29 - 30 March: Dunfermline, Rosslyn Chapel and Melrose Abbey

29 March was the first day of the boy's two weeks Easter break, where we did two long weekend trips. The first one was a four day trip around Southern Scotland and just across the border to Hadrians Wall in England.

Dunfermline

Dunfermline (pronounced ⁱ/dʌnˈfɛrmlɨn) was Scotland's capital until 1603 and is domintaed by the ruins of the 12th century abbey and palace. The town first came to prominence in the 11th century as the seat of King Malcolm III, who founded a priory on the present site of the Abbey Church.

The original abbey was built between 1128 and 1150, but was largely destroyed in 1303 by the troops of King Edward I of England (also known as 'Hammer of the Scots' due to his rough treatment of the Scots).

There are still substantial remains of the old abbey, with the lower stories of the dormitory and latrine blocks on the east side of the cloister being the earliest surviving parts. These parts of the abbey date back to the early 13th century.
 
Following the collapse of the great tower, work to clear the site prior to rebuilding the church began in 1818. The Abbey parish church was built between 1818 and 1821 on the site of the medieval choir and transepts which had been the eastern part of the abbey. The church contains the tombs of 22 scottish kings and queens, including King Robert the Bruce. On top of the church tower his name is carved and beautifully contrasts the sky behind.

Inside the church we admired the beautiful carved pulpit, placed over the tomb of King Robert the Bruce. In addition the church has magnificent stained glass windows, where Robert the Bruce and the spider is included in one of them.

While we were in the church, the boys were given a sheet with tasks to solve. Off they went looking for angels, spiders and other items in the church interior decorations. The lovely lady who gave them the tasks was helpful if they got stuck and the boys had a great time.

After our visit to the church, we proceeded to the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum. The philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919) was born in Dunfermline, and grew up in the small handloom weaver cottage shown in the picture to the right. His family emigrated to Pennsylvania when Andrew was 13 years old.

Andrew Carnegie began his career as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory, but later came to lead the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. Through iron and steel, Andrew became one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Carnegie's wealth helped to establish numerous colleges, schools, nonprofit organizations and associations throughout the English-speaking world. He is best known for his gifts of free public library buildings. His first such gift was to his native Dunfermline in 1881, and it was followed by similar gifts to 2,509 communities in the English-speaking world. Andrew had little formal education, but grew up in a family that believed in the importance of books and learning.
Andrew Carnegie's philanthropic career began around 1870. By the time of his death in 1919, Andrew Carnegie had given away about $350 million 'for the improvement of mankind'.

The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum was not very big, but very interesting. With such a fascinating man you just have to be intrigued. And what was more natural than to go to the beautiful Pittencrieff Park after our visit to the museum?

As a child, Andrew Carnegie had been forbidden entrance to Pittencrieff Park, located in the middle of Dunfermline. After he made his fortune in the United States, he bought the entire Pittencrieff estate and gave it to the people of Dunfermline. On our way through the park we enjoyed the beautiful nature and wildlife, including the grey squirrels. The grey squirrels are not very popular in the UK, as their introduction in the British fauna more than 100 years ago has resulted in the risk of making the native red squirrels extinct. There are a number of ongoing projects, trying to save the native red squirrels.

During our 1,5 days in charming Dunfermline, we found a nice gallery where we bought an abstract painting and photograph of the beautiful Forth Rail Bridge, together with the neighbouring road bridge. Being in a 'holiday mood', we let the boys pick a couple of the very reasonably priced pieces of art, so they could have one each in their rooms. They were thrilled with their purchases!

Rosslyn Chapel

From Dunfermline we drove to Rosslyn Chapel, located within the village of Roslin, just south of Edinburgh. The chapel was founded by William Sinclair and building began in 1446. It is thought that building work was ceased when William died in 1484, leaving the chapel the way it still looks today. It is believed that a much larger cruciform building was originally planned.

After the Scottish Reformation in 1560, Roman Catholic worship in the chapel was brought to an end. From that time the chapel was closed to public worship and the chapel fell into disrepair. Following Queen Victoria's visit to the chapel in 1842 where she expressed the desire that it be 'preserved for the country', the chapel was restored and in 1862 it was once again opened as a place of worship.

The chapel reached the height of its fame when it featured in the Dan Brown novel 'The Da Vinci Code', which was later followed by a movie based on the book. Our guide told us the number of visitors skyrocketed from 30 000 a year to the same number per month!

The interior of the chapel is exquisite, but as is often the case with beautiful attractions, photography is not allowed. However, if you take a look at the official website that I've linked to above, you will get an indication of its beauty. I especially appreciated the highly ornate, decorative carved-stone vaulting, it's unlike anything else I've ever seen. And the picture in my guidebook of the vaulting was what brought us there in the first place. I most certainly was not disappointed when I saw the real thing!

I've embedded a BBC documentary from the chapel, where you can get a glimpse of the beautiful stone carvings inside. The video is a bit long, but I recommend that you look at least for a little while, it's such a beautiful chapel.

Melrose

Our final attraction on 30 March was Melrose Abbey, the burial place of Robert the Bruce’s heart, marked with a commemorative carved stone plaque within the grounds. As we'd spent so much time at Rosslyn Chapel, we ended up arriving at Melrose Abbey only 5 minutes after the gates had been closed for the day. We felt we'd seen enough ruins for the time being and decided we'd admire the abbey from outside the wrought iron fence instead of coming back the next morning.

 After we'd seen what we could of the abbey, we went to find a place to eat in Melrose. By chance we ended up in the Bistro Bar of Burt's Hotel, a bar which is listed in the Michelin Guide. And we were lucky to get a table, even though we didn't have a reservation. The price level was only slightly higher than the normal bar prices, but the quality...Oh my! The food was exquisite and I really wished my stomach could fit more, but I was simply too full for dessert. Looking at what the others got my eyes sure told me I wanted more...