The Durham Castle and The Prince Bishops

I had come across a quote by Mohammad which said, “Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you have travelled”

It was with the hope of learning about the Durham Castle, standing stoic atop a hill on the Durham peninsula, overlooking the River Wear, opposite the Durham Cathedral, and about the many Prince Bishops who had called it their home, that I booked the Castle Tour at the University Library.

We reached the University Library well ahead of time for our scheduled tour.

It would help to know two to three guided tours of the Durham Castle are provided during the day depending on the time of the year. A limited number of participants are taken in for the tours and the tours do tend to fill up fast.

Perhaps it is safer to do an advance booking than be sorry for missing it.

For our tour of the Durham Castle, the guide assigned happened to be a smart, young student studying History in Durham University. So, we were all set to learn about the thousand years of history of the castle from a student of History.

Could anything get better…???

A tall, good looking, confident young man, our guide (I choose to refrain from sharing his name) met us just outside the University Library.

After a brief introduction, he began tour commentary by saying that the Durham Castle was built under the orders of William the Conqueror in 1072, six years after he led the forces of Normandy, a province of Northern France, defeated King Harold of England and thereafter proclaimed himself as the King of England.

A painting of William the Conqueror

A model of a motte-and-bailey castle

The Durham Castle was built in typical Norman style, as a motte-and-bailey castle, which comprises a fortification in the form of a ‘keep’ built on a hill or a raised earthwork or ‘motte’, with an enclosed courtyard known as ‘bailey’, surrounded by a ditch (moat) or a palisade (fence).

It was appalling to realise the effortless ease with which this young boy had right at the start of the tour, shared a wealth of history without making it sound intimidating nor overwhelming. I noticed all the members listening attentively, as if every word mattered.

The castle, he elaborated, was the seat for the Bishop of Durham, who was appointed by the King and entrusted with the responsibility of exercising royal authority on his behalf.

Durham Castle remained the Bishop’s Palace and the home for the Prince Bishops until they decided to make the Auckland Castle of Bishop Auckland their official residence.

Pictures of the Auckland Castle built in the 13th Century clicked by me during my visit. Entry was not possible as it was undergoing renovations

Our guide went on to share that in the year 1832, the Durham Castle was converted into the first college under Durham University and a few years later, in 1837, Bishop Edward Maltby donated the castle to the University of Durham, the third oldest university of the United Kingdom, as an accommodation for students.

It therefore goes without saying that the Durham Castle is a castle with a difference, as it has been entirely occupied since 1840, by the University College, Durham and has been used ever since as a student accommodation for over a hundred students of the University of Durham.

In order not to intrude into the privacy of the resident students, the general public has limited access to the castle, and that too, only through guided tours.

However, the castle is apparently opened out for conferences, mostly academic, and as hotel accommodation during university vacations.

It is a matter of great pride for the city of Durham that the Castle and the Cathedral had been declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

Our guide led us from the University Library on the Palace Greens side towards the Gatehouse and we assembled in front of Entrance Gateway from where we could view the Castle Gatehouse, the Linking Walls and Front Wall.

He said that the formerly used North Gate was of primarily of defensive importance; and that it was re-fortified several times before going on to being used as the County Jail. However, it was demolished following the building of a new jail.

He then pointed towards to where the Gatehouse Moat had existed and said that the dry moat which had served as additional defence, was subsequently filled in, so as to make the castle look more like a palace than a formidable fortress.

Coming on to the Gatehouse, we learnt that although it dates back to the Norman period, the original Norman arch was dismantled and widened in order to enable the easy passage of the Bishop’s carriage. Our young guide also elaborated that the vaulted passage and upper storeys were rebuilt towards the end of the 18th Century and hence bears the semblance of Gothic style of architecture.

We could see the Romanesque style round arch of four orders on shafts with the the capitals bearing the characteristic Norman zigzag chevron moulding.

The Gatehouse, was flanked by extensions on both sides with battlements, which he went on to explain, meant that the walls were surmounted by chest or head-high parapets with intermittent open spaces. Such parapets, he added, acted as shields but at the same time allowed an attack with arrows or other projectiles from within the defences.

Each of the projections bore identical 2-centred-arched windows that had intersecting glazing bars. Battlemented parapet with battlemented corner turrets topped the Gatehouse. A rose window could be seen between the parapet and a 2-centred-arched window similar to the ones seen in the projections.

In an excited voice, our guide disclosed that he lived in the room on the upper storey of the Gatehouse and pointing to the window with the dainty white curtain, he shared that he had the privilege of enjoying the beautiful views of the Palace Greens with the Cathedral on one side and of the Castle Courtyard on the other.

One Lucky Chap he is, isn’t he…???

We entered through the Gate and while we stood in the passage, our eyes took in the vaulted ceiling, the formidable iron door and the large latch.

Here, our sweet guide shared a couple of interesting anecdotes of students who had been ‘locked out’ at night and therefore had to use stealthy ‘alternative measures’ to enter the castle.

Standing in the Castle Courtyard which was the inner ‘bailey’, our eyes ran over the linking walls connecting the gateway and the gatehouse, the gatehouse with the castle north and west ranges and also the gatehouse and the keep.

In stark contrast to the medieval bearings of the battlemented walls, blind cross slits, wide projecting buttresses and the Tudor-arched doors, the Castle Courtyard had a host of young students seated on benches around the many tables that were kept for outdoor seating.

Our guide went on to state that the Durham Castle had been the home of successive Prince Bishops and therefore, the Castle had been subjected to several alterations and additions in accordance to the individual taste of the succeeding Bishops and/or depending upon the existing trend of the time.

The Bishops would add their own coat of arms with the aim of personalising and making a mark of possession on the castle. This, our guide explained, showing us around, was the precise reason for so many coats of arms, some of which even had inscriptions of dates.

It was interesting to see that some of the drains had initials on them and that the second letter was always a ‘D’. Our knowledgeable guide explained that the Bishops would substitute their family name with the title, for example, Bishop Richard Trevor was RD, ‘D’ meaning Bishop of Durham.

Our guide next brought to our notice, the white patches around one of the doorways in the courtyard. He said that the patches were first painted during the World War II, with the purpose of making it convenient for occupants of the Castle to locate the entrances in the darkness of the night during a black out. He also mentioned that in all probability, the white patches have been repainted during subsequent maintenance work so that it did look patchy and discoloured.

Pointing to the window with the white patches, our guide said that he did not know of any good reason for the patches except that it could have been mistakenly painted and probably the unintentional tradition has thereafter been continued.

Pointing towards the grand rand building with the angular staircase and said that it is the entrance to Bishop Bek’s Great Hall.

Facing the Gatehouse was the Clock Tower

The residential areas for the students

The wall with a view of the more recently added Octagonal Tower.

The way to the Undercroft which has a Bar and the Junior Common Room where the students meet and chill.

Our guide shared here that the Courtyard is the only area of the Durham Castle where photography is allowed. As a mark of respect towards the privacy of the students and towards the historical heritage of the castle, we were requested not to take pictures once we had entered the castle.

The pictures that I have posted for the purpose of illustrating the text of the Norman Chapel, Tunstall Chapel, Tunstall Gallery, Black Staircase and the Great Hall are images that have been downloaded from the internet.

From the Castle Courtyard, we walked towards a doorway in the castle and stepped into the Norman Chapel which happens to be the oldest part of the castle, constructed as early as 1080.

More like an undercroft or base of the castle, this relatively small, dimly lit chapel is characterised by Anglian style of architecture, and is constructed within a huge outer wall, with its own walls as much as two metres in thickness. It vaulted ceiling is supported by six massive Norman columns with capitals that bear beautiful array of carvings.

Our lean, lanky guide waved his hand towards the capitals to show the carvings and pointed out with a laser beam, the noteworthy ones; of a man with two dogs hunting a stag, of two leopards, of a mermaid which appears to be the earliest ever image of this female form, a lion and a creeper plant.

It must be acknowledged that the Norman structure has survived exceedingly well without much medieval alterations. This has been attributed to the fact that Bishop Hatfield had rendered the Chapel inaccessible in the 14th Century.

The three windows located high up on the east wall of the Chapel were eventually sealed by enlargement of the keep mound and the original door was replaced by a new one.

The Norman Chapel is still used as a place of worship and is the chosen venue for plays and concerts that call for a historic setting.

We next headed out into the courtyard, walked in through the doorway in the Clock Tower and up a narrow spiral staircase to reach the Tunstall Chapel.

The Tunstall Chapel, also spelt Tunstal Chapel, was so named as it was constructed in the 1540s at the behest of Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall. It bears some significant religious transformations characteristic of the Tudor period.

The Tunstall Chapel is more ornate and comparatively larger; the extension in the length of the Chapel is indicated by the position of the piscina hidden behind the woodwork panelling on the right side of the Alter.

The Chapel has undergone much restoration and refurbishment in recent times, wherein the beautiful wood and marble floor which was showing signs of sinking was raised and loose tiles were re-laid. Our otherwise serious guide showed a shade of wittiness by adding that neither skeletons nor treasure was discovered during the repair of the Chapel floor.

He pointed to the side opposite to the Alter is a large organ which had been restored at a huge cost.

The most striking feature of the Chapel, that our guide enlightened us about were the Misericords or Mercy-seats which are older than the Chapel itself. It is known that these intricately carved pews were made in the early part of the 16th Century for the Chapel at Auckland Palace and were later moved to the Tunstall Chapel.

We took a closer look at the misericords and saw that they are equipped with hinges which allowed the seats to be folded back to the wall thereby enabling the congregation to stand during parts of the service. What was interesting to note was that there was a small projection on the underside of each seat, which acted like a support on which one could lean when tired during the overlong services.

From the intricate carvings that can be seen on the undersides only, it appears that the craftsmen had the liberty of using their creativity, because no two set of misericords look the same. Some of the popular carvings that can be seen are of a man dressed in a kilt pushing his wife in a wheelbarrow, a pig playing the Northumbrian bagpipes and a chained bear, probably the sport of beat baiting.

The Tunstall Chapel is regularly used for religious services as well as theatrical performances.

Carrying the rich history and beauty of Tunstall Chapel with us we walked across to the the next part of our tour.

Standing beneath the wide white arch of the Tunstall Gallery, our tall, lean guide explained that the gallery was created during the 16th Century when the Bishop extended the castle’s northern wing in order to have access to the Chapel without requiring to go out to the courtyard.

The long corridor-like gallery houses an ensemble of artefacts which includes Bishop Van Mildert’s red velvet chair which apparently is now used during Graduation Ceremonies of Durham University.

Other noteworthy artefacts on display are ancient chests with several locks and keyholes, some weapons and saddles.

Our guide next led us to what was one of the highlights of this tour : the Black Staircase. This staircase made of dark wood which almost looks black, was constructed in the late seventeenth century by Bishop John Cosin who became the Bishop of Durham after the English Civil War.

Using his resources, Bishop Cosin carried out extensive repairs and refurbishments and most of the carved woodwork that we see in the Castle as well as the Cathedral were done during his tenure.

Bishop Cosin has ordered that staircase be built devoid of vertical support and without any posts supporting it; and when it was ready, it was aptly termed the “Flying Staircase”.

Our knowledgeable guide added that apparently the Prince Bishop had visualised himself descending down a magnificent flight of stairs with his robe trailing behind. This captivating visual perception had resulted in the construction of the Flying Staircase.

However, due to miscalculations by the carpenters, the staircase soon showed signs of leaning or dipping down, and therefore wooden posts had to be added in order to stabilise the staircase and it still stands today over three hundred years later.

One cannot miss the pineapple placed as centrepiece of the wooden fruit bowls on the posts at every turn of the staircase. Although, in the absence of the stalks, the pineapples looked more like pine cones, our guide said that the thirty six of them nonetheless earned much appreciations from dinner guests at the castle.

But why pineapples, I wondered.

As if guessing the question on my mind, our guide promptly chipped in that the pineapple fruit had just been brought into the country from the Caribbean Islands by Christopher Columbus. On account of being extremely rare, it was exclusive only to the affluent class and had therefore become an integral part of architecture of that period.

