The Agony, and ... The Agony...

Okay.  After yesterday's extravaganza, I told myself I was going to do absolutely nothing.  It was Doors Open Day in Ayrshire, but hey... Since when has traipsing around a few buildings been anything like taxing???

Um, right.  Okay....

This morning, I could barely move.  I cannot walk anywhere - I merely hirple.  Am I sympathetic to my situation???  Absolutely not.  There's a whole host of folk out there who spend their entire lives in intolerable pain due to arthritis, or whatever, so for me to whine on about something that's entirely self-inflicted is crass in the extreme.

Anyway, since it was Doors Open Day, I vowed that it would be business as usual.  But listed buildings in Ayrshire often mean tower-houses, and how on earth was I supposed to stand like a forlorn mutt at the bottom of a newel staircase while my husband went traipsing up and told me a) how nice the view was, b) what an extraordinary gunloop/garderobe chute/ moulded fire surround I was missing.

So very slowly but surely, I hobbled my way up a multitude of stairs (it was easier coming back down!) wondering why I was finding an uncanny similarity between sixteenth century stairs and National Trust paths of the late twentieth century...

The results of my labours?  Well, after our extended sojourn to Crete, I will now bring you South Ayrshire.  I can promise you the following: abbeys, tower-houses, carved stones, stained glass, churches, and gravestones.  Lots and lots of really, really lovely gravestones!!!!

Oh, and Robert Burns.  How could I forget him?? 

And for starters, here's Alloway Old Parish Kirk.  The place where Tam o'Shanter found the witches dancing ('Weel Done, Cutty Sark!; and all that).  I didn't see any witches.  Just a Green Man and a rather annoying wasp, who wanted to know what I was doing...

 

Three cheers for Doors Open Day!!  It really is a gem of an institution.  And what's even more wonderful is how many folk seem to take an interest in their heritage.  We're not just talking the usual White Middle-class 40-something brigade - there were younger folk, couples with kids, members of ethic minorities and tourists, too.  The host institutions always extend a warm welcome to visitors, and often put on teas, coffees and home-baking (to the ladies in St. Quivox Parish Church, hello!!!)  It's guaranteed to be a fun day out and you always learn something new!!

So for those of you who are looking for a cultural heritage type tour in Scotland, you should consider timetabling it for September, and arranging your itinerary around whichever area you aim for.  Ayrshire's this week, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire are next week, Stirling the week after and so on.  And the weather's not usually too bad in September, either...  Oh, and there's the added bonus of Scottish Archaeology Month!!

Yes.  It was well worth all the hirpling.  Wish I could say the same for Goat Fell.  I was worried I was going to turn into a sad summit-bagger.  But it's not the summit I'm interested in - it's the view from the top, and that's something you don't get very often in Scotland.  My husband's climbed countless Munros and he says he can only remember getting a decent view on two occasions.  He says it's worth it.

After yesterday, I'm not convinced.  Think I'll stick to Wainwrights....

 

The Agony, and ... The Agony...

Okay.  After yesterday's extravaganza, I told myself I was going to do absolutely nothing.  It was Doors Open Day in Ayrshire, but hey... Since when has traipsing around a few buildings been anything like taxing???

Um, right.  Okay....

This morning, I could barely move.  I cannot walk anywhere - I merely hirple.  Am I sympathetic to my situation???  Absolutely not.  There's a whole host of folk out there who spend their entire lives in intolerable pain due to arthritis, or whatever, so for me to whine on about something that's entirely self-inflicted is crass in the extreme.

Anyway, since it was Doors Open Day, I vowed that it would be business as usual.  But listed buildings in Ayrshire often mean tower-houses, and how on earth was I supposed to stand like a forlorn mutt at the bottom of a newel staircase while my husband went traipsing up and told me a) how nice the view was, b) what an extraordinary gunloop/garderobe chute/ moulded fire surround I was missing.

So very slowly but surely, I hobbled my way up a multitude of stairs (it was easier coming back down!) wondering why I was finding an uncanny similarity between sixteenth century stairs and National Trust paths of the late twentieth century...

The results of my labours?  Well, after our extended sojourn to Crete, I will now bring you South Ayrshire.  I can promise you the following: abbeys, tower-houses, carved stones, stained glass, churches, and gravestones.  Lots and lots of really, really lovely gravestones!!!!

Oh, and Robert Burns.  How could I forget him?? 

And for starters, here's Alloway Old Parish Kirk.  The place where Tam o'Shanter found the witches dancing ('Weel Done, Cutty Sark!; and all that).  I didn't see any witches.  Just a Green Man and a rather annoying wasp, who wanted to know what I was doing...

 

Three cheers for Doors Open Day!!  It really is a gem of an institution.  And what's even more wonderful is how many folk seem to take an interest in their heritage.  We're not just talking the usual White Middle-class 40-something brigade - there were younger folk, couples with kids, members of ethic minorities and tourists, too.  The host institutions always extend a warm welcome to visitors, and often put on teas, coffees and home-baking (to the ladies in St. Quivox Parish Church, hello!!!)  It's guaranteed to be a fun day out and you always learn something new!!

So for those of you who are looking for a cultural heritage type tour in Scotland, you should consider timetabling it for September, and arranging your itinerary around whichever area you aim for.  Ayrshire's this week, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire are next week, Stirling the week after and so on.  And the weather's not usually too bad in September, either...  Oh, and there's the added bonus of Scottish Archaeology Month!!

Yes.  It was well worth all the hirpling.  Wish I could say the same for Goat Fell.  I was worried I was going to turn into a sad summit-bagger.  But it's not the summit I'm interested in - it's the view from the top, and that's something you don't get very often in Scotland.  My husband's climbed countless Munros and he says he can only remember getting a decent view on two occasions.  He says it's worth it.

After yesterday, I'm not convinced.  Think I'll stick to Wainwrights....