It's now Tuesday, the 12th and we're settled into our hotel in Manchester now just waiting til tomorrow when we catch our flight back to JFK. We've had a wonderful 3 weeks here and have seen so many beautiful sights. We're both amazed at what we learned about castles, both building them and manning them. The television shows seem to indicate that there are hundreds of archers and warriors defending castles but in actuallity they were defended by as few as 12 archers and a small group of workers. Cooks, blacksmiths, a priest and other staff. The Welsh castles of Edward I were built by a french architect and plans were made for almost any contingency. If the marauders made it past the moat, front gate, murder holes, and doors braced with 12x12's the defenders would retreat to the next defensible position back in the castle. They would keep going like that until they were at the kings quarters then if the king were there they would hustle him out through a secret escape route. Very ingenious for the 11th or 12th centuries.
Some castles were built with the latest technology of the day, including running water, hot and cold. This was accomplished by the placement of the "pipes" (actually just grooved stone) behind the soup ovens, which were kept burning 24/7. The rocks and everything near was heated, including the pipes carrying water. Of course, the kitchen was the only place that had it, but I suppose it could be carried to other rooms. There were no baths or showers of course, so it wasn't needed much out of the kitchen. Some castles had extensive pantries, the stable very close (also a meat locker), a dovecote with little stone pigeonholes stacked way up, holding a lot of pigeons aka squab for dinners. All in all, the operations of the castles were impressive, a big business the kings had to run, with plenty of staff, workers and employees.
Other things we don't get to see much of, if at all, are highland cattle. They are unique to the highlands of Scotland, are shaggy and the long horns. Wales town names always confused us, at least trying to pronounce. Like Ffestiniog, Tywyn, Dyffryn Ardudwy. We took the GPS and she did a great job of pronouncing and getting us there. Street signs are very hard to find. "Sheila"(the name we've given our Australian voiced GPS) took us straight through the city streets of Edinburgh, around the roundabouts and on many country roads. Ocassionally, she took short cuts and some were more like alleys, But hey, they had a road number.
I think we'll look back on this trip throughout our lifetime as a wonderful experience. As usual, we remember the scenery and the sights, but I think most of all we remember the people we meet and how they impacted our life. My favorite Scot was a lady named Hazel and her Scottish Deerhound Ness. Hazel had a little bed and breakfast waaaaaaay out in the country. I wasn't even sure Sheila could find it but we did and had 2 wonderful nights there. We especially like B&B's because they put you up close and personal with the "locals". Sitting and visiting with Hazel while she ironed bed sheets was something you could never experience at an Ibis, Sheraton, or any other big hotel. It's more like visiting family than just a place to eat and sleep. Thank you Hazel and enjoy your upcoming adventure to Australia and New Zealand. While in Llangollen, Wales we stayed with Mike and Jane at Bryn Meireion, at a wonderful old, 1850s farmhouse. While there we played golf at a local course and Mike dug out balls for us to use and the course had some "clubs" to use also. It wasn't a precision game and it wasn't pretty, but the day was beautiful and it was fun. All in all the people we meet and the places we stay are what we remember the most.
We're discovering that there really aren't any wide open spaces here in the Appalachian Mountains. Everything is hills and "hollers." Ya just can't get anywhere without going up and down the hills. Oh, well that's what makes it so scenic.