Before proceeding to the last lap of our tour, our guide shared that the Durham Castle has two magnifiicent State Rooms that are now available as accommodation all through the year.

The Bishop’s Suite, he said, is so called because the Bishop of Durham had reserved it to be used by him after the Castle was taken over by the University in the 19th century.

He added that the suite has a sitting room which overlooks the River Wear, a four-poster bed which dates from 1760 and 17th century tapestries on the walls. The highly decorative fireplace bears the coat of arms of Bishop Trevor.

Today, apart from being taken up as bed and breakfast accommodation, the Bishop’s Suite is often booked by bridal couples whose weddings have been celebrated in the Castle.

Our guide went on to add that the other State Room is the Chaplain’s Suite which comprises of a double bedroom, a sitting room and a bathroom. The provision of a double sofa bed enables accommodation of additional guests.

The Chaplain’s Suite is also available as bed and breakfast accommodation throughout the year.

We learnt that the Bishop’s dining room, now the University College Senior Common Room of University College, is reserved for the senior non-student members of the staff, which includes academics, support staff and associate members of the University. These members have to be elected, usually unanimously, for membership.

Another important room is the Senate Room Suite; so called because the University Senate used to meet in it during the nineteenth century. It boasts of the magnificent seventeenth-century overmantel of the fireplace, which bears the symbols of England :the lion and the unicorn and the arms of James I and VI and of Bishop James.

The Senate Suite is now serves as the venue for a wide range of events such as conferences, wedding receptions and fine dining.

Like any good guide, our guide invited questions and said he would try to answer them as best he could.

A lady asked him which areas of the castle are the used for student accommodation, to which he replied that the Norman Gallery which is one level above, provides accommodation for students. It is completely inaccessible to tourists, he added. Students also live in the Old Keep and they enjoy beautiful views of the Palace Greens and the Cathedral.

I asked him how it feels to be living in a medieval castle. He smiled and said that all the resident students feel immensely proud and privileged to be staying in such magnificent surroundings. He admitted with utmost honesty, that there is an inherent urge to ‘show-off’ as it gives them an edge over the other students.

A gentleman wanted to know what facilities can be availed as residents of the castle to which he replied saying that the college’s library, the offices, and the IT Suite were all I thin the castle premises.

He added that the Undercroft doubled up as the Junior Common Room it the principal common room for the college’s undergraduate members and and a bar.

With all these updates we moved on to Bishop Bek’s Great Hall.

Our guide warned us that this hall is steeped in history and has been witness to kings, clergy and noblemen dine and wine in it.

It is named after Bishop Bek who replaced the Norman Castle’s Hall with this grander and more regal Great Hall In the 13th century.

We learnt that subsequently, Bishop Hatfield, who is known to have adopted extravagant ways to display his power and position, extended the hall in the southward direction and also placed a throne on each side.

Drawing our attention to the Trumpeter’s Galleries from where trumpeters would announce the arrival of the Bishop into the hall and also play music between courses at important events and they are believed to have been the work of Bishop Hatfield.

Our guide emphasised that the current Great Hall is the result of remodelling that was done in the 19th Century which include the large north window with stained glass, the tall windows on the east and west walls, the oak panelling and entrance.

With a shine in his eyes and a smile on his lips, our young student-guide announced that the students and staff of the college enjoy three meals a day in the ambience of unquestionable grandeur of this Great Hall which had been the perfect setting for royal dining during medieval times.

The top table which would have been taken by the Prince-Bishop and his entourage is today occupied by the college tutors. In keeping with the old tradition, hierarchy is maintained in terms of seating with separate tables designated for tutors, postgraduates and undergraduates.

The Formal Dinners which are held twice a week have a dress code and during such a meal, should a student be unmindful enough to leave his or her seat before the college master, he or she would be liable to pay a fine of £60.

In the six months of his stay in Durham as a student of Ustinov College, Durham University, my son has attended two formal dinners at the Bishop Bek’s Grand Hall so far and has shared the great experiences of both times with me over phone.

What could be a more befitting end to my tour of the Durham Castle than visualising my son in a dark formal suit, sitting at one tables assigned for the post graduate students and enjoying fine dining in this grand Great Hall ??!!

We congratulated our guide for his commendable command of the subject and excellent delivery, thanked him and wished him ‘Good Luck before taking our leave.

While walking to the City Centre, I made a mental note of all the new knowledge I had acquired today… the Norman Conquest… motte-and-bailey castle… battlement turrets… 2-centre’s-arched windows… Misericords or mercy seats…

I prayed that the bite of the ‘travel bug’ gets stronger and sharper by the day.

DURHAM CATHEDRAL

Visiting the Durham Cathedral was topmost in terms of priority while planning my second visit to Durham.

During my previous visit, I was content watching my son and his batchmates, dressed in their best formals marching in a procession towards the cathedral on the 3rd of October 2018, to partake in the Matriculation Ceremony, an annual event held to welcome new students to Durham University wherein, the students’ names are placed upon the matricula or roll of members of the University.

It goes without saying therefore, that Durham Cathedral will always hold a very special place in my heart.

And almost seven months later, on the 30th of April 2019, I got the opportunity of fulfilling my dream of visiting the Cathedral.

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St. Cuthbert is known as the Durham Cathedral.

One can neither enter nor leave Durham without catching a glimpse of the dignified and dominating Durham Cathedral and Castle against Durham skyline.

It is a Christian Church of the Anglican Communion and home to the Bishop of Durham who takes the fourth position in Lords Spiritual, Church of England, in terms of seniority of service.

The Cathedral was built around the 11th Century in Romanesque style and was constructed entirely of stone, contrary to most other churches of that period which were either made of wood or a combination of stone and wood.

This thousand year old Cathedral is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the whole of Europe and is the resting place of two of Britain’s highest religious figures, St. Cuthbert and St. Bede.

In 1986 The Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle were declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the year 1986.

It is accounted that the maintenance cost of the cathedral is phenomenal; and is over £60,000 per week which means that it costs around £6 per minute to maintain and it is also documented that more than 6,00,000 visitors enter through the cathedral door each year.

The Cathedral is open on all days except on festivals and when certain events are being held. Limited access may result at times when repair works are being carried out.

From Monday to Saturday, it remains open from 10am until 6pm; and on Sunday, until 5.30pm. During the summer months, it stays open until 8pm.

Entry into the Cathedral and Cloister is free of charges, but visitors are encouraged to make a donation of £3 per person.

For the Open Treasure Exhibition, however, the opening times are : Monday to Saturday : 10am to 5pm; Sunday : 12.30pm to 5pm; On all days, the last admission is at 4pm

There is a charge that needs to be paid.

With all of these valuable inputs about Durham Cathedral, I accompanied my son (who has been to the cathedral a couple of times) approaching it from the Palace Greens, with my hopes as tall as its towers.

We came up to a sign saying that the North Door, which happens to be the main entry point was temporarily closed for survey and repair.

So, we followed the directions to enter via the Galilee Chapel. Upon entering, my eyes fell on the beautiful wall paintings that have survived through time, the rows of criss-cross patterned arches supported the many slender pillars.

The Tomb of St. Bede, at the Galilee Chapel, is where the bones of the saint have been re-buried after the Bede’s Shrine got destroyed during the Reformation. Bede, the greatest of Anglo-Saxon scholars was initially declared venerable and later canonised as a saint.

The Latin inscription on his tomb HIC SUNT INNFOSSA BEDAE VENERABILIS OSSA means, ‘Here are buried the bones of Venerable Bede.

A group of elderly volunteer guides/stewards, dressed in the ‘palatinate purple’ robes smiled benevolently as we passed by.

I had learnt during my previous visit that palatinate purple is associated with Durham University and the City of Durham and it is the colour of the academic dress of Durham University. This association is attributed to the distinctive status of the Bishops of Durham as Palatine Earls and to purple being the episcopal colour.

Having made the donation and obtained the tickets for the Open Treasure Exhibition at the Cathedral Visitor Desk, we went on to enjoy the tour of the Cathedral.

The famous author Bill Bryson has rightly said that the Durham Cathedral is the best cathedral on Planet Earth, because every inch of the cathedral was exquisite in its own way, be it the long rectangular nave, where large services and events are held, the unique huge carved Norman pillars which measure the same in height as well as circumference so as to be strong enough to support the wonderful vaulted stone ceiling, the Durham Cathedral Crossing and the beautifully sculptured pulpit with the lions and pelicans, the memorial or the miners of County Durham; all demand detailed attention.

While I stood lost in thoughts admiring my surroundings, an elderly lady in the palatine purple robe stopped by; she said that post her retirement she had joined as a volunteer guide because she loves spending her free time at the cathedral. She was kind enough to point out the various points of importance and say a few words about each of them. She parted after adding a beautiful line saying that the cathedral looks different at different times of the day the sunlight and lighting has a huge part to play.

From my recollections of her words, I have tried to describe the salient parts of the cathedral.

The Quire, with the intricately carved wooden stalls where worship has been offered for over 900 years is the undisputed heart of the Cathedral.

The beautiful, ornate Bishop’s Throne or the ‘Cathedra’ above the Bishop’s Tomb is known to be the highest in Christendom, the worldwide society of Christians.

The Neville Screen, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, which was received as a gift from the wealthiest and most influential Neville family as early as 1380 and still stands tall, is considered to be one of Durham Cathedral’s wonders.

The High Alter, another gift from the Neville family, which lies in front of the Neville Screen is the holiest place reserved for ordained clergy.

The Chapel of the Nine Alters which epitomises true Gothic style, stands out from the rest of the Cathedral on account of its high pointed vaults, identically shaped arches, and large expanses of glass. The Chapel was built as an extension near St. Cuthbert’s Shrine to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims and followers.

St. Cuthbert’s Shrine, which is the actual purpose for the existence of the Durham Cathedral is where I felt as if I was mesmerised.

I was grateful to the adorable volunteer who had spared some time to speak about St. Cuthbert.

Cuthbert, who had lived a very pious life as a monk and bishop and subsequently, as a hermit on the Holy Island Lindisfarme was revered during his lifetime for his holy preachings. Later, he was not only acclaimed a saint but went on to become the most loved saint of Northern England.

As a result of the Viking invasion, his community had to flee from Lindisfarne with his body and some precious relics and after travelling all around North of England for several years, they finally settled in Durham.

Initially built as an Anglo-Saxon Church by the monks to house St. Cuthbert’s Shrine, over the years, it has grown to be one of the best Cathedrals of Europe.

A new shrine made of marble studded with gems and jewels was moved into the newly built Norman Cathedral, but this elaborate shrine was destroyed in the Reformation and was replaced by a simple marble slab with Cuthbertus marked on it.

Ever since the Middle Ages, St. Cuthbert’s Shrine has been a place of pilgrimage where people have flocked to seek blessings and the saint’s healing powers and till date, the aura of serenity and tranquility that emanates from it makes it ideal for prayers and quiet reflection.

It is small wonder that the Durham Cathedral has been chosen as the film location for quite a few Hollywood movies.

It has been featured in two of the Harry Potter films.

The cloisters had been converted to the snow-covered quadrangle where Harry had released Hedwig the owl from his hands in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, and the cathedral was also used in the “Chamber of Secrets 2” sequel as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry, Ron and Hermione had learnt the art of turning animals into water goblets.

Durham Cathedral was also one of the many locations of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fourth film in the popular superhero saga, the “Avengers Endgame“.

A huge team of cast and crew of the Marvel film franchise stayed for over a week in Durham to carry out the shooting. Chris Hemsworth, better known as Thor, was seen in the city during the time of the shoot.

The Russo brothers who directed the movie had clarified that although the cathedral would not be presented as a cathedral, it will certainly have a significant standing and will have a substantial amount of screen time in the film.

We next proceeded for the Open Treasure Exhibition

At the start of the tour, we were requested not to click pictures as it might be harmful for some of the valuable treasures and it was only fair to oblige.

With the intention of illustrating the great displays I am adding pictures that I have obtained from the internet.

We walked up the stairs instead of taking the lift to the first floor.

The tour began at the Monks’ Dormitory; claimed to be the best preserved monastic dormitory in entire United Kingdom.

