After Edinburgh....

........we began heading south, leaving Scotland and re-entering England.  Our first stop....

was near this building which was not open to the public - but very intriguing!

We parked the bus in the adjacent parking lot and got out for a stroll....

The gang headed towards this large rock...

 .... which let us know that we were .......

........ leaving Scotland and entering England!

We all stopped to read this information board....

.... and when we turned around - there was Hadrian's Wall!  It doesn't look like much now, but it goes on for miles from one coast to the other.  One of those things I learned about in school, but never dreamt I would see in real life!  Of course, I had to.....

.... get a picture of Poppa standing on it.  As you can see it has deteriorated over the several hundred years of its existence, but it still took my breath away to actually see it.  As I was explaining its ancient purpose to Poppa, he suggested....

.... that he get a photo of me standing there too - just to remind me that I was really there!  It goes on for miles as you can see in the first photo.  Some parts are in better shape than others, as you can also see in that photo.  But, nevertheless, here I am standing on a piece of history!  Amazing!

Oh My Gosh!

My mother was a great fan of the British Royals and instilled a degree of this sentiment in all of her children - including myself!  So, imagine my delight....

... when we headed down towards the docks to visit.........

... the Royal Yacht Britannia..........gasp!

Of course, Poppa was interested in the Captain's area of the ship....

.... while I gazed out over the water and imagined the Queen looking at the same view!

There were a lot of rooms on this yacht and I can't remember the designation of them all.

I know this was the Queen's bedroom.

Prince Philip's bedroom - yes, they sleep in separate, but adjoining rooms - this is in case the Queen needs to conduct business when the Prince is sleeping.

A sitting room - where the royals gather to talk and relax.

The formal dining room - that about says it all.

One of the side tables displaying some of the decanters.

Another display of some beautiful silver pieces.

Another dining room - this one looks fancier - maybe the other one was the crew's dining room??  Can't remember, but you get the idea!

The office where any necessary official business takes place - or the Queen writes personal letters, or anything else office-related that needs to be done while she is not in port!

A private sitting room for relaxation if the weather doesn't permit outside relaxation.  Notice the little Corgi on the safa!  They were scattered in various locations throughout the yacht.

This is the formal sitting room, where heads of state and/or other V.I.P.'s sit when they are on the yacht.

Another sitting area which includes a lovely grand piano - not sure who plays it though.

More sitting space - looks ideal for knitting and/or reading - don't you think?

And - no ship would be complete without a bar - again -  notice the little corgi!

This is in the sick bay....yes, the Royal Yacht even has a sick bay!

Complete with an operating and/or dental chair.

The laundry room - complete with one of those big pressers for trousers!

And - last but not least - here is my Prince Phillip with the guard!  What a day!  (See the sign behind him?)

Are You Ready For the Castle?

 This is the facade of the main part of the Castle....

 the windows are lovely....

 ........... a closer view.........

 The Castle is high up and overlooks the city....

 ..... there were a lot of people visiting...

 ...... and the view was awesome!

 This is the altar inside the church located inside the castle grounds...

 
 The buildings go on and on, but we ran out of time for further explorations...

..... but we did get to visit what James (our tour guide) called a real Fish and Chips store.

 Here is Poppa enjoying the fish and chips - they were really good!

 Soon we were on the bus again still heading north.....

 ......... we stopped for dinner in a very nice restaurant.  The meals were very good and we both enjoyed sitting across the table from these two young ladies from Australia!  They were both owners of large ranches there and were in England for a sporting event that their children were competing in.  It seems that the children were very talented since they were competing internationally!

 We passed through Gretna Green, the runaway wedding capital that we had all heard of.

 Another example of the amazing architecture in the UK!

 And then up the highway again!

.... to Edinburgh where we saw double decker buses in front of another interesting facade!

 A beautiful church....

 And more narrow roads in the midst of a plethora of beautiful old buildings!

 And... high up on the hill.........

............. the Castle of Edinburgh!