Alas, it’s the last full day of vacay! We decided to keep this one pretty local and do some of the sights that we always think we’ll get to and never do. So first it’s off to Doune Castle where much of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” was filmed. We’ve walked around the outside before (“silly English kniggit!”) but this time we ponied up the cash and went in; we even did the audiotour which I usually dislike tremendously but this one was narrated by Terry Jones and included much discussion about where scenes in the movie were filmed. Historically, it’s an interesting castle from the early 14th century and traditionally the home of the Duke of Albany (remember King Lear?) until a feud with King James cost the castle and it became a royal hunting lodge. The kids loved this one because it’s mostly unrestored except for one room that was done during the Victorian era and showed what early 18th century historians thought a 14th century castle should look like.
After climbing and scrambling about the castle, it was time to pick up Grandma and head out for flatter grounds: Dunblane Cathedral. We got a lovely bar lunch at the Dunblane Hotel first and then wandered around a magnificent Church of Scotland ediface. Turns out our friends Gilby and Jenny were married there! The building itself dates back to the 12th century but the site has been a place of worship since about 602ish! It was very interesting but didn’t have the one thing that my mother-in-law was looking for: prayer candles. Today was Frank’s dad’s birthday and she wanted to light a candle for him. Not very Presbyterian though so we thought we’d go to another church we have only viewed from the outside: the Church of the Holy Rude.
This church is “at the top of the toon” by the castle and dates back nearly as long. It’s the only remaining church in Scotland to have witnessed a coronation: James IV was crowned there in 1567 and John Knox preached at the service. Yup, another Church of Scotland edifice but one that offers prayer candles in one of the chapels (much to the consternation of some of the stauncher Presbyterians but as the guide told me “it brings in money”!) It is a beautfiul building with a fascinating history. For example, it was divided into two buildings for nearly 300 years because of a theological dispute between two of the minisiters! Apparently, there was some point on which they fell out and so they divided the building and each preached to their half of the congregation in their half of the building. The dividing wall wasn’t taken down until the 1930s!
Sightseeing done for the day, we headed back to the cottage to begin packing as we had plans for the evening and had to be out of the cottage by 10 on Saturday. Today is also my brother-in-law Jim’s birthday so 11 of us headed to the River House for a big dinner before going back to Jim and Therese’s for a few drinks. Well, more than a few actually. Then Jim broke out the guitar and we started singing everything from Meatloaf to Johnny Cash (am I the only one who knows the words to “Ring of Fire” by heart?). In the wee hours, we got a lift home from Jean and Jimmy (who’s car only seats 5 so Gillian had to hide in the boot!) and prepared for a short sleep!
/san/
Pedometer: Oops, forgot to put it on. Let’s say 5 miles just for the sake of argument.
The Cannon Family's travel blog 