We were told that each of the twenty one beams in the roof were made from an individual oak tree trunk.

Apparently, in the earlier times, wooden partitions had divided the dormitory into small cubicles for the Benedictine monks to sleep and to study. There are books on the walls all around.

It was surreal to smell the beeswax, incense and spices of the medieval era and to see the wonderful Roman and Anglo-Saxon stones.

We exited the Monks Dormitory through a pair of automatic doors where the first door had to shut before the second one opened. A staff member explained that this was a measure taken to ensure controlled atmosphere for the optimum maintenance of the manuscripts from the Cathedral library. We exited through another pair of double doors and this time we took the lift to the ground floor.

We then proceeded to the 14th Century Prior’s Kitchen, now known as the Great Kitchen, which remains one of the two surviving medieval monastic kitchens in England.

This large octagon shaped kitchen with its high rib-vaulting ceiling gives a clear indication about how large the community living in the cathedral had been.

This magnificent 14th Century Kitchen now houses the extraordinary Treasures of St. Cuthbert which comprise :

* The original 7th Century wooden coffin of St. Cuthbert made over 1,300 years ago, using English oak inscribed with linear images and letters now barely legible, is recognised as the prime wooden artefact in England from the era preceding the Norman conquest.

* St. Cuthbert’s pectoral cross which was discovered lying on the saint’s breast when the coffin was opened around the time of Reformation, is an ornamental piece made of gold with intricate inlay of garnets.

* An ivory comb which the curator believes to be made from African elephant ivory was found in the coffin, probably placed at the time of his burial.

* The embroidered Anglo-Saxon vestments comprising a stole and a maniple which are beloved to have been received as gifts.

* The silver coated portable alter

All of these rare relics and treasures are displayed around the coffin.

The Conyers Falchion displayed in the Open Treasure is believed to symbolise Durham’s commitment to its faith. This 13th Century Falchion bears the arms of the Roman Empire on one side of its pommel and the arms of England on the other.

As testimony to the association of the Conyers Falchion to Durham’s commitment to its Faith, and as a continuation of the age old practice, a replica of the Conyers Falchion is now presented at the ceremony when a new Bishop of Durham enters the diocese for the first time and the following line is said at the bridge at Croft-on-Tees : “My Lord Bishop, I hereby present you with the Falchion wherewith the champion Conyers slew the worm, dragon or fiery serpent which destroyed man, woman and child; in memory of which the king then reigning gave him the manor of Sockburn, to hold by this tenure, that upon first entrance of every bishop into the county the Falchion should be presented”

The original bronze Sanctuary Knocker that was a part of the North Door is now on display at the Open Treasure.

It is said that the knocker was used during the medieval times by offenders to seek sanctuary at the cathedral. Such fugitives would be granted safe custody in the cathedral for thirty seven days and within this period they would have to make a choice between a trial and an exile through the nearest port.

The design of the knocker comprising the formidable figure of a man being devoured by a lion which in turn is being devoured by a serpent is based on an Anglo-Saxon version of “hell-mouth”.

It is amazing how much history is hidden behind the artefacts on display

I must mention here, that the St. Cuthbert’s Gospel, also known as Stonyhurst Gospel, written in Latin and regarded as the smallest Anglo-Saxon manuscript was also found inside the coffin of St. Cuthbert.

This 7th Century manuscript has been acquired by the British Library and is recognised as the oldest European book that has remained intact.

We walked out through the corridor leading leading to the cloisters and headed to the Undercroft Restaurant and Café.

My son was extremely disappointed because we had just missed the scheduled lunch time by a whisker. He had hoped to treat me to the Fish and Chips which he believes is the best he has ever had. Sadly, we had to settle for quiche, scones and coffee.

A 300,000 brick Lego model of Durham Cathedral which took three years to get completed is on display at the Undercroft Foyer, between the Undercroft Restaurant and the Cathedral Shop.

The Lego model of Durham Cathedral which stands 5ft 6in (1.7m) high, is 12ft 6in (3.84m) long and 5ft (1.53m) wide was built as a fundraising project and is said to be the first large-scale Lego model to have been built by the visitors from as far as Alaska taking part.

We walked out and into the Monks’ Garden and spent some time looking down at the River Wear and the beautiful scenery around.

As we walked back to the Palace Greens, and past the graves in the yard of Durham Cathedral, I took a long hard look at the Cathedral Towers; the formidable central tower known to have 327 steps which was undergoing massive repair works for the past three years would be opened to public by the end of May 2019, a month from today. I would have left Durham long before.

I could not help contemplating what it would be like to climb to the top and witness the panoramic view of Durham from 200 feet up in the air.

I muttered to myself, “Come on…. Leave something for the next time”.

WALKING AROUND THE WALLED CITY OF YORK : Part 2

The wonderful Walled City of York had decided to give us good weather, the drizzle had stopped but the day was cool and pleasant.

We made no bones of the approximately fifteen minute walk from Shambles to York Minster.

The York Minster which comprises of the Cathedral and the Metropolitical Church of St. Peter is the second largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe and the third-highest office of the Church of England.

It is the seat of the Archbishop of York who is the third in the line of seniority, after the monarch as Supreme Governor and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The title ‘Minster’ was bestowed as a mark of respect to the churches that were established during the Anglo-Saxon era as they served as missionary teaching churches and has been retained as an honorific title.

We had approached York Minster from the east side and therefore could catch a glimpse of the St. William’s College, a medieval building with the curved wood protrusions on the front side which are probably repurposed ship frames was built with the purpose of accommodating priests and provosts.

We walked across to the York Minster Stoneyard where some works of repair and restoration were going on to the large York Minster Yard.

The beautiful bronze statue of the Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, seated on a throne was surrounded by a group of young school children in their lovely uniforms listening intently to their teachers as they took turns to speak about the statue and the monument.

When I ventured a bit close with the intention of clicking a picture of the statue, I overheard one of the teachers telling the students that the York Minster was built with the stone obtained from the quarries of the nearby town named Tadcaster and that, this magnesian limestone rock is responsible for the lovely rich creamy white colour of the York Minster.

The tall column caught our attention and I moved closer to read the plaque.

The quotation on the plaque read : THIS ROMAN COLUMN ONCE STOOD WITHIN THE GREAT HALL OF THE HEADQUARTERS BUILDING OF THE FORTRESS OF THE SIXTH LEGION (WHOSE EMBLEM WAS A BULL) IN THE FOURTH CENTURY A.D.

IT WAS FOUND IN 1969 DURING THE EXCAVATION OF THE SOUTH TRANSEPT OF THE MINSTER, LYING WHERE IT HAD COLLAPSED.

IT WAS GIVEN BY THE DEAN AND CHAPTER TO THE YORK CIVIC TRUST WHO IN 1971 ERECTED IT ON THIS SITE TO MARK THE 1900TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY BY THE ROMANS IN A.D. 71.

The entry fee to the York Minster was £11.50 for me and £9 for my son as he would get a student discount but we decided to give it a skip and save it for the future as we still had to do the Walk on the Wall.

We walked in through the gate of the York Minster Dean’s Park and took a short walk inside but soon retraced our steps back and got set to do the Wall Walk.

We found that while walking around looking to climb the wall, we had reached the Micklegate Bar, the four-storey high gatehouse.

Here I learnt that the term “Bar” (possibly from ‘barriers‘ or gates that would block the gateways) was used to mean the gateways through the walls of York

This traditional ceremonial gates through which monarchs entered the city is known to have seen six reigning monarchs pass through it. The other side of its history is that it was the place where the severed heads of traitors were displayed in the defences and left to rot.

It is said that despite several restorations, Micklegate Bar has retained much of the the original look.

Close to the Micklegate Bar, we crossed the York Art Gallery, the Exhibition Square and the York Theatre Royal.

A short distance from here we stopped at the Bootham Tavern and although our intention was purely to use the toilet before embarking on the Wall Walk, we thought it would only be decent to order a beer each.

City Walls :

Reviews had showed that no trip to York is complete without a walk on the City Walls and that’s precisely what was next on our agenda.

The walled city of York boasts of retaining a substantial portion of the medieval walls, built originally during the Roman times (71 AD). In fact, York claims of having more miles of intact wall than any other city in England.

The Walls are known by many names, such as the York City Wall, the Bar Walls, the Roman Walls.

Although some portions of the Roman Wall form parts of the existing Walls, with the repairs and restorations over the years, there is hardly any stonework of Roman origin has remained. Therefore, it is no longer considered appropriate to call them the Roman Walls.

We were a bit confused about where to start but my son soon had it sorted, with a route that basically showed us how to take a circular walk on top of the Walls and also showed the breaches in the Wall, the points where we can climb up to or go down from. Although the description was in a clockwise direction, we discovered that we could walk in any direction.

The best part of the Wall Walk was that, it was completely free of charge, which is a rarity in York; and that naturally made us very happy. But after a while into the walk, I felt that the experience was actually priceless.

Walking on the walls standing all of almost 30 feet high was so different from walking on the roads; as there was no chance of missing anything and the views were far more fabulous, specially the view of the York Minster was breathtakingly beautiful.

One must be warned however, that despite all the efforts for making them accessible and safe to the public, the Walls still are fairly risky at places where there are no railings and the steps in some parts are way too steep and narrow.

I also observed that unlike in the case of most treks and walks that I have taken in England, Scotland and Ireland, the walk in the City Wall was unsuitable for wheelchairs and dogs other than assistance dogs are not allowed on the wall.

Apart from the Micklegate Bar which is the oldest, the other Bars on the York City Wall that we crossed were the Bootham Bar(the last Bar to loose its barbican), the Monk Bar(the tallest Bar) and the Walmgate Bar(the only Bar that has retained its barbican, porticullis and inner door)

The two miles of the historic walls was not difficult to navigate and the plaques did tell us a fair amount of history, but I could not help feeling the need of a guided tour which would tell us so much more.

Maybe another time…???

We next headed to the Museum Gardens; located on the north bank of the River Ouse, in the heart of the city, just outside the City Walls, not far from the Micklegate Bar.

We entered the Gardens via the path at the side of King’s Manor.

Apparently, there are three other entrances to the gardens: on Marygate (off Bootham) by St Olave’s Church, on Museum Street by Lendal Bridge and from the riverside walk next to the River Ouse.

We had just finished the Walk on the City Walls and the first thing my son did was sit in the bench in front of the York Museum.

I however, decided to explore a bit of the sprawling botanic gardens which is spread over an area of around 10 acres. I learnt that the Gardens were modelled in gardenesque style by noted landscape architect Sir John Murray Naysmith.

The lush green lawns dotted with tall trees and beautifully colour coordinated beds of blooming seasonal flowers is a sight to behold. The hyperactive squirrels running here and there and a variety of birds chirping away to glory were delightful add-ons.

They gardens are open to the public during daylight hours; which means that, the opening and closing times vary depending upon the season or time of the year.

There is no admission fee for visiting the Museum Gardens; but there are charges for some of the events that are held. I learnt that many open air events, such as, theatres and festive fares are organised in the gardens.

The gardens are managed by the York Museums Trust.

The historic buildings within the Garden premises include remains of the Roman fort of Eboracum, including the Multangular Tower and parts of the Roman walls. the Anglian Tower and the St Mary’s Abbey

The St. Mary’s Abbey, an abbey or religious house of the Benedictine order, was once upon a time considered the richest abbey in the north of England.

The ruins, now a Grade 1 building, comprise th foundation walls of the of the religious house built by the Normans and the remains of the 13th Century Abbey which include the parts of the Abbey Church, the watergate, the Marygate gatehouse to the area within the walls of the Abbey, the substantially altered Abbot’s House and the Hospitium, which although sounds like an infirmary was actually the supporting house where the Abbot hosted and entertained guests. The Hospitium is currently the centre of York Museum Trust’s hospitality business. Many structures and statues discovered at the Abbey site have found place in the adjacent museum.

The main entrance to the Abbey is from the Marygate side and the abbey ruins lie close to York City Wall, the Multi-Angular Tower is a short distance to the east.

After spending some quality time, we walked through the path leading out of the Main Gates of the York Museum Gardens.

