August 4, 2008 Weymss Bay to Edinburgh to Dumfries

I was awakened about 6 am when the train moved, but dozed on and off until about 7:30. After putting the last few things in the suitcase, I headed to breakfast for the last time. So sad!! I asked Michael if I could stay, but the train is full—DAMN!) Not that I could really have stayed anyway, but I sure wished I could!

We pooled our pounds for the gratuity for the staff, and then got off the train in Edinburgh. It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone. Our bags were nicely loaded on luggage trolleys, so we headed off and found the track for our train to Glasgow. We had to get our BritRail passes stamped, and then we trekked over to the train. It was NOT the Royal Scotsman, that’s for sure!

The trip to Glasgow was about 1.5 hours. We had about an hour in Glasgow, long enough to get lunch and walk around a bit. We had yummy baked potatoes for lunch, with cheese and baked beans on them. Interesting combo—Deb swears by it, so I tried it and liked it. The next train, from Glasgow to Dumfries, was even less fancy. I napped for awhile, and before I knew it, we were arriving in Dumfries. We called the guest house and they came to get us and our bags. It took 2 trips, as he just had a sedan, but it was very close to the station, so we didn’t have to wait long.

The guest house is really nice. Very quaint and Victorian, a big house with probably 8 bedrooms. Each one has it’s own bath, which is nice. The man who picked us up is the owner (with his wife), and he was very nice and helpful. The gardens are beautiful! I took pictures to show the landscaper what I want MY yard to look like! We went to the local library to log on to the internet. How pathetic is that? But it was after 4, and they sort of roll up the sidewalks at 5, so we really didn’t have time to do much anyway. We walked through town a little. I LOVE the houses—sort of a big brown brick construction, town house style, probably late 19th century. We passed a solicitor’s office, and I saw that a house similar to the one we were staying in (but smaller, only 5 bedrooms) was listed for 249,000 pounds (about $500,000) I guess that’s pretty comparable to here.

We had dinner at the Granary. They had a nice Scottish menu. Daddy, of course, had to have “A Wee Taste of Haggis”, which was still too peppery for me. I ordered the Steak Pie, which was a bit to savory and rich for my taste. Dessert was a Sticky Apple Tart, which was too heavy for me. I didn’t eat much, and felt really nauseous and full. We returned to the Guest House and sat out in the garden for awhile until it got too cold. (Hard to believe, in August!) We headed upstairs early and I was in bed by 9:30!