Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

The longest portion of our trip to Scotland was spent in Edinburgh. We were there from Thursday evening (Aug 19) through Monday morning (Aug 22). This proved to be a very ideal time to come. The weather was (mostly) fantastic and there was so much activity going on. The first thing on our agenda was to tour the Edinburgh Castle. 

The main approach to the Castle from the Royal Mile. 

Our vacation rental was situated just a block away from the base of the castle. 

We had pre-reserved tickets for the first thing Friday morning and the sun was shining. We were among the first to enter the castle that day and got well ahead of the crowds, thanks in part to the short walk we had from our rental. 

Waiting to go in the Edinburgh Castle

Panoramic views from the castle show the city in in all directions. This castle was built on a natural high spot for the defensive advantages. 

This view from the castle is toward the northeast, looking at the "new" section of Edinburgh. 

The one very modern building that looks like a spiral of ribbon on the horizon near the center is the brand new W Hotel in the St. James Quarter. Apparently there was quite a bit of controversy over the approval of the modern design. At the top of the hill to the right is the partially completed replica of the Parthenon on the top of Carlton Hill also known as the National Monument of Scotland. 

Aiming view for one of the cannons of the castle.

One of the cannons appears to be pointed at the iconic ribbon building, just to the left of the Sir Walter Scott memorial tower in the photo above.  And speaking of cannons, there were plenty on this castle. 

Half Moon Battery of Cannons providing defense for the castle.

Boys are always attracted to big guns.  The exhibits were hands-on, so the boys could get up close.  View the cannons in 360 degrees below. Use the (+) / (-) buttons to zoom in and click and drag to look around. 

Edinburgh Castle 360-1 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

And one of the largest cannons ever made (10th largest in history) was on display at this castle. The Mons Meg has a bore of 20.5" (520mm) and could fire a 330 lb stone up to 2 miles away!  

The Mons Meg Cannon

Some parts of the inside of the castle were also available for our tour. We saw the Prisons of War Vaults, but it was too dark for photos.  We also got to see the Great Hall. This room was competed in 1511 and was quite impressive with the swords and the suits of armor. 

The Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle

View the Great Hall in 360 degrees: 

Edinburgh Castle 360-2 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

We were also able to see the Crown Jewels and the Ancient Stone of Destiny in the Honours Room, but no photography was allowed. You can see ancient stone and the oldest crown jewels in all of UK worn by Mary Queen of Scots in 1540 from the links. 

We also walked through the Royal Palace section. The rooms were mostly empty, but the architecture was inspiring. 

A room from the Royal Palace

See the full room in 360 degrees below. 

Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

One final highlight (suspense) of our visit, was the emergency alarms that went off during our visit. Just a couple of days before our arrival a group of protesters "seized" Edinburgh Castle in an attempt to "take-back the castle and restore the rule of law under Article 61 of the Magna Carta." as seen in the protester's video below. 

 

Needless to say, the security was still a bit on edge and when the alarm sounded during our visit. The guards quickly herded all the visitors and staff of the castle into one assembly place while they resolved the issue. We never did learn why the alarms had gone off during our visit, but it was nothing this dramatic. The final 360 image shows the group of us gathered and waiting for them to release us. 

  

Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Another view of the main gate to the Castle. 

A view out the main gate, looking toward the Tolbooth Kirk on the Royal Mile. 

-Dave

Sourdough, the Bread Pet

By now, and all the great travel posts that David has recently blogged, you have probably surmised that we are back in England. Still stressful to travel but we made it safe and sound to our sweet little 400 square foot flat. It was also so wonderful to once again see our grandchildren our son Kenny, who is now back from deployment, and our lovely daughter in-law Kim.

So, Kenny and Kim have been experimenting with sourdough. This is a great skill to have for baking. It will allow baking without yeast and is better for the digestive system. I have been meaning to learn this myself but as of yet have not done so. The first day of our arrival, I am handed a jar of doughy goo, aka a sourdough starter. I was told to feed it and take care of it. In return, I was promised yummy baked goods. How sneaky of them. I didn't know it at the time, probably due to jetlag, but they had too much and felt bad just throwing some away. 

Sourdough Starter

Let's be straight. I know quite a few tricks with baking. I feel like I know my way around the kitchen but I really didn't know anything about sourdough other than it made bread more sour and some people had starters that went back generations. I also vaguely remember as a child, my mom was given a starter. I believe my mom also made some bread but mostly I remember it living in the back of the fridge only coming out for feeding. Kenny did explain that I could keep it in the fridge and I needed to feed it once a week. Really, that is all the training I got. Maybe he said more but I had been traveling for almost 24 hours and I don't remember much.

