Given our cumulative lack of sleep, 7:30 in the morning came very early, but we made it. Probably looking even more tired than us at breakfast were all the Swifties. They all looked like they had a good party at the concert last night, but definitely had trouble functioning the next morning.
One nice thing about the restaurant in the hotel is that the staff is willing to bend over backward for any patron, including making oatmeal as Dad likes it, which means a happy Dad. We ate so quickly this morning we even had time for an extra coffee. That made Dad happier.
We had to leave on time this morning (9:45) because we had a very important appointment at 10:30. That was our time slot at Rosslyn Chapel, and since they are very strict about entrance times even on normal days, today they had to be more insistent. There was a wedding happening at 12 so the chapel smelled wonderful. Fresh flowers were everywhere.
I would love to show you a picture of the trillium (and the fleur de lis across the door jamb from it) but we were not allowed to take pictures in the chapel. Apparently, some woman tripped and fell in the chapel while trying to take a picture. Both the camera, and a bone, broke. (Collectively, we've decided the woman in the story must be an American.) She tried to sue the chapel, failed miserably, but from hence forth, no photos or video inside. I can, on the other hand, show you the outside.
The carvings aren't just on the inside but the outside, and even on the roof, so Rosslyn is missing a money making opportunity by making a video of all the details inside, then hiring a drone to film the outside details, and selling it in their gift shop. Now, if they ever start doing that, I expect a cut of the royalties.
For those of you unaware, Rosslyn is an important work in Masonry, not just the skilled trade but the organization. Dad, being a proud penguin (have you ever seen a group of Masons in one place? They look like a flock of penguins. It's a long-standing family joke, just go with it) had to go see Rosslyn. His lodge went a few years ago and Dad couldn't come so he wanted to make up for it now.
Our next stop was an hour and a half away, the home of the other Kerrs (not of Ferniehirst like yesterday, but of Cessford) Floors Castle. See what I did there with the title of this post? I'm punny.
Floors is the largest inhabited castle in the Borders and it is massive. We only saw maybe a quarter of it which is is open to the public. This was, of course, after scones and coffee (the latter for Dad) in the Garden Cafe on the grounds. (We would've eaten in the Courtyard Cafe closer to the castle, but Disney, yes, the House of Mouse, had it rented out for a tour.)
Floors is accessibility friendly, so Mum and Dad got to use an elevator to go inside, while I trudged up the stairs with our guide, Morag. By the way, if you ever need a guide on mainland Scotland, I'll send you Morag's contact details.
This castle was built in two parts, though the Kerrs of Cessford did have an earlier castle which was so ruined, it could not be saved.
Now this branch of the Kerr family is very very rich, not just because they own a huge estate and employ half of the local town of Kelso, but also, they married into American robber baron money. I'm talking the type of money where they chop up 16th century tapestries just so they'll fit the decor. I cringed a lot when I heard this.
Behind Mum and Dad is one of the horribly abused priceless works of art.
Everything in Floors is behind a rope. Chairs with Aesop's Fables tapestries from the 18th century are in one room. Original portraits of kings in another. There's even a pillow stitched by someone in the Stuart dynasty sometime before Charles I lost his head.
What I found most interesting was one of the ways the estate made money, which is by breeding winning thoroughbreds, the most famous of which is the filly Attraction. Not only did she win two thirds of her races, but also she bred many winners. I think I saw a couple of them in the paddock outside the Garden Cafe. Then again, maybe not, and they were just other really gorgeous horses bred on the estate, but I'm choosing to believe they are of her line. She's had 14 foals, so it's possible.
I got my first Christmas present of the year in the gift shop (not telling for whom), and I could not believe that wherever I went, there was just more and more castle.
The drive back took us through Melrose, and past the famous ruined abbey there, and Galashiels, which is where we suspect my Granny Carre got her maiden name from (Shiels). The drive back to the hotel was full of beautiful scenery but not so many horses, much to my chagrin.
We said goodbye to Morag at the hotel and went immediately to dinner. We are now full and back in our rooms to pack up and head off to Orkney tomorrow. Hopefully, this flight is more peaceful than our last one.
Important Stats
Horses seen: 32
Duchess of Roxburghe's dog met by parents: 1 (a wiener dog)
Sheep: 100000000000000
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