The best thing about this time of the year in this part of the world is that the sun stays up till late into the evening and so, we were happy that we could see a bit more of York than we had expected.

To say we were hungry from all the walking through the day would be an understatement.

While walking from the Shambles to York Minster, we had sighted a restaurant named Yak and Yeti. It rang a bell because it was the name of the hotel where we put up during our visits to Kathmandu, the capital of our neighbouring country Nepal. So, with a hope of a good Gorkha meal, we walked all the way back to Goodramgate and warmed up to the familiarity of the ambience.

We had no regrets about the long walk with grumbling tummies because our hearty meal comprising of a serving of Bhuteko Bhaat and one of Yak & Yeti Special Fried Rice to go along with an Annapurna Chicken and a Lamb Tama was lip smacking; can’t use the term finger-licking as we had made use of the cutlery. We followed up the meal with a cup each of hot flavoured tea and while we were having our meal, we seized the opportunity of charging our phones as they were almost discharged.

We then set off towards the railway station to catch the train back to Durham.

On our way, we crossed the famous Skeldergate Bridge, one of the nine bridges across the River Ouse.

We could not help casting a longing look towards the City Walls that ran alongside, as if we could do it all over again.

It is unimaginable how much of York we had done in a little over eight hours that we had spent, walking and wandering around the Walled City and all thanks to our strong heads and our strong feet.

As I sat on my seat in the train, I said a silent prayer and thanked my lucky stars for this lovely day which had already made its way to the Archive of my Life.

Can I hope to add another one sometime later and title it ‘York Revisited’….????

WALKING AROUND THE WALLED CITY OF YORK : Part 1

Our visit to the walled city of York was impromptu and unplanned. But I have got my son to thank. Had it not been for him, it would in all probability, have still remained a dream.

Allow me to share why the United Kingdom has always been so special to me.

More important than it being the birthplace of Shakespeare, it was the island nation where my parents had gone all the way from India for their post graduate studies, entrusting me, to the loving care of my grandparents. The toddler had waited eagerly for the parents to return and when they did, they brought along as wonderful gifts, so many beautiful tales of the lovely land of Great Britain.

London, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Yorkshire, Manchester, Leeds… became familiar because they took the names so frequently.

Never did I ever think I would be able to visit them…

The little that I could remember from what I had heard about York, was that, once upon a time, it was England’s second city and that it lies approximately halfway between London and Edinburgh.

Our plan was to take a morning train to York, spend the day and take an evening train back to Durham.

There are many services and as many as fifty trains available per day that one can take from Durham to York.

We boarded a CrossCountry Train that departed at 09:49am. It took us precisely 44 minutes and we arrived at the York Station at 10:33am.

We were glad of the early start as it gave us time to figure out how to go about and make the most out of the day.

I had by now almost come to terms with the typical cloudy , rainy weather and so, I ignored the mild drizzle, while my son consulted the Google Maps to find our way to the first spot in the list of our self conducted tour, the Clifford’s Tower which is about a 20-25 minute walk from the Railway Station and because we did not want to wear ourselves out, we took a bus and got off at Tower Street.

Clifford’s Tower :

The Clifford’s Tower happens to be one of the most popular tourist attractions of York. Standing on top of its high earth mound, it represents the last and only vestige of the once upon a time motte and bailey York Castle built by William the Conquerer. Despite the dilapidated state, the ruinous keep looks imposing enough.

Historical accounts state that the 11th Century timber tower was destroyed during the massacre or rather mass suicide by the 150 Jews in 1190. Thereafter, a stone tower was rebuilt in the 13th century which suffered yet again when an explosion destroyed the interiors of the Tower. It was reconstructed in the 18th Century in Neoclaasical style and in all probability, it was thereafter used as treasury and / or prison.

The fact that one can enjoy stunning panoramic views (provided you are willing to climb a good 110steps, 55steps to reach the entrance and the inner courtyard and another 55steps to the top), makes it the ideal tourist destination and the usual starting point for any visit to the city.

We were delighted by the view and it was specially wonderful to sight the York Minster and the medieval churches from the top of Clifford’s Tower,

Since we had not done any prior bookings, we bought our tickets at the price of £5.70 for me and £5.10 for my son who got student concession.

The York Castle Museum :

We walked across towards the York City Museum which was right next to the Clifford’s Tower.

From the outside, it appeared that the museum was closed; I could not help feeling quite disappointed thinking that we would have to be content with clicking a few pictures of the building,

The adjacent cafe looked very inviting and when we entered it, we saw that it housed the reception for the York Castle Tour.

Without loosing time, we bought our tickets; mine cost £while my son’s cost £5.

We came to know that the former Debtors’ Prison and Female Prison, along with a newly built entrance area, now the make up the Castle Museum and that the displays and exhibitions span over three floors.

We decided to keep a tab on time and not linger for too long because we had a lot more of the City of York to see.

I loved the beautifully recreated period rooms; the Victorian parlour and specially the 17th-century Jacobean dining room.

The Victorian Street, and the Toy Stories are steeped in history while the prison or cellars testified the dark and gory side.

We made it in good time and so, before leaving, we decided to have a decent meal at the Cafe 68 at York Castle Museum.

It would be worthwhile mentioning that the museum remains open from 9:30am to 5:00pm throughout the year except during Christmas and New Year. Most parts provide wheelchair access. Only assistance dogs are allowed. Photography of displays and exhibitions are not appreciated and for filming or publishing, written permission needs to be sought from concerned authorities

After that we walked past the Fairfax House which is regarded as one of the most impressive Georgian town houses in entire England towards the Coppergate Shopping Centre. This shopping complex is named after a medieval street and comprised . We hung around for a while but soon headed towards Shambles.

Shambles :

The name Shambles has stuck on to the street although the meaning no longer applies. The mention of this old street of York is found in the Domesday Book, the manuscript record of the “Great Survey” of England and parts of Wales which was completed way back in 1086.

In my wildest dreams I would not have imagined that this neat cobbled street with its timber-framed overhanging buildings, currently housing an ensemble of cute little shops with beautiful displays of curios and souvenirs, posh stores selling branded garments and accessories, cafes, restaurants and food court, bakery, chocolate shop and bookshop, was earlier known as The Great Flesh Shambles with as many as twenty five butcher shops along the unhygienic street, where blood, guts and wastes were thrown into the gutters and runnel down the street.

Quite a few of the buildings date back to the fourteenth century and although not a single slaughter house nor meat shop can be seen, a fair number of the shops still have meat-hooks hanging outside, with shelves places below, where meat was displayed; after all, the Anglo-Saxon word, ‘Fleshammels‘ from which the word Shambles was coined, literally meaning flesh shelves.

This medieval shopping street of York was supposed to have inspired the ‘Diagon Alley’ in the series of Harry Potter films. The stores, The Boy Wizard, The World Of Wizardry, The Shop That Must Not Be Named have gone on to fortify the Shambles-Harry Potter Connection.

Books on travels have always intrigued and interested me and I had read the book, “A Walk Around the Snickelways of York” by Mark W. Jones when I was in my teens. What had particularly impressed me apart from being a great travel guide was that, the book had originally been handwritten with hand-drawn illustrations.

The meaning of the unique word ‘Snickelway’, I learnt, was a blend of a couple of words, such as ‘passageway’ between walls and fences, an ‘alleyway’ between or behind buildings.

Do I need to tell that the ‘high’ I felt actually walking around the snickelways leading off the Shambles is something that is beyond words..???!!!

Had it not been for the Plaque, I would have easily missed the Shrine to St. Margaret Clitherow, the daughter of a candle maker from Yorkshire who had married a butcher of York. Although born to as well as married into Protestant families, she had converted to Catholicism and become a staunch follower of the faith. When King Hendry XIII has distanced from the Catholic faith and had ordered the destruction of churches and persecution of priests, Margaret not only gave shelter to the fugitive priests hiding them in the priest’s hole but also held secret prayer meetings and masses at her home in the Shambles. When this came to light, she was arrested and brutally executed. Her hands were chopped off and she was made to lie down on a rock which was the size of a fist and a door was placed over her with large boulders on them serving the sentence of ‘death by pressing’.

We were content to click a picture of the plaque and did not enter to see the priest hole.

I made my best efforts to ignore the cold shudder that ran down my spine and entered the store named Monk Bar Chocolatiers of York to buy some yummy chocolates while my son checked out some tee-shirts in a store named York Vikings.

The memories made as we walked the uneven, narrow, cobbled historic street of Shambles, will last forever.

SANDEMANs NEW Dublin Tour 25th. April 2019

I have thoroughly enjoyed the SANDEMANs NEW Europe Tours that I have taken in London, Paris and Edinburgh; hence, I was looking forward to the Dublin Tour too.

In fact had it not been for the wise advice of the guide, I would probably have not visited the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris in the year 2014, and missed my chance witnessing this wonderful monument before the unfortunate fire catastrophe.

The SANDEMANs NEW Europe Tour happens to be the world’s largest Walking Tour Company which provides fantastic tour experiences to travellers with the help of its team of expert guides who not only enlighten the tourists about the history, culture, legends, mysteries, myths, buildings, monuments, ruins, rivers, bridges and people of the city but also point out the places which deserve to be looked up in more detail.

These tours are available in over twenty cities across Europe, the Middle East and the USA.

The tours are free of cost and are conducted in different languages. Apart from the City Tours during the day, there are Pub Crawls and scary night tours which show the Dark Side of the city, unravelling tales of ghosts and murders, dungeons and cellars.

One needs to make prior reservations and opt for the tour and the preferred language.

We had done our online booking way in advance for the 11:00am SANDEMANs NEW Dublin Tour on the 25th of April 2019.

It was a cold, rainy morning and armed with our blue floral umbrella, wearing good walking shoes, my son and I set off, all excited and enthusiastic for the three hour walking tour of the City of Dublin.

The plan was to have a light breakfast before the start of the tour; but most of the cafes around the area were yet to open their doors.

We were very relieved when we managed to get some Croissants with butter-marmalade and Hot Chocolate at the cafe Chez Max and merrily tucked in the melt in the mouth croissant and sipped the hot chocolate before walking up to the starting point of the tour, the Barnardo Square, next to City Hall looking out for our guide and tour mates.

A SANDEMANs guide’s signature red umbrella always makes him/her easily identifiable and soon enough all the members of the group reported to our tour guide.

A round of preliminary introductions and the group photograph flagged off the tour.

When our good looking guide said that his name was Ciarán, he pronounced it as ‘Kiron’ which is a popular name in India. So, I strained my eyes to read the card he was wearing around his neck. He was quick to notice it, and said that we might address him anyway Chiron, Carron, or Charan, so long as we keep the tour alive with questions.

It was apparent that Ciarán was thorough in his knowledge about the history and geography of Ireland. Being Irish by birth and having been raised in Dublin, made him all the more passionate about the city, it’s history and culture, the buildings-both old and new, personalities- both famous as well as infamous and we soon realised we were in good hands and could not have wished for a better guide.

From our starting point, we walked up to the Courtyard of the Dublin Castle. Ciarán shared all the relevant informations about the medieval castle. We learnt that the castle was built by the dark pool or ‘Dubh Linn’ from which the city got its name and that, because of its location, the castle was guarded by both the rivers Poddle and Liffey.

He told us about the Norman invasion of Ireland, about the addition of the stone and timber Great Hall to the existing medieval wooden buildings and also about the two catastrophic destructions by fire in 1673 and 1684.

We observed that the repeated reconstructions of the castle had taken away most of the medieval fortress apart from the Record Tower, which has remained as the only surviving tower of the medieval castle. My son listened intently as Ciarán spoke about the Easter Rising of 1916 while I seized the opportunity of clicking a few pictures.

We marched on and paused for a while beside the the Chapel Royal and Ciarán mentioned that it was the official Church of Ireland chapel of Lord Lieutenant until Ireland became a free state.

Our next stop was the Dubhlinn Gardens or the Dubh Linn Gardens, a large landscaped expanse enclosed behind the Dublin Castle. Styled with a Celtic touch, the garden has one approach from an open stretch in front of the famous Chester Beatly Library and another through a gate in the wall opposite the State Apartments.