After some sleep, I started researching how to keep my new pet alive. I started with Pinterest. I figured I would just look for a recipe and follow the instructions. I found a honey wheat bread that strongly resembled one of  my favorite breads, except it had no  yeast in this recipe. 

Again, let me say, I make bread all the time. I understand that it can take time but a normal loaf of bread, with yeast, takes somewhere between 3 to 4 hours. Sourdough takes anywhere from 3 to 4 days. You don't wake up on morning and say, I think I want homemade bread today. Also, there are all these strange terms like, autolyse, feeding, discarding, bulk fermentation. Still, I was determined. Kenny and Kim had already done the hard part of getting a healthy sourdough starter.

Day 1. Take the starter out of the fridge and feed. This all sounds easy. I vaguely remember Kenny saying add 150 grams of flour and water and then let it double. What I didn't completely process was that when you feed a starter, you need to have equal amount of starter, flour and water. Any leftover starter should be used or discarded. I didn't do this so I got some rise in my starter but probably not enough. 

Day 2. Make the dough. This was an elaborate process of mixing, kneading, stretching and finally proofing for about 4 hours at room temperature. The dough is then placed in the fridge overnight for a long cold fermentation.

Day 3. Shape the dough, proof again and bake. Of course by now I am dreaming about this bread that I have been working on for two days. I get up early to get the dough shaped and proofing only to remember that although I own several loaf pans back in Washington, I do not actually own a loaf pan in England. Too late to back out, I decide to make this loaf a boule shape, or free range bread. After proofing for at least 3 hours I put it in the oven to bake.

Free-form sourdough ball and ingredients

I still consider myself a novice baker in my new kitchen and I don't feel completely at home with my new oven. There are so many choices on the knob for baking. I have the owners manual handy and have referred to it often but I still feel like I am guessing on which mode to bake on. Anyway, after baking for almost an hour, which was longer than the recipe said, I decided it was done baking.

Mode selector control of the oven

 Unfortunately, the bread was a bit of disaster. I was still under-cooked inside. Whether this was from the starter not being fully risen, no loaf pan, not enough rising time or a combination of all three. It had a good taste, that is the edges that were cooked but so many other problems. This was discouraging since it took so many days but not giving up I decided to try again.

Free-form Sourdough Loaf  #1

Attempt number 2 was much better. I ordered a loaf pan, tried to be very patient with the proof time and cooked it longer but something still just seemed not quite right. I decided to go back and do more research before attempt number 3. 

I took the time to read what it took to make a good starter and it was then that I realized that I had been feeding my starter incorrectly. I now understood that I had to measure out 150 grams of starter and then feed it equal amounts of water and flour. The extra was then discarded or used immediately, which is another topic. For some reason, I had this silly notion that people discarded starter because it was outgrowing its home but apparently, there is some real science behind the amount of starter and feeding.

Attempt number 3! Same recipe, I did have one hiccup at the very end. My dough was shaped, in the loaf pan and almost ready to bake when I was needed to help watch the grandkids. My son picked us up in the car, so I could carefully take the rising loaf to his house to bake. That was an interesting car ride to his house. I was trying so hard to protect this rising dough. I had spent 3 days getting it ready to bake and I was not going to lose it now. I held this loaf like a mother protects a child. Anyway, the bread made it, was baked and tasted delicious. 

What next? I have already "pinned" several recipes that I would like to try. Waffles, breadsticks, even donuts but first I have to figure out what to do with all discard! I can't just throw it out.

-Becky

Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian's Wall at Birdoswald Roman Fort, August 19, 2021

This was a road-side stop on our way up north to Scotland. The weather wasn't ideal, but the rain held off for a quick walk around the grounds. 

More info. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/birdoswald-roman-fort-hadrians-wall/

"Outside the Roman Empire..." Construction on this wall to protect the Roman settlement of Britannia began in AD 122. 

Excavations at the fort.

The Drill and Exercise Hall.

Part of the Roman Fort

The longest section of Hadrian's Wall.

-David 

Isle of Wight & Osborne Palace

Pictures from our day trip to Isle of Wight, August 16, 2021. We took the Victoria of Wight Ferry over early and stopped at the beach before breakfast.

(Click any image to see it enlarged.)

We stopped at our favorite Garlic Farm and enjoyed some breakfast and some Black Garlic Ice Cream (Yummy!).  

Then we headed over to the summer home of Queen Victoria known as Osborne Palace.  It was a stunning place inside and out! 

