Scotfree in scotland

Some three weeks into the tail end of the holiday and i have lost track of time and place.Thanks to being non connected,(i promised myself that the blog would be updated and i wouldn't loose track but man proposes and countries think otherwise).In anycase I have decided to continue the london blog long after reaching home as memories have a knack of coming back.All said,after some two weeks of floating around london we were beginning to tire of the city so very much like the london trip(which came about thanks to a casual facebook conversation),we touched base with a friend in Scotland and decided to take a trip there for the weekend.He isn't the most reliable person(at least that was my last memory of him some nine years ago) but we decided we had nothing to loose.We booked ourselves on the train(expensive).Having seen the length and breadth of london from six feet under,we decided that this was our last chance to enjoy the view and the breathtaking landscape of the english countryside.We were not disappointed.The kings cross station reminds me very much of harry potter and the bustle to catch the train and we get in and set off on our long five hour journey to scotland.As London flies past and we leave the city behind the landscape changes.The heatwave has suddenly taken a back seat.The greens rush along in its many colours,the little villages look like a child's toy room with little houses and their individual gardens,sloping roofs with chimneys(i remember the song from my fair lady of the chimney sweep,though these have long been out of use in this country).The cars in the driveways look like they have been placed neatly there.Everywhere we see little villages and hardly any people.Brown and white and black and white cows graze or doze in the lazy afternoon sun while woolly sheep follow each other aimlessly along the meadows.We reach Newcastle and we look out for the coal mines but all we see is a pretty majestic bridge over the river.The town itself is like all others,Stone houses,village green,church spires and sunny blue skies.Our next stop is york.Once again we see the villages of england but this time all of Jane's Harriot comes alive.When he talks of all the animals he sees on the farms around Yorkshire and the times when he just sits on the grass to watch the beautiful landscapes and scenery,I know exactly what he feels like.Ofcourse like always i try to share my experience with the husband who promptly tells me that all he knows of Yorkshire is Geoffry boycott and there ends the conversation.Of course a village cricket match is on on one of the many greens(all village pitches will put our best stadiums to shame)and that has the husband craning his next to get a look.We see many people bowling on the greens and tennis matches are on in almost all the villages.This being summer everyone is out in strength.We pass the Edinburgh station and get off at the small town of stirling.Its pouring cats and dogs,but a wise investment at wimbledon by way of an umbrella comes in handy.Finally we see the famed englsih rain and needless to say I am delighted.The earth smells fresh,the flowers droop with the heaviness of the rain and the grass is fresh and wet under our feet.Strangely nothing stirs in stirling.This small town is a delightful place.A short walk from the station,we arrive at our bed and breakfast place.Large stone bungalows set around a village green.The streets are empty.We are in a nice residential area and the smell of inherited wealth is in the air.The homes are all at the very least a hundred years old.A large carpeted staircase leads us to our room.Its perfect.Large casement windows and a bed with all the frills and fluffiness of an english country house.Heavy curtains keep out the sun and white lace ones hang behind.We leave almost at once after we check in.The surrounding are too good to be seen from a bed and breakfast room so we dash off in the direction of the town.Our friend having been here for eight years,is a bit of a veteran and most locals acknowledge him so we are in good hands.The Scots themselves are a friendly lot and a quick to make friends.This being a friday evening the pubs are spilling our with people.Beer flows freely as does much mirth and fun.I decide that asking for wine in a pub would be politically incorrect so ask instead for an ale.I haven't the faintest idea what this will taste like but i had no intentions of drinking beer either(i don't like the stuff).Unfortunately by now i also know that this is no easy task,but I have learnt.Some three odd glases of different varieties of drinks are placed before me.I try all of them convinced that the cold(by now there is a nip in the air) will prevent me from getting totally drunk(which may be fine by Scottish standards)and I settle for something.Small glass is provided and i gulp down the stuff like a veteran.All the literature that told me of a quick ale over some deal or the other in pubs in all those classics,made me feel like bill skyes himself.Food unfortunately doesn't figure in the scotish pub so we have to look elsewhere.Food is a completely different subject and has to be dealt with differently so we get back to our room,in a mad rush to the loo(all that beer has only one way to go).Much walking involved and the nip has become a chill but like all english homes the room itself is warm and I soon have half my body out of a window(this has the husband in a fit as he is convinced that i shall fall out on to the street,and i am still not sure if he is worried about disgrace or death but could be wither)gulping in cold air and looking wistfully at the many lovely dogs that walk by.The dog subject being a strict no no,we don't venture that way.Its almost eleven at night but its pretty bright outside.I am very tempted to take a walk but don't dare and so our first day in Scotland passes.