We were up and at it early this morning for a full day of touring and then our dinner tonight on the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is one of the highlights of the trip, but more about that later.

I did try the blood pudding this morning. It looks unsuspiciously like an over cooked sausage patty but looks can be deceiving. Once you cut into it, it is the same color throughout. Something about that is off putting or maybe just a warning to be cautious. I would say it tastes exactly how it looks – piece of burnt tire- but again not trouble swallowing horrible but one bite was enough. Haggis is a much better option for the less than adventurous eater. Val didn’t try either one.

It is even hard to distinguish on the play but it is that coal like bit on the very top beside the tomato.

Here is a close up…

After the delicious breakfast we headed off to Abbotsford which is Sir Walter Scott’s home. On the bus and several other talks and discussions I have learned the importance Scott played in shaping our views on Scotland and the highlanders. His Waverly series is on the Jacobite rebellion and most of his early poems are on the highlands and the Scottish way of life. He provided a very romantic view of the Highlanders and Bonnie Prince Charlie, the hero fighting a lost cause. At the time of the 1745 rebellion the spin was that it was nothing but the barbaric hairy highlanders that supported BPC and no one wanted to be associated with them, they were still in their clan reiver heyday. That made it easy to separate the rest of the country and allow it to move forward and rebuild their desire to remain part of England.

But back to Scott and his Scotland PR campaign. He convinced King George IV to show up in Edinburgh in full highland regalia. He had him in a kilt, argyle socks and even pink hose since his legs were to white. Even though the King was overly caricatured in the outfit it brought them into fashion. Everyone soon was wearing tartan.

Scott was the major author of the day. He was making the equivalent of 1.5 million pounds a year. Sadly Scott was living a 2 million pound life style. He was a crazy collector and his house certainly showed that. His book company went bankrupt but he vowed to pay it back and was put on a 300,000 pound yearly budget. Based on the house I not sure that stopped him.

He collected armor, weapons, books and just stuff. He had a lot of things he claimed were connected to historical figures and probably paid hefty sums for what has been proven to be junk. Although he did dash over to Waterloo just two weeks after the battle to collect anything he could, several breast plates, helmets and guns.

The house also had a great garden with some apple trees and tulips in bloom.

From Scott’s home we headed to Traquair House, Scotland’s oldest continuously inhabited house. The Stuart family has called it home since 1491. We actually were greeted by the current Lady of Traquair for a little champagne before heading out to tour the house. The house has been visited by over 20 Scottish kings and queens including MQS. The family remained staunchly catholic during the reformation so the house was full of hidden stash holes and staircases. Unlike Walter Scott’s collection this house had several MQS memorabilia including one of her rosaries. We saw the bed she slept in and the cradle that James I &VII slept in as a baby. Surprisingly the cradle was still used until they opened the house to visitors and the current Lady Traquair was rocked in it as a baby.

The house is now used for events and has a few bedrooms open for bed and breakfast. Supposedly haunted so it could be a fun adventure if you’re willing to pack light – the staircases are a twisting curvy mess. I would not want to bring a big bag up those stairs. One set you used a rope to help pull yourself up.

There was also a great story of how Lady Traquair who was also the Countess of Nithsdale saved the 9th Earl of Nithsdale from the Tower of London. She used the often replicated clothes swap ploy – two in two others out. She begged the King to release him but when unsuccessful she and her maid who had been visiting multiple times a day walked in and she and her husband walked out. Her husband headed off to France and she went back in and brought her maid out. They all made it safely to France. Husband was pretty worthless in the whole escapade. One of the five successful escape from the Tower.

After Traquair House we headed back to Edinburgh for dinner but it deserves its own post.