Here are some of my 360 Images of Osborne Palace:

(Hint- PC: Use mouse to drag image or zoom in,
Mobile: Touch and drag with your finger, use + / - to zoom.)

Osborne Palace 360-1 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

 

Osborne Palace 360-2 #theta360 #theta360uk - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

 

Osborne Palace 360-3 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

 

Osborne Palace 360-4 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

 

Osborne Palace 360-5 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

 

Osborne Palace 360-6 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

 

Osborne Palace 360-6 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

-David 

Wickham, UK

Our Day trip to the historic village of Wickham, UK, August 14, 2021

As you enter the town of Wickham, you can't help but notice a very old sign on the side of a building on the main street. Certain types are not welcome here!  

I often notice the type/color of brickwork and stonework on buildings as we move around England. This old house is covered with flint stones, very much like the ones found on walls and beaches in Portchester. It's an abundant resource around here, so you'd expect it to be used this way, but it has a distinctive look. 

A local eatery with a funny name. 

And even funnier logo sign. 

This is the historic lodging on the main square. 

And their distinctive sign. Signs and logos around here are quite a work of art.  

 

Of course every little town or village must have a local bakery, this was no exception. 

Local church on the hill. 

Wickham also has a very nice trail system, that was converted from an old railroad bed that goes through the town. It makes for a nice walk. 

-David 

More info on Wickham History:  https://wickhamhistory.org.uk/

Winchester

 We took the train for a day-trip to Winchester. We arrived at the Winchester train terminal around 10:00 AM and in just a few minutes we were in the heart of the historic district on the pedestrian-only streets on our way to the famous cathedral. 

View of High Street, looking East

In typical English fashion, it wasn't supposed to rain, but turned out to be a bit drizzly when we arrived. The moisture didn't last, and the seasons changed as the day went along. 

The very old timber frame buildings always catch my eye. This one had a nice Italian cafe on the ground floor. Just down a narrow alleyway behind this cafe, was a very old pub that made some claim of being one of the oldest, and was said to date back to 1006. It seems there are many very old pubs in UK. Each has some claim to oldest something or other. Who knows if the claims are accurate, but it's fun to see the old places anyway. 

We finally made it to the Cathedral just as the rain was starting to end. We signed up for a guided tour, which we would recommend for anyone. Our guide was so well informed about the history and especially the architecture. He had an engineering background, so his insight on the building techniques and repairs were fascinating (for me)!  Click any image to view full-screen. 

The West (main) entrance to the Winchester Cathedral

Main sanctuary as you enter

Massive stained glass windows of the West entrance

If you look closely, you might notice that the stained glass design seems a bit random. This is because in 1642 all the windows were smashed by Cromwell's forces in a move, not unlike today where the progressive thing to do is to rid the country of statues, monuments and decoration that are a reminder of a past they no longer agreed with. Almost twenty years later, they gathered up all the original broken glass and reinstalled it, in this more politically-correct version. 

The more modest windows at the East end.

Intricate wood carvings

Some of the most fascinating things on display in the Cathedral are the bibles. The prize is the original edition of the Winchester Bible that was produced from 1160 to 1180.  This Latin bible was carefully transcribed from the first Latin translation by Jerome of Stridon that was commissioned in 386 by Pope Damasus I. The scribes were so faithful in their transcription, that they included all the original Prologues (translator's notes) written by Jerome (but are not actually part of The Bible). This four-volume set was printed on 936 pages of calf-skin vellum that measure about 16" by 22" each. The illustrations are some of the most vivid and amazing illustrations, but many were left incomplete.  Sadly no pictures are permitted in that area, but I have included a public domain image from Wikipedia. 

By Unknown Miniaturist, English (active 1160-1175 in Winchester) - Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15498256

Another amazing part of the collection is one of the first copies of the King James Bible first printed in 1611. The records show that there were two printed versions of 1611, the first known as the He Bible because it was missing the one letter in Ruth 3:15 and read: "He went into the city." The second printing of 1611 corrected this error and says "She went into the city" and was thus called the She Bible. This document was on display (behind glass) and opened to this page of the Book of Ruth. 

1611 Printing of King James Bible

West Entrance to the Winchester Cathedral

Becky enjoying her Victorian Sponge in the Gardens outside the Cathedral

Sidewalk cafes on Great Minster Street

Another amazing thing you can see if you visit Winchester is King Arthur's Round Table, located in The Great Hall.  

The Great Hall and The Round Table of King Arthur

Closer look at King Arthur's Round Table

The Westgate, one of two remaining fortified gateways to the city from 12th Century

Registrations of Births, Deaths & Marriages building, built over ancient Roman ruins. 

-David