Castles and Poor WiFi

Day 5 Hiking.  Monday June 6.  Orocco Pier Hotel, South Queensferry to West Port Hotel, Linlithgow

15.3 miles.  36,153 Steps.  7 Hours.  

Two nights of poor WiFi means slow or no uploading of the blog and more importantly no nightly visits with Gary 😔



Avocado mash and egg on very grainy toast with fresh mint.  





Queensferry Crossing Bridge. 





Wild/tame deer on the estate of Hopetoun (Scotland’s Finest Stately Home).  I passed through the first set of gates, but the route made a wide detour so only towers and chimney’s could be seen through the trees    






I was told ‘Haste ye back’ a song written by Robert Wilson, by some sweet locals today who live just off the trail and walk the beach everyday.  



Blackness Castle.  15th century fortress.  Used in a number of films:  Hamlet - 1990 - Mel Gibson and Glen Close.  The Bone - 1996 - Oliver Reed.  Outlander series. 

Blackness Castle often referred to as “the ship that never sailed” because from the east (opposite my image) it looks like a giant stone ship.  

Three guys on their bikes past me in the morning and stopped to say they had seen me yesterday on that path out of Edinburgh.  We had a brief chat. A couple hours later they rode by coming from the other direction.  Another chat about alternative routes along the canals.  So, when will they ride past me next?



Crossed paths with 2 women on the JMW going east.  One from Edinburgh and the other from Atlanta, Georgia.  The other American also had a knee brace on her right leg.  

Arrived in Bo’ness and wished I had remembered the name of lady met a few days back as she had invited to come for tea.  No tea for me.  Had lunch at tiny cafe with toddling old people.  They were all having tea and little biscuits, I had tuna and salad.  Half the sandwich was taken along for tonight’s meal.  







Finally some Baa baa’s up close. 





Tonight’s bed.  West Port Hotel on the left. 





Firth of Forth at low tide. 




 
The Cross Well 

One of the original 7 wells along the High street in Linlithgow.   It was damaged by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 and later restored.  













Linlithgow Palace where Mary Queen of the Scots was born in 1542.  



Mary Queen of the Scots. 



Saint Michaels Church of Scotland. 



Carvings above gate to Linlithgow Palace designed to show the importance of James V.  L-R:  Order of the Garter, Order of the Thistle, Order of the Golden Fleece, Order of St Michaels.  







Nose?  

Knees are doing okay.  Learning how not to crawl into bed on the right one as it sends mini jolts.  Feet are fine and the shoes good.  Body tired.  Nose dripping like a faucet and there is lots of sneezing…a cold or reaction to landing in a land where everything is in bloom and my body isn’t used to the various things growing here.  

“None of nature’s landscapes are ugly so long as they are wild.”  John Muir

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