Friday was a travel day in the AM - we bid our farewell to the flat in Edinburgh and took a smooth train ride NNE 2.5 hours to Aberdeen. The train station was a hub of activity as it directly connects to a new, modern shopping mall in the heart of the city. We decided to have a leisurely lunch in the mall, as we were a tad early to check into our lodgings outside of Aberdeen. It is always fun to feel immersed in the everyday life of the "natives", and as you might guess a mall is a mall regardless of the country you are visiting!
We arrived at Maryculter House Hotel around 2 PM and were immediately charmed by the setting on the river Dee and the cottage architecture. According to lore the site has been in continuous use since the 900's and some form of lodging has existed since 1225, mainly to house the Knights Templar. We are always reminded how youthful and "nouveau" the United States must seem to anyone from other countries!
Maryculter House Hotel
There are ruins of a small chapel and burial ground directly adjacent to the hotel which lend an even more historic and somewhat forlorn air to the site. Peter took advantage of the setting to capture the feel in watercolor.
We did a minor amount of strolling the grounds and unpacking for our 3 night stay. Saturday brings great anticipation as we are being hosted by my Facebook (Norwegian Fjord Owners page) friend Marion Wills and her husband Phil for a day of Fjord pony hacking (trail riding) and sightseeing!
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Saturday dawned yet again as a beautiful day - temperatures have been unseasonably warm (75 to 80+ deg. F) and the sun is out a great deal of the time. At this latitude sunrise is about 4:30 AM and sunset after 9:30 PM.
We were finishing breakfast at our lodgings when Marion arrived to pick us up and take us to her homestead outside of Insch, approximately an hour NNW. The roads are of course NARROW and the villages so charming. We arrived at her home and met her lovely husband Phil and also her oldest son Michael.
For me, the big event for the morning was a hack through the nearby forest trails with Marion riding her lovely Fjord Ffin, a gelding just a tad smaller than Bjorne but very similar in look and sweetness! Marion rode her adorable mare Esta. It was so wonderful as Marion collected up all manner of riding clothing to make sure I was properly outfitted (note: "hat" = helmet, "jods" = breeches and "horse box" = trailer :)) Marion has graciously posted a number of pictures on her Facebook page tagging us, so you can get a feel for the terrain and the ponies by looking at my page. Marion takes WONDERFUL care of her ponies and we gabbed nonstop about Fjords, riding and the wonderful people you can meet over a common interest in the breed!
My hacking partner, Ffin - quite similar to Bjorne in the face I think!
Phil, Marion and June preparing to depart with the horse box (aka trailer)
The fun was far from over once we returned to the house with the ponies. A delicious lunch was quickly consumed and after squaring away the ponies and ourselves we took off in Phil's sporty Audi convertible (top down!) to the big surprise - a visit to a privately owned castle by the name of Harthill, with a full tour of the interior spaces led by the housekeeper Judith Barker, close friend of Marion's! The kismet was that the owner (Michael "Duke" Savage, an American lawyer) was in New York and granted Judith's request to give us an inside look. The story of the castle restoration by Duke's late wife Ann Tweedy Savage is quite bittersweet - if you have any great curiosity I would Google her name and "Harthill" to get the whole story. What an incredible privilege for us to experience such a space. Thank you Judith!
The view from the highest balcony of the castle - spine-tingling to look down!
Marion viewing the scene above while making sure the balcony wall is very secure. Note Phil is at a safe distance in the background :)
After our tour, we headed over to another historic manor house (now luxury hotel) to have a drink and a sit. Peter, Marion and I had the true local soft drink called "Irn Bru" - we had read of it in Rick Steve's Scotland book but as he was a bit negative about its flavor, so we thought we would give it a try. It is actually quite tasty, not overly sweet and has copious amounts of caffeine and a pleasant quinine bite. We really liked it!
As if Marion and Phil had not already done enough, we were taken to a lovely local pub for dinner (salmon-fabulous!), one that they have been frequenting for over 20 years. We never ran out of subjects to discuss, from North Sea Oil, running, biking and triathlon (Phil) to art, teaching, horses, the University system and family (Marion). You could not find more gracious and generous hosts. And all because Marion and I took a risk and trusted that a Fjord owner could never be a bad person!
We concluded the day with a walk through the charming restored former fishing village of Fittie (local name) right on the harbor front of Aberdeen. The architecture was so charming and it was also great fun to watch the enormous ships come and go from the harbor - Phil was very helpful in identifying their purposes as most of the ships are in some way serving the oil rigs out in the North Sea. All of it was so fascinating!
We departed Aberdeen center via the Main Street to get a small flavor of the city, then arrived back at Maryculter House about 12 hours after Marion arrived to pick us up! What a fabulous full day. And - the bike tour officially begins tomorrow (Sunday 7/27) in the afternoon with the bike fit, introductory reception and dinner!
Did I mention the sunny and 70's today after some rain last night? :)
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