Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle from the river

Linlithgow Palace & St Mary's Church

Linlithgow Palace

 

Overcast but bright start to the day, dog walkers arrive early. There are still 3 motorhomes on the car park, us and two others.

We sit and watch the greylag geese on the loch, counting up the families and how many goslings they have. They swim in family groups with a parent at each end of the line. In total there are 27 goslings in 6 family groups, ranging from 1 to 7 goslings.

We are heading for home now, but first there are places to visit whilst we are in Scotland, we begin with Blackness Castle, situated on the banks of the Forth river close to the railway and road bridges. A massive structure that is impressive in all respects. Good access to all parts and you can climb to the top of the keep part and walk around the walls. We really enjoyed our visit here.

Next stop was nearby, Linlithgow Palace and St Mary's church. Parking was a real problem here, if we had been in a car then we could have tried the parking area at Linlithgow Palace, but . . . in a motorhome it's a different matter, the entrance is on a hill and low, we might have got in, but getting out could have been a problem. Eventually we drove away from the city area and found a parking place in a residential area about 15 minutes walk away. For us it's not usual to have to park so far away from something we are visiting, but generally we are not in cities so there are less problems over parking.

The palace itself is steeped in history, the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots’ , an ornate fountain in the courtyard, Queen Margaret's Bower perched high above everything - from where our photo of St Mary's church was taken, overall a good place to visit.

After the palace we visited St Mary's church next door, a well-resourced church by appearences, warm and light inside with many unusual and interesting features, such as the wooden carvings on the pulpit. It has a steeple that is of a very 'modern' design, the original steeple was removed in 1821 but it was not until 1964 that the current aluminium structure was erected. Entry is free, if you are in the area it's well worth visiting. There are also tapestries of interest.

Next we tackle the final drive south to home. It's always sad to be making that final journey that leads us home, but we're always glad to be back once we arrive. Then it's time to empty the Hymer, gather all the food, laundry and other things are get used to having a little more space. Of course there is the task of planning our next adventure . . .

Summary of motorhome journey