped at Toby's place for a while first.  It wasn't time for check-in at my airbnb yet, so I just hung out a bit.  Rather than having Toby drive me, I decided to walk to my place. It ended up longer than I expected, but maybe that was only due to the fact that it started raining, which made the cobbles and flagstones slippery as I walked up and down hills hauling all my luggage along with me.  There is a reason I walk nearly everywhere no matter how far, other than being a cheapskate with a bit of a tendency towards pushing myself past my limits and a desire to lose weight, is that when you walk you get a better sense of how things are connected, and you get to see places close-up, details that you might otherwise miss.  (The next 6 pictures are on the way between Toby's flat and mine, but they were taken on various other days and not on that first walk!)  

When I arrived after about 30 minutes, I found the following at the end of the journey:

I shouldn't have been surprised, since I had started my walk similarly at Toby's flat!

But what I found when I opened the door to my new place was a large, bright, welcoming space - one of the nicest places I've ever stayed.  Truly, this place is unbelievably awesome!  I should post pictures of some of the awful places I stayed for comparison!

What a huge refrigerator!  All my other places just had a little cube of a thing. One place I stayed at earlier in my travels had one of those little cube-shaped refrigerators, a little segment of which was supposed to be a freezer, but EVERYTHING I put in the unit froze solid!! This place has a nearly full-sized refrigerator with separate freezer!  Wahoo!!

What a comfortable and lovely space in which to spend the last 5 or so days of my journey.

I don't like to miss any opportunities, so I dropped my stuff and took off for evensong at St. Mary's.

I got lost  .  .  .

  .  .  .  which I didn't think was possible for me in Edinburgh!

As it turns out I was on the opposite side of the Water of Leith than I thought I was, so I was walking in the wrong direction!  It's OK.  It was lovely, and you can't get too badly lost in Edinburgh.  You'll eventually find your way, and everything will be beautiful even if you don't know where you are.

I was late arriving to evensong, and I was afraid the door would be locked, but it was open.  Hooray!

This is my first time worshiping there where I was in the nave rather than in the choir.  It was interesting to get a different view, though I did miss being right next to the choristers.  I wonder if the space in which people are led to sit has to do with the time of the year?  St. Mary's has its own choir school and is the only cathedral in Scotland to continue a tradition of daily choral services; as you can imagine, the music is fantastic. Again, there were vestments involved, which I also do love!

After evensong it was off to Toby's place and then out to dinner together.

"Chim-chiminey, chim-chiminey, chim, chim, cheree  .  .  ."  I always expect to see Dick Van Dyke flanked by chimney sweeps dancing and singing on these rooftops!  

Circus Lane is between my place and Toby's.  I'll "have to" walk this way multiple times this week  .  .  .  alas  .  .  .  such a burden  .  .  .  oh woe is me  .  .  .  JUST KIDDING!

Bells Diner (right across the street from The Bailie) the restaurant where I had my first dinner in Edinburgh on this trip.  It's obviously well after 10:00pm since it stays light until ten!

I am once again, as of May 24, 2022 in my favorite city in the whole world!! :-)