Ciarán said that the garden also served as a helipad for the dignitaries who flew in to Dublin to stay in the State Apartments during their stately visits .

He elaborated that due to the stressful relationship between England and Ireland, a heavy aura of anxious anticipation had loomed large prior to the Queen’s visit. He added that the Queen had allayed all anxiety by beginning her speech with an Irish greeting.

Ciarán also mentioned about festive mood that marked Michelle and Barrack Obama’s arrival in Dublin.

We walked closer to the Chester Beatly Library which is located within the garden premises and Ciarán enlightened us that it had originally housed the collections of the mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatly. Later, it was opened on the Dublin Castle Grounds to commemorate his 125th birthday. The collections in the Library are displayed in two sections, namely, the “Sacred Traditions” and “Artistic Traditions”.

Apart from many manuscripts, books and artefacts, the museum is famous for housing the surviving volumes of the first illustrated ‘Life of the Prophet’ and the ‘Gospel of Mani’. Ciarán recommended a tour of the library to check out the collections if time permitted.

I felt a warm feeling of familiarity and pride (perhaps?) when I saw a lady clad in a saree coming out from the library and driving off in a posh car.

Out from the Gardens, the group marched on while I seized the opportunity of clicking a couple of quick pictures of the colourfully painted buildings located on the south side of the outside wall of Dublin castle before catching up with them.

We next stopped at the Plaque remembering Jonathan Swift’s birthplace near the Dublin Castle.

Standing beside the arch with the Forty Steps that were featured in the movie ‘PS I love you‘, Ciarán said that this Anglo/Irish satirist and cleric was born to a family that had many interesting literary connections. Swift apparently was an above average student at the Trinity College, Dublin University and he eventually became the Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.

The noteworthy works of Jonathan Swift include A Tale of a Tub, Gulliver’s Travels, Drapier’s Letters.

In his satirical essay, A Modest Proposal For preventing the Children of Poor People From being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For making them Beneficial to the Publick, published anonymously in pamphlet form, Swift proposed that the babies born to poor parents be nursed till they were one year old and then be sold to the rich as food, in order that, rather than being a burden, they would be a source of revenue for their family. This satire was written in context to the worsening economic conditions in Ireland as a result of the famine.

Our walk took us past the Dublin City Council Building which Ciarán said, is the authority responsible for local government in Dublin, Ireland.

We then moved on to the Christ Church Cathedral, the oldest building and spiritual heart of Dublin. It was formerly known as The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.

Located in the centre of Medieval Dublin, it is claimed to be the seat of the Church of Ireland as well as the Roman Catholic Archbishops of Dublin.

Ciarán shared his knowledge about how the wooden structure of the original Viking Church founded as early as 1030AD was destroyed during Norman invasions and was later reconstructed as a stone church.

He enlightened us about the preserved heart of the Archbishop who had died in France. Apparently, the heart that lay inside a heart-shaped box enclosed behind iron bars, was mysteriously stolen in the year 2012.

Ciarán’s interesting rejoinders also included the tale about the cathedral’s exceptional inhabitants : the mummified remains of a cat and a rat.

All through the tour so far, the weather had remained cloudy with drizzles that fluctuated between light and heavy. Holding the umbrellas over our heads, we continued to walk along the wet streets of South-East Inner City.

On reaching Temple Bar, Ciarán shared his valuable inputs that although it is the name of one of the most famous pubs of Dublin; broadly speaking, Temple Bar is the area in Central Dublin, on the south bank of the River Liffey, which is considered to be Dublin’s ‘Cultural Quarter’ and a very popular tourist destination particularly for nightlife.

Temple Bar, he said, has quite a few cultural institutions related to photography, art and theatre and also a host of pubs, cafes and takeaways; the two renovated squares in the area being the Meetinghouse Square and the Temple Bar Square.

We were happy as ever when Ciarán announced that we could take a fifteen minute break; most of us made a dash to the nearest cafe for the much needed cup of coffee.

After warming up with some nice coffee, we started off, crossed Temple Bar area and stopped for a bit near the Ha’penny Bridge, later known as Penny Ha’penny Bridge and officially, the Liffey Bridge.

Ciarán shared that before the bridge had been built there were seven ferries that plied across the River Liffey. It so happened that the conditions of the ferries were very poor and rather than repairing them it was decided that a bridge be built instead. The bridge earned its name from the fact that the toll extracted for crossing the bridge was fixed at half a penny; which was later increased to a penny and a half.

The bridge, made of cast iron, is considered to be one of the oldest cast iron bridges in the world.

Marching ahead, we stopped near the Parliament House located at the College Green. It was the home to the Parliament of Ireland and later became the Bank of Ireland.

Ciarán asked us to identify what was strange about this semicircle shaped building which had been built in accordance to Palladian Architecture; and went on to point out that it was windowless. Apparently during the time of its construction, a Window Tax was being levied in Britain and Ireland and with the intention of cost-cutting, the intended windows were filled in and sealed.

We walked to stop in the road opposite to the gate of the Trinity College, and Ciarán stated with a fair amount of pride that he had been a student of the reputed institution. He emphasised that the Library of the Trinity College is worth visiting, because, apart from being home to the Brian Boru harp, which is the national symbol of Ireland, the Long Room at Trinity College’s Old Library holds the collection’s 200,000 oldest books.

We finally reached the last stop of our tour, the St. Andrew’s Church, a former parish church of the Church of Ireland, located on the street known by the name of the church as St. Andrew’s Street. The Central Tourist Office is now housed in the church.

With the H&M Store behind him and almost looking like a mannequin himself, Ciarán pointed out across the road, towards the bronze statue of Molly Malone, also known as Cockles and Mussels.

The legend that became prevalent in the late 20th Century states the Molly Malone was a fishmonger from the 17th Century who had died young, from fever. While one school of thought believed her of being a prostitute by night, another vouch that there was none as chaste as her.

Whatever be the case, the 13th of June was marked as Molly Malone Day by the Dublin Millennium Commission and the Molly Malone statue was presented to the city to mark the millennium.

To give a befitting conclusion to this extremely informative and interesting tour, our guide Ciarán sang for us, a few lines from the song written on Molly Malone…

🎼🎹🎸🎻 🎼🎹🎸🎻🎼

In Dublin’s fair city,

Where the girls are so pretty,

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,

As she wheeled her wheel-barrow

Through streets broad and narrow, Crying, “Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh!”

🎼🎹🎸🎻🎼🎹🎸🎻🎼

For all those are have plans of visiting Dublin, I most definitely recommend the SANDEMANs NEW Dublin Free Walking Tour and hope that you are lucky enough to get Ciarán as your guide.

The Drinks of Dublin

Search any website for the Top 10 places to see in Dublin, and you are sure to find the Jameson Distillery Bow St. and the Guinness Storehouse right up at the top…

Well, to be very honest, I am a late bloomer where it concerns alcoholic beverages and I am still pretty much the amateur who feels safe to drink a glass of beer or some wine only when the children are around.

Nevertheless, when we were preparing the itinerary for Dublin, we definitely included the two most famous and popular tours and both of them well exceeded our expectations.

To get to Dublin, we flew Ryanair from Newcastle and on reaching the city, checked into a cute-cosy room in an airbnb on O’Connell Street.

Within minutes we were out on the streets, eager to explore Dublin.

THE JAMESON DISTILLERY BOW ST. TOUR :

Trust Google Maps to help us find out the location of the Jameson Distillery at Bow Street. My son soon mapped the route and the Luas, the tram or light rail system in Dublin which we needed to take to get there.

We got off the tram at Smithfield and decided to tuck our tummies with some food and so thinking, we stopped at an awesome café by the name Third Space for a late lunch. The food was delicious, but of course, that’s another story that will come up in another blog.

We just needed to walk across a large rectangular cobbled courtyard known as the Smithfield Square, to reach the Jameson Distillery Bow St., our destination for the day..

We were glad that we had been wise enough to book the tours online and well ahead of time through GetYourGuide.

Right from the moment of our entry till our exit, we could not stop our eyes from roving around and admiring every aspect of the distillery.

The ambience was that of a wonderful ensemble of people who had gathered from across the world; some were regulars and some were first-timers like us.

I realised that you do not have to ‘drink’ whiskey to enjoy a whiskey tour experience. There is so much more to know about whiskey other than just what it tastes like.

The group for the 16:45 tour comprised of thirty people, coming together from France, Sweden, Germany, Canada and of course Babu and I, from India. Our guide for the tour was Dave, a dashing dynamic, dapper dude who not only kept us alert and attentive but also managed to make us go into splits of laughter with his quick wit.

Dave took all of us through the history of the Jameson lineage and narrated the story of the trials, struggles, success, growth and finally, the expansion of the distillery to become what it is today.

The story goes that John Jameson, who was the Manager at the distillery which had been established way back in 1780, took full ownership of the distillery by 1805 and in the course of the next decade, he, along with his son John Jameson II, expanded it from strength to strength to eventually give the Irish whiskey the brand name John Jameson & Son’s Distillery Bow Street, by which it is so popular today.

Dave did not miss out on the family front of the founder and said that even prior to founding the distillery, John Jameson had married Margaret Haig, the daughter of John Haig, a famous whisky distiller of Scotland and that in due course of time, they became the proud parents of eight sons and eight daughters.

We learned that this was the original site where Jameson Irish Whiskey was distilled until 1971. It was established as a Visitor Centre in 1997 with the purpose of providing guided tours and tutored whiskey tastings. The Visitor Centre also houses the JJs Bar and a Gift Shop.

Dave spoke about the Jameson family motto, “Sine Metu” which means ‘Without Fear’ and elaborated on how thoughtful and considerate the company had always been to its employees.

Bow Street remains an integral part of the brand name and is seen on every label because of the sentiments attached, although Jameson is now distilled in the New Middleton Distillery in County Cork.

Dave’s discourse through the art and science of the making of Irish Whiskey was both artistic and technical, but most importantly, very interesting. The audiovisuals were wonderful add-ons.

Dave had however, saved the best for last. It was what everyone had been waiting for; vis a vis, Whiskey Tasting.

The entire group remained engaged and engrossed while Dave imparted the knowledge on how to hold the glass, swirl the whiskey, take in the aroma, sip and roll the tongue etc etc. He also taught us how to differentiate Irish Whiskey from Scotch Whisky(where the ‘e’ is dropped) and American Whiskey by seeing, smelling and sipping.

The Final Test : Before each of us, there were three samples without labels. The test was to recognise the origin and brand. While I remained clueless, many could recognise the three Js of whiskey; Jameson (Irish), Johnny Walker (Scotch) and Jack Daniel’s (American).

Full marks to Dave for making the Jameson Whiskey Tour equally impressive for an amateur as well as the veterans.

We got vouchers for one complimentary drink. It was Jameson, my son had it neat and for me, it was with with ginger-lime and lots of ice.

“TAITHI IONTACH” which means ‘Wonderful Experience’ in Irish is what I had in my mind as we exited the distillery.

GUINNESS STOREHOUSE :

It was a Day 2 in Dublin and we were on our way to the Guinness Storehouse. The Luas to James’s Street was overcrowded; my son and I barely managed to find some space to stand. Just when we were making the mental note that we needed to get off at the next stop, an elderly lady seated near where I was standing, magnanimously volunteered to tell us the directions to the Guinness Storehouse after alighting from the tram. I smiled my thanks but could not contain my curiosity as to how she could guess that we were indeed heading to the Guinness Storehouse at St. James Gate Brewery, the most popular tourist attraction of Dublin.

The way along the cobbled alley wet from the recent drizzle, took us towards the entrance. The horse drawn carriages waiting at the gate to trot the tourists back to the downtown was something I would have lived to indulge in but could not afford.

We paused to have our pictures clicked the large sign of Guinness.

I wondered about the association of the harp with Guinness. I learnt that the ‘harp’, that Guinness had chosen as its emblem, is taken from the Brian Boru or O’Neill harp, a medieval musical instrument that now stands displayed in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin..

My son and I were glad that we had opted for a self-guided tour because at Guinness Storehouse, be it the pictures, the visuals, the signs, the equipments; everything was self explanatory.

