The Ham Nomads

8 Aug 2014. <GB-SCT> Edinburgh —

Woke up outside Robert W. Brownlie Motor Engineers in the Sighthill Industrial Estate in the west of Edinburgh. We watched the workers arrive and, once they had opened their gates, went in to see what could be done with the van. They were most obliging, and took the job on. It basically hinged on one part, that could only be obtained from a VW parts dealer. They phoned up and, miracle of miracles, they had one on their shelves. On this discovery, we were seriously advised to buy a lottery ticket, as our luck was definitely in!

With the van at their tender mercies, we took the tram (which went past at the bottom of the street) into Edinburgh. Our first stop was in Debenham's, to have a late cooked breakfast and to check up on our emails (with a view out onto Edinburgh Castle).

We then wandered down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, at the other end of the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. This palace is the residence of the Queen when she is in Edinburgh. Obviously the current royal apartments are not on view, but the major rooms in the lower level, as well as the rooms of Mary Queen of Scots, are a fascinating tour.

Arms over entrance gate

The palace has its origins in Holyrood Abbey, dating to 1128, and whose ruins adjoin the palace on its southern side. The palace is built around a classical-style quadrangle — its lowest level has Doric columns, the second (middle) level Ionic, and the topmost level Corinthian. We then followed the processional route through the palace — up the Great Stair, then through the Royal Dining Room, the Throne Room, the Evening Drawing Room, the Morning Drawing Room and into the King's Bedchamber. We then went through the Great Gallery, the Queen's Lobby, the Queen's Ante-chamber and the Queen's Bedroom. We then went through Mary, Queen of Scots' Chambers, including the room where her husband, Lord Darnley, stabbed and killed her private secretary David Rizzio (presumably jealous of the time she spent with him).

After going through the palace, we went and looked at the old abbey. Only the nave remains, but it shows that the abbey was a building of great presence.

Unicorn on the door
of the Queen's Gallery

Then we went into the Queen's Gallery, where there is a special exhibition on the Poets Laureate, with examples of their manuscripts from the Royal Collection. So here we communed with Dryden, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Cecil Day-Lewis, John Masefield and others.

We then walked back up the Royal Mile, and across to the Princes Mall centre, where we settled in for afternoon tea. While we were there, the heavens opened — a thunderstorm — and the pressure on seats in Costa became somewhat critical. It was now time to return to find out what was happening with the van.

When we got there, it was a case of good news and bad news. They had been able to fix the gears, but the brakes were a lot worse than suspected. They almost got us moving by closing time, but then found a further problem, which needs work tomorrow. So they moved the van outside again, so we can camp in it overnight, and they have promised us that it will only need a couple of hours in the morning. So that's the way it is for the night, with us camped outside as we were last night.

Distance driven — today, 1 miles ( 2 km ); to date, 5,451 miles ( 8,773 km )