The Storehouse at St. James Gate Brewery was the original site of the fermentation plant. It was remodelled to serve as a Visitor Centre and was opened to public in December 2000. It went on to become the leading tourist attraction of entire Ireland.

The Guinness Storehouse is spread over seven floors built around the atrium which is shaped to resemble a huge pint of glass. it is the largest beer glass in the world that would require at least 14.3 million pints to fill it.

The starting point of the brewery tour was the giant glass atrium.

The ground floor was all about introducing us to the four ingredients that go on to make beer; namely water, barley, hops and yeast. We walked along the sides of a large open are filled with of golden barley, and also witnessed a beautiful artificial cascade of water. I paused to watch a film playing on a small screen that showed the entire process from sowing of the barley to the bottling of the beer.

There was an audiovisual introduced us to Arthur Guinness, the founder of the brewery. It labelled him as the fifth ingredient of Guinness.

It was interesting to know that he and his wife Olivia Whitmore, had twenty one children. Unfortunately, in those times the child mortality rate was very high, and of the twenty one children born, only eleven had survived.

The doctor in me could not help calculating and concluding that Olivia had remained pregnant for almost sixteen years of her life.

The first floor holds wooden barrels in which Guinness was transported. They were stacked so high that the pilots flying over them referred to them as Dublin Pyramids.

The second floor comprised the Guinness Tasting Rooms, but we gave it a skip and went on to the Velvet Chamber where we got a class on how best to enjoy Guinness.

The third floor showcased the evolution of the uniquely creative Guinness World of Advertising. The Whistling Oyster, the fish on a bicycle were exceptional for me as was the idea of getting my picture clicked drinking beer from the humongous glass perched on the tortoise’s back.

The fourth floor houses the Guinness Academy; where we were taught to pour our own perfect pint of Guinness. It also offered an interactive session on responsible drinking.

The fifth floor was about experiencing and enjoying special traditional dishes in the restaurant. The Guinness Irish Stew seemed to be particularly popular. The Arthur’s Bar is where we got our complimentary pint of beer to go with McCarren’s Korean-style spork belly bau buns with chilli and spring onions slaw for Babu and Guinness-cured Kish salmon with pickled cucumber, dilisk cream cheese and Guinness bread for myself.

After we had eaten, we took the steps to the seventh floor which houses the Gravity Bar. It offers a 360 degrees panoramic view of the city of Dublin and also beyond. The landmarks are written on the glass making it easier to identify.

I was smitten by the Wicklow Mountains, from where Guinness sources the high quality fresh water for brewing.

Saving it for another time, hopefully…

Before exiting, we stopped at the Store to buy a few souvenirs to make and keep the memories of this memorable trip fresher and stronger.

From the way Guinness is all over the place I could easily say Guinness is synonymous with Dublin, or better still, the whole of Ireland, perhaps…???!!!

I hope that reading this blog up until the end has made you feel giddy from intoxication or slightly tipsy at least…

Sláinte

Beguiling Belfast…

En route to :

My son and I thanked our awesome host Oscar for the cosy-comfortable stay at his Airbnb and after bidding “bye bye”, we took a tram to the Connolly Station, the main Railway Station of Dublin.

The colourful piano at the station was the first thing that caught our attention and it was impossible not to be instantly drawn to it.

We hadn’t eaten in the morning and the cafes beckoned us for breakfast. Bean & Gone was our choice and while I tucked into ham and cheese sandwich, Babu had a sausage roll and chocolate croissant. Both of us decided on hot chocolate before boarding the Iarnród Éireann – Irish rail, and as it pulled out of the Station, I said “Slán” to Delightful Dublin.

The two and half hour ride along the eastern stretch of Ireland took us across lush green green meadows, grazing sheep and cattle, golden patches of rape seed cultivation, with rocky hills peeping out in the distant horizon hinting at the proximity of the Irish coastline until we pulled in at Lanyon Place station, Belfast…

Here & There in Belfast; Day 1 :

Our train ticket was good enough to give us a free bus ride to the City Centre from where we googled the route and found out the correct bus number to take us to Global Village, the hostel on 87 University Street where we would be putting up for the next two days.

The hostel was very cute; a house turned into a hostel basically, with a very homely hall which also served as reception area. Our young host showed us around and told us that a self help basic breakfast would be kept ready in the dining area. There was a very young and vibrant feel to the ambience. The walls and doors were bright and cheerful. I particularly liked a door that had a beautiful thought put up with alphabets made from newspaper cuttings.

We wanted to make the most out of the remaining part of the day and so, promptly left to the see as many places as we could.

The first spot was the Botanic Gardens as it was very close to our hostel and we could just walk down. Although we had already seen the vast expanses of tulips at Keukenhof, Lisse, I must admit that I can never have enough of them, so I went gaga all over again over the beautiful blooms growing in colourful coordination with flowers

The pretty pink and white ice cream van was too tempting to resist; so, the mother-son duo treated ourselves to some yummy soft serve ice cream.

We then made our way to the Ulster Museum which was within the Botanic Gardens and were pleasantly surprised when we were told that entry was free.

The Ulster Museum which was originally founded as the Belfast Natural History Society in 1821 began exhibiting its displays in 1833. It is the largest museum in Northern Ireland.

The galleries in the museum have displays that cover the history of Northern Ireland from the earliest to the recent past comprising collections of fine art as well as applied art, both modern and ethnographic; historic as well as contemporary fashion and textiles.

The scientific collections comprise collections of Irish birds, mammals, insects, molluscs, marine invertebrates, flowering plants, houses. There is also a collection of rocks, minerals and fossils.

The museum maintains a natural history website by the name ‘Habitas’. It also holds exhibitions.

After a satisfactory run through all the displays we went down to the cafe and treated ourselves to some coffee and cookies.

We walked through the premises of the Queen’s University, the Union Theological College and the McClay Library.

We took a bus to the City Centre and looked up the Belfast City Hall, the Ulster Hall and the Grand Opera House.

Since we had time in our hands, we took a bus to the Titanic Belfast. The bus ride was long and allowed us to rest our feet. The ensemble of all audiovisuals right from the building of the Titanic in the dockyards to its disastrous sinking on the fatal night was truly an unnerving experience.

The SS Nomadic, the only existing White Star Line Vessel which was built to ferry passengers and mail between the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic now stands on display in the Titanic Quarter. We could not manage the time to go close to it and had to be content taking pictures from afar as we were afraid of missing the bus to go back to the City Centre and taking a cab would be way out of our budget.

From the City Centre, we took another bus to Botanic Avenue which was a couple of stops before the stop to our hostel because we had set our hearts on having our dinner at the Kathmandu Kitchen, having seen the signboard earlier.

Warm hospitality, familiar ambience and great food. We started off with Choila Chicken and Lamb Taash and followed it with Gorkhali Aalu and Everest Mutton Curry.

It had begun drizzling while we were waiting for the bus at Titanic Belfast and the post dinner walk to our hostel was absorbing and amusing because we matched steps with rain and wind…. an interesting end to our first day at Beguiling Belfast…

Game of Thrones Locations Tour including Westeros and Giant’s Causeway

Well, to start off, if you ask me how my son and I had landed up being on this tour, the answer is simple… it was courtesy my daughter.

Now, Ireland boasts of the best and the most number of the set locations chosen by the HBO for filming the extremely popular Game of Thrones series and who would know that better than my Li’l Miss Sunshine who is a die hard fan of the drama series.

The booking for the tour was made through viator and the Tour Operator was Diamond Leisure Transport Ltd.

The date was 27th April 2019. We woke up at Global Village, the hostel in University Street, Belfast where we had checked in the previous day, to a cold, rainy morning, feeling somewhat disappointed by the weather. Nonetheless, we grabbed a quick breakfast and made a dash to reach the North side of 9 Donegal Square, the assigned Pick-up Point for the tour, a little before 08:30 am.

The scheduled time was 09:00 am, the reporting time being 08:45 am. Unlike back home in India, where on-time departures seldom happen, we were well aware that in this context there was no such scope for delay and that the bus would set off dot on time, no matter what.

Thank God there was a bus stop near the point, where the mother-son duo, the first to arrive could seek cover from the rains. Soon, the rest of our fellow tourists assembled.

Our guide, the lovely Moire, struck the names against the list in her hands before letting us into the coach and at 09:00 am sharp, Mark, our driver for the day, pulled out the coach through the streets of Belfast with a bunch of Game of Thrones fans of all age groups, including an infant, thanks to its GOT enthusiast parents.

Moire was considerate enough to ensure that the temperature inside our comfortable coach was optimally raised so that we could ‘dry’ and warm ourselves and she cheered us up with the promise to make the most of the ‘wonderful’ weather. In her merry tone, Moire kept up her live commentary about every significant place, building, spot as we passed by them.

For someone who has not watched a single episode of the Game of Thrones series, the tour could easily have been boring and meaningless, but that was not so at all; because Moire’s narration covered the history and geography of the entire country of Ireland and she supplemented them with a good dose of witty anecdotes.

Moire not only explained the reason behind the spot being chosen by HBO as a location for the Game of Thrones series, but also shared interesting information about the modus operandi carried out during the filming schedule.

It was interesting and impressive to learn that Mark had been one of the drivers hired during the shoot and that he knew many secrets, which he chose to remain tight lipped about.

Our first stop was at the Carrickfergus Castle, the Norman castle in County Antrim. It was raining quite heavily but that didn’t stop us from getting off the coach to take a quick look around the castle which happens to be one of the best preserved medieval structures in Northern Ireland. Apparently, the Castle was strategically useful because three-fourths of the castle perimeter was surrounded by water. However, with land reclamation, presently only one-third is surrounded by water.

The wind was so strong, it was difficult to negotiate between holding the umbrella with one hand and clicking pictures with the other, but who would want to miss out on taking pictures of the statue of King William of Orange and of the gun-pointing Williamite soldier standing guard from the top of the castle.

Moire shared that the castle houses historical displays and cannons used between the 17th to 19th Century.

As we headed ahead, we crossed an arched under bridge before passing by the Cairndhu Golf Club area, and as per Moire’s prior instructions, all of us shouted “Guinness”, in unison. I missed out on hearing the reason behind it; some superstition perhaps..???!!!

The rain kept us company and as the coach travelled along the coastal road, we passed by the Magheramorne Quarry, another significant Game of Thrones location. Moire briefed us about the Wall and Castle Black, Westeros saying that there are as many as nineteen castles along the Wall, of which sixteen had to be abandoned and that Castle Black is one of the three manned castles, the other two being Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and The Shadow Tower.

Around this time, Moire passed a pen and a sheet of paper with a printed menu that had some interesting options. We were asked to mention our preferred meal against our names. She told us that she would call the restaurant and place the order based on our preferences in advance so as to save us the waiting time after we reach the restaurant. It was indeed a completely hassle-free option and we felt very grateful. Soon, everyone had made their choices and the sheet was handed back to Moire.

While passing by the industrial market town and seaport of Larne on the east coast of County Antrim, Moire mentioned that the Cairncastle had earned newfound fame because the mountains above the castle had been used for filming the execution of Will by Ned Stark in Season 1 of Game of Thrones. We however, did not stop as she said that there wasn’t much to see, so any photo opportunity got ruled out.

Our next stop was beside a store at Carnlough where we were given the chance to grab a coffee and make use of the toilet attached to the store. While most of the fellow tourists had made a dash for coffee, I, along with another young couple braved the rain and wind to get a few pictures. My umbrella turned upside down and was rendered useless by the strong wind but I left it aside and dared to climb down a few of the wet, rocky steps for a picture. After all, the location was used as Braavos in the Game of Thrones.

After the brief break, the coach sped past Glenariff to Ballymena, where we stopped to take the long walk to the Cushendun Caves.

It was really good to have Moire accompanying us to the caves, elaborating about them. It was so cold that it was difficult to keep our hands out of our pockets and my nose felt as if it did not exist anymore.

Although I was quite clueless, I lapped up the information that these caves, which were formed over a period of four hundred million years, was where Davis Seaworth and Lady Melisandre had landed in Season 2 of the Game of Thrones and also the place where Malisandre had given birth to her shadow baby. That certainly called for a couple of clicks, and we got a few of them before literally running back to our coach in our attempt to beat the rain and cold.

Need I say that by now we were really famished and therefore we were mighty relived when the coach pulled up near the Marine Hotel, Ballycastle…???!!!!

As soon as we entered the warm interiors of the restaurant, we took off our jackets which had become wet and heavy and dived into the sumptuous meal. The potato-mushroom soup served with mini sandwiches was followed by Tenderloin Steak with Onion rings, Fries and Salad. Needless to say that the food was as delectably delicious as it looked !!

After the meal, I took the walk towards the seaside despite a heavy drizzle and picked up a cappuccino to carry back to the coach which headed towards the harbour and beach of Ballintoy which was used as the fictional town of Lordsport in the Isle of Pyke in Season 2 of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Mark parked the coach near the Ballintoy Church and we walked in singles towards the beach.

Moire warned us not to go beyond a point as she was not willing to allow any ‘accidents’. Adequately warned, we stuck close to her and listened attentively while she informed us that the local shops were shut down and the fishermen had to temporarily berth their boats in Ballycastle during the three-four days of filming; but obviously they were compensated by the production team.

Back in the coach, we took the Causeway Coastal Route towards Bushmills and to the Giant’s Causeway.

When the coach pulled up at the parking, I could hardly contain my excitement. The Giant’s Causeway has been on my mind ever since I had heard its description from our roommates at the Skye Backpackers, Isle of Skye where we had put up during our trip to the Scottish Highlands. I was very happy that I could now strike it off my bucket list.

By now, we had grown used to the rain and wind beating against our face; so, we set off without a care, on the long walk towards the large expanse comprising of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns that Moire had told us about, on our way to the Causeway, The outcroppings of basalt had apparently resulted from an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.

We had also learnt that the Giant’s Causeway had been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, in the year 1986 and a National Nature Reserve by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1987.

The sound of the sea waves hitting against the rocks merged with the sound of the strong winds to make music for our ears while we walked to finally reach the end where we could climb using the tops of the columns as stepping stones. The columns were mostly hexagonal but there were columns with four/five/seven and eight sides.

Perched on top of the columns, I was swept by a feeling of laissez-aller, unrestrained and unconstrained freedom.

The legend as per Gaelic mythology goes, is that the columns are the remnants of a Causeway which was built by the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill. On being challenged by the Scottish giant Benandonner, Fionn built the Causeway across the North Channel to enable him to meet and fight with his rival, but he apparently backed out when he realised that his foe was much larger. Fionn’s wife Oonagh disguised him to look like a baby and tucked him in a cradle. When Bernandonner came looking for Fionn, Oonagh pointed out her sleeping child. Seeing the ‘gigantic’ baby, Bernandonner imagined that Fionn, the father of the giant baby, would certainly be a giant among giants. So thinking, Bernandonner fled and destroyed the Causeway behind him so that Fionn would not be able to catch him.

It is interesting to know that there are similar basalt columns at Fingal’s Cave in the Scottish isle of Staffa across the sea.

The entry to the Causeway is feee of cost; there is a Visitor’s Centre but one can go ahead to the Causeway directly without making any payment; there is however parking fee which needs to be paid if and when a vehicle is parked in the parking area. The Visitor’s Centre has many interesting displays, curio shops and also cafes.

We made good use of the hour we were allowed to spend at the Causeway and could manage to grab some coffee before boarding the bus. I was very happy to have a picture clicked with the handsome Mark for memory.

Although the Giant’s Causeway has not been used in the Game of Thrones show, it is considered to be the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom and is one of the most popular tourist destinations.

We were now towards the end of our tour and Mark parked the coach by the roadside briefly, giving us enough time to take a few pictures of the ruins of the medieval Dunluce Castle which remains perched precariously on the edge of the protruding coastal cliffs of basalt outcroppings being connected to the mainland by a bridge.

The Dunluce Castle, which is boasts of bloody battles, tales of the banshees and of castle kitchens falling into the sea on a stormy night was used for quite a few scenes as the House of Greyjoy. Moire added that the HBO had to do the filming from the sea facing side of the castle.

Finally, we headed to the Dark Hedges, the last leg of the tour.

We got off the coach and the boys helped Moire to carry the costumes, cloaks, masks, headgear, swords, shields that she had brought along with the good intention of having some epic pictures clicked as this location.

We walked ahead taking the Bregagh Road and the first glimpse of the stunning avenue formed by the 18th Century Beech trees was truly a sight to behold. It is known to be the location for being shown in first episode of Season 2 where Arya escaped from King’s Landing in the guise of a boy. I was happy to witness the excitement of the Game of Thrones fans, each one gushing about the scenes of the episode.

We all took turns to put on the costumes and had our pictures clicked.

What a phenomenal end to the historic and dramatic tour.

True to her words, Moire actually ensured that despite the severely low temperature, strong winds and incessant rains, we truly had an amazingly awesome time.

One last stop at a filling station for some coffee and use of toilets before making it back to Belfast where we were dropped off at the 9 Donegal Square opposite the City Hall.

We thanked Moire and Mark for making the tour so memorable, exchanged goodbyes with fellow tourists and made our way to Tim Hortons Cafe for some hot tea and freshly baked scones.

Discover Scotland : The Highland Tour : Day 1

Prior to our trip to Scotland, we had decided that apart from visiting the two major cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, we would take the three day Discover Scotland Tour of the Isle of Skye, the Scottish Highlands and the Loch Ness cruise, starting from and ending at Glasgow.

DAY 1 :

We had made the booking online well in advance and our meeting point was a couple of yards from the iconic George Square in Glasgow, where our tall, portly driver cum guide dressed in smart kilts welcomed us.

There was ample space and we could choose our seats as our group comprised of five members only; a youngly newly married couple from Hungary, a recently retired British Lady, my son and I. So, having stowed our luggage in the back of the bus, the mother-son duo made ourselves comfortable for what looked like one of the most promising tours of our lives…

The drive took us to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and Scotland’s prettiest village, Luss.

A leisurely walk down to the pier and I was floored by the sight of the neat rows of little cottages which were alive with the beautiful summer blooms displayed on all sides.

It was difficult not to get completely smitten by the picture-postcard perfection of the Village Luss and after absorbing as much of Loch Lomond as we possibly could, we reluctantly drove ahead on our onward journey…

We reached the Bridge of Orchy which is located at the head of Glen Orchy, along the West Highland Way, the prominent peaks here include the Munro’s Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dòthaidh.

The Three Sister Hills in Glencoe, the Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach and Aonacc Dubh, together form one of the most scenic and beautiful sights, in fact it was ranked the second best sight below the Welsh mountain Snowdonia by a panel of travel experts…

We stopped at Fort William for a hearty lunch… The Salmon obviously was to die for…

From Fort William through Caol and Corpach, we head to Glenfinnan… PAUSE…

The heart skipped a million beats at the beauty of this hamlet located in the Lochaber area of the Scottish Highlands.

We climbed up to the view point and look around the breathtakingly beauty all around…

* The Glenfinnan Monument, at the head of the Loch was erected in 1815 as a tribute to the clansmen who gave up their lives to the Jacobite cause.

* The Harry Potter Bridge , the Glenfinnan Viaduct, a stunning spot and one need not be a Harry Potter get awestruck by the beauty of it..

My daughter is one and how I kissed her at this moment…

From Glenfinnan, we drove in to Lochailort, a hamlet at the head of Loch Ailort, a sea loch between Fort William and Mallaig. It is famous for its salmon farming.

Onward through Back of Keppoch, Portnaluchaig, both of which are coastal settlements, we reached Arisaig, a village in Lochaber, Inverness-shire.

“Arisaig” means the safe place in Scottish Gaelic language.

From Arisaig, we headed onwards and stopped for a while by the River Morar which flows from Loch Morar to the estuary of Morar Bay… We stretched our legs, walked along the sandy shore, saw some amazing seaweeds, clicked some great pictures before driving on to reach Mallaig.

A short stopover at Mallaig, some hot chocolate and window shopping before we boarded the ferry that would take us across to Skye; Ardvasar, Teangue, Isle Ornsay, Breakish and finally Kyleakin.

Our guide told us, that it is common to see double and even triple rainbows in the sky of Skye, and true to his words, the lovely little fishing town of Kyleakin, in the Isle of Skye welcomed us with a double rainbow.

We waved “Bye-Bye, See you tomorrow” to our travel guide and travel partners before checking in at the Skye Backpackers Hostel.

Our UK Trip with the newfound joy of hostel-hopping and backpacking

It was six o’clock in the evening when we landed at the London Heathrow Airport and after obtaining the mandatory new SIM cards with the package that suited us the best, we headed to London, the city of dreams, in a pre-booked cab.

Our destination was the Wombat’s Hostel, 7Dock Street, Wapping, Whitechapel, London.

Wombat’s City Hostel, London was chosen for us by my daughter. She had vouched of a very pleasant experience during her own stay and knowing her fastidious nature, I nursed not an iota of doubt that we would have a great stay.

The idea of sharing room space with complete strangers was not too intimidating for me because I had stayed for six days in a six-sharing, female-only dorm when my daughter and I had taken a trip to Paris.

Arriving at the hostel, we could immediately feel a vibrancy in the ambience. A young crowd was hanging outside the entrance while the lobby inside looked like a cosy hangout area.

Colourful graphic art with nice framed pictures and many signs adorned the Reception Area.

It was a welcome change to be attended to by young, friendly, very casually dressed boys and girls; smart and prompt in briefing us about what was to be expected from them and what was expected of us.

The front desk we were told remained open all day-all night and there was no curfew, thereby enabling guests to come and go as they wished. I grinned ear to ear when we were told that it was in its entirety, a “non-smoking” zone.

All that was required for check-in was a valid photo ID, so it was smooth and hassle free. We had sent an e-mail informing that we would be checking-in at around 10 pm, relatively later than the scheduled check-in time of 2pm.

Room 501 was assigned and we received the smart cards for room access along with our bed and locker keys 2 & 3, collected our towels and headed to our room on the fifth floor.

It was a six-bedded common sharing en-suite room and at the very first glance, I took in the three wooden bunk beds placed against three walls. The fourth wall had a large window with the room heater placed below it. The beds were of good size and looked cosy. We had been forewarned at the reception that the beds were not made in advance; a freshly laundered set of bed linen comprising a bed sheet, pillow cover and blanket cover had been kept as promised, so that we could to make our beds for ourselves.

A chirpy “Hi” was extended by the sweet young girl sitting on the upper bunk opposite to the one that was to be mine. Preliminary introductions and pleasantries were exchanged wherein we told her very briefly about ourselves. She, in turn, introduced herself as Cindy from Australia, a graduate in Physiotherapy, on the lookout for job opportunities in London. Soon thereafter, she dived back into her laptop.

I must mention here, that we were carrying a lot of luggage; in fact the maximum permissible baggage allowance by Jet Airways for a student flying out of India for study in the United Kingdom. Between my son and I, we had five large suitcases as check-in, one small strolley and a backpack as cabin luggage. My first task therefore, was placing them neatly so that they would not get in the way of our roommates.

Having done that, I quickly checked the bathroom which was large and clean, a huge mirror took up one wall, there was a basin with a long countertop beneath which, shelves were placed for keeping toiletries. There was a spacious shower cabinet with a large shower head and a couple of small stainless steel racks for putting the soap, shower gel, shampoo etc. On the inside of the bathroom door, there were hooks for hanging the towels. Between the room and the bathroom was a nice little space which had a basin and mirror and it could, if need be used as a dressing/changing area.

My son and I were pretty much satisfied with what we saw and with that feeling of contentment, we decided to go down and grab a bite.

Too tired from the long flight we did not intend to leave the hostel and so we headed to the cavernous underground ‘Wombar’, where a couple of quirky bartenders played host. We were served the welcome drink that we were entitled to. The food served by Wombat’s communal kitchen comprised yummy pizza, panini, burger, pasta etc as per the order placed. We settled for a pepperoni pizza and a ham and a cheese panini.

Although overcome by fatigue and almost dozing off on the table, my eyes did not miss the beer pongs and table football hosted at Wombar.

With our hunger pangs satiated, we headed back to our room.

In the meantime, two more of our roommates had come in after what looked like their day’s tour of the city. Therefore, another round of introduction happened and we learnt that they were a father-daughter duo, Joe and Jane, from Toronto, Canada. Jane and Cindy had already become good friends and it appeared that both the girls were almost the same age as my son.

I quietly opened one of the suitcases and unpacked only what needed to be, while Babu (my son) put the important and valuable belongings in the roomy lockers, following which, we freshened up one by one, taking utmost care to leave the bathroom clean and dry, changed into our night wear, neatly stacked the clothes for the next day on top of one suitcase, folded and put back the clothes that we had changed out of into the suitcase, hung our jackets and comforters in the hooks provided, checked the file for the tickets etc of our next day’s sightseeing itinerary and then made our beds.

All of the talking between mother and son was done in hushed whispers and minimum noise was ensured during the entire exercise, as we did not want to disturb our roommates.

By now, five out of the six beds had been taken; Cindy, Babu and I occupied the top bunks, Joe was in the bed below mine while Jane was in the one below Babu.

Each bed was provided with a reading light and a handy USB port; so, we had the liberty to work on the laptop or phone using headphones or to read a book if we wished to.

A very nice start to the first night of our six days of stay at the Wombat’s Hostel, and I must say, an eye opener, where we learnt the very important lessons of sharing space, respecting each other’s privacy and most importantly, putting into practice the art and science of soundless communication as per the need of the hour.

Sleep came easily to me despite the strangeness of sharing the room with people from across the globe whom I barely knew.

The click of the door woke me up in the middle of the night and to my surprise, I saw a very tall young man entering stealthily into the room. I was on the verge of letting out a scream of alarm when I realised that he was our sixth roommate. Swallowing back the scream, I waved a sleepy “Hi” and he returned it with a sheepish one. And back to sleep I went…

The following morning, I woke up early. Babu and I timed ourselves in such a manner that we could avail the bathroom without keeping the others waiting. It was nice to see him putting in so much forethought into his actions so as to ensure everyone’s comforts.

Dressed and ready, we went down to Wombar where breakfast was waiting.

A sumptuous all-you-can-eat continental breakfast was available for an additonal fee of £4.99 (subject to changes); all we needed to do was to buy the tickets at the reception; Babu had got the tickets in advance at the time of check in for all the days of our stay.

On handing over the ticket to a member of the staff, we were given a plate, a bowl, a cup and a glass. It was self service and there was no need to reserve seats. The spread was laid out and we had the options of juices/shakes, two-three varieties of cereals with milk/cream/yogurt, a bread basket with a good variety, cold cuts, cheeses, and fruits to choose from. The toaster and grill helped get a ‘make it your way’ sandwich. To top it all, there were trays of cakes, muffins, Danish pastry alongside a tea-coffee machine from which we could pour out tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

Breakfast time was abuzz with the vibrant young crowd, mostly students; the many colourfully painted wooden four and six seater tables occupied by, young boys and girls in colourful dresses, sweaters and jackets. In the adjoining room, there was a huge dining table with chairs on either sides. However, the small open-air courtyard with the desks and benches became my favourite breakfast spot.

The tall guy who was all of six feet six inches in height, the sixth member of Room 501, was Martin and he was from Germany. Although initially he appeared to be a bit uptight and stuck-up, his face immediately lit up with a child-like smile when I spoke a sentence or two in German, from the little that I had picked up during the basic lessons that I had taken a good six years back. However, when he left on the third day, a friendly lady named Ariana from Chicago joined us.

It was worthwhile spending some time in the lobby area on the ground floor, with its extensions providing all the amenities that a backpacker could wish for, such as low beds, USB ports for charging phones and laptops, free wifi, a fridge stocked with water, juice and canned beer, a book swap, a luggage room, a vending machine, laundry with washing machines and an ironing board.

The ‘ice-breaking’ fortunately was pretty prompt among the six of us in Room 501; hence, evenings became a lot of fun; when all of us would be in, we would discuss how we had spent the day and what places of interest we had visited, ‘show off’ what shopping if any, we had done, share the plans for the next day, ask for inputs if the place had already been visited by any of them, so on and so forth…

We would share views and opinions on varied topics and also anecdotes of our lives back home. It was a beautiful feeling of unity in the midst of diversity, a feeling which we would never have experienced had we taken separate individual rooms.

The high points about Wombat’s City Hostel and why I am sure I will choose it again are :

* It is very centrally located and what was awesome was that it was hardly a 10 minutes walk to the sights such as the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the City Hall.

* The Tower Hill Tube Station and the Tower Gateway DLR station provided easy access to any part of London and Greenwich too which was part of our itinerary. We were completely comfortable to walk to and from the stations at any point of time.

* The building itself is beautiful, featuring a huge Bar, a courtyard among others. Nothing too flashy, the contemporary decor being very appealing and homely.

* During the little time spent in the hostel before or between our sightseeing , I had loved the cosines of tucking myself in one of the hammocks provided in the courtyard, with a cup of hot chocolate.

* There was an option for doing Yoga in the mornings at an additional cost which we obviously did not avail.

* Maximum security was ensured with smart card access for the front door, the floors, the rooms and the individual lockers.

* Although the charges for the dorm beds and breakfast tickets vary according to seasons, it was truly value for money for us…

I must say that the Wombat’s Hostel has justifiably won Hostelworld’s ‘Cleanest Hostel Worldwide’ award not once, but twice. The toilets, be it in the room, the bar or the lobby are spotlessly clean and well stocked with tissues, toilet rolls and hand wash.

It was a sheer coincidence that all the members of Room 501 were checking out on the same day and so, the previous night we all met at the delightfully dynamic ambience of the Wombar for a chit-chat over some beer and bites.

In the four years of its existence, Wombat’s City Hostel has definitely set a new standard for hostels in the UK’s capital.

Our next hostel stay was at the Castle Rock Hostel, 15 Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2PW

We took a cab from the Waverley Railway Station, Edinburgh to the Castle Rock Hostel and entered through the beautiful pink coloured door into the small lobby with a wooden bench with a few magazines on it. The reception ‘counter’ was very ‘arty’ and we were greeted by a young guy with brown beard and long brown hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in funky clothes. He was joined by a cute, chubby young girl in a half sleeve black T-shirt displaying some beautiful tattoos on her arms.

We had reached at mid-morning and therefore we had quite a few hours before check-in at and after 2 pm. Hence, as suggested, we left the luggage in the locker room and went to grab some lunch.

Back at 2pm sharp, the check-in which was swift and smooth requiring just our booking reference and photo identity.

Ours was an eight-sharing mixed dorm and we were each given a door key. We also received a pink paper slip; and were told that on showing it at the reception, the guy or girl at the front desk would press the button which would then open the door enabling us access to the rooms that lay beyond.

The beds had been freshly made and we got ourselves a towel each, paying an extra amount of £1.

Our room was one floor below the ground level and a wide staircase with pictures and carvings on the walls, led us to it. It was aptly names ‘The Brain Room’. On entering, we saw that It was a long room with four bunk beds on either wall and on the wall at the far end opposite to the door, was a window, looking out from which we could catch a glimpse of the Edinburgh castle perched on top of the Castlerock.

The bed room was equipped with lockers to store personal items safely and the beds had reading lamps for those who love to read a book or work on the laptop/phone before dozing off.

Our stay in Edinburgh was for two nights, and so we hardly had much to unpack. However, finding the room to be vacant, I seized the opportunity of taking out our night wear and putting the valuables and important documents etc in the locker.

The toilets were separate from the bathrooms/ shower rooms and they were located at the end of the long corridor. There were quite a few wash basins in the area between the toilets and bathrooms. It goes without saying that the toilets were spic and span with toilet rolls and clean bins; the shower cubicles were clean and equipped with powerful, hot shower. There were enough hooks for hanging clothes which were kept dry by the shower curtain placed in front. Hairdryers were provided at no extra charge.

The salient points of our two-day Edinburgh itinerary included the Edinburgh Castle, the Sandeman’s Walking Tour and the Scotch Whiskey Experience apart from window shopping so we were pretty much tied up. However, we found out that there was so much to explore within the hostel itself.

The Posh Lounge was an excellent place to do any kind of reading / writing sitting next to the 19th century fireplace. My son found it the ideal place to sit peacefully and transfer the pictures clicked on his camera to his cell phone, so on and so forth. The other attractions of the lounge that appealed to me were checking out the books available for free book exchange, watching the fish in the fish tank trying my hand at the grand piano.

Another room that caught my attention was the Groove Lounge which had people sprawling on its comfy sofas, watching and listening to others strumming the guitar. There was a jukebox too and a great collection of records. The ambience of the lounge was one of warmth, alive and abuzz with like minded people of mutual music interests, making and enjoying music together.

Breakfast, we were told came with the additional cost of £1.50 and we discovered that it needed to be prepared in the self-catered kitchen. But the cafes nearby offered great breakfast options and we opted to indulge in them.

Although, we did not get much opportunities to interact with our roommates during our brief stay at Castlerock Hostel, the vibes shared was very warm and friendly. In fact no matter where we were and who we met, be it at the corridors, or wash areas, lounge or staircase, we were invariably greeted with a smile and greeting by the hostel-mates.

What I loved about Castlerock Hostel that will stay with me is its superb location .

* It is located in the heart of the Old Town of Edinburgh, around the corner from the historic and pulsating Royal Mile, but at the same time, in a peaceful, ‘away-from-the-hum-drum’ street ensuring a quiet night’s sleep.

* It was just a stone’s throw away, to be more precise right beneath the Edinburgh Castle, so much so that we just needed to cross the road and climb a flight of steps to reach the Castle Esplanade and the Royal Mile for the Scotch Whiskey Experience. The long wide flight of steps adjacent to the hostel led us down to the Grassmarket.

* The hostel was a short walk from the bus and train stops although we opted from cab for commuting. We were told that the Edinburgh Airport could be reached within 30 minutes by car.

* The other point that I found really amazing was that despite being packed to capacity, almost crowded so to say, the toilets and bathrooms were so clean and well maintained with no dearth of toilet paper, hand wash, clean hand towels and at no pint of time did I find an overflowing bin.

Having a keen eye for art, I was overwhelmed by the quirky interiors of the grand building, with the lofty ceilings, rich carpets and distinctive artwork and by the fact that anywhere that my eyes fell, there was some or other form of art. Honestly, it almost felt like I was like staying at an art gallery.

* Free WiFi of course, and free tea and coffee are big time bonuses considering the moody Scottish weather

* The friendly staff, always available on hand to chat about everything like what to do, what to shop and also helping with cab booking for drop to bus station.

Edinburgh is a city which could win my heart with effortless ease and I fell in love with every inch of it. With a silent prayer that I may visit again, I bid adieu to the Edinburgh Castle standing majestically against the city skyline.

3. Up next, was our stay at the Skye Backpackers located in Kyleakin, a quaint, picturesque fishing village in Skye, the largest of the Inner Hebridean Islands along the west coast of Scotland.

Out since morning riding a Discover Scotland bus on our three-day tour of the Scottish Highlands, we reached Kyleakin at around 5 o’clock in the evening, quite cold and craving for a piping hot cup of coffee. Needless to say therefore, that the compact, cosy lounge with its open fire felt warmly welcoming.

We were greeted by a sweet young girl and our check in was done at the submission of our photo identity proofs. The hostel reception is open from 8am-12noon and from 5pm-10pm. It was heartening to know that those who arrive in the afternoon can feel free to make themselves at home using the facilities until the scheduled time.

Before going up to the room allotted to us, we explored the lovely little backyard garden and checked the cute self-catering, user-friendly kitchen which, we learnt offers optional continental style breakfast £3.00. We remembered to collect freshly laundered towels at 1.5£ each.

We climbed the narrow flight of stairs, helping ourselves with the luggage to reach our cosy little five sharing room with two sets of bunk beds and one single bed. My son and I were allotted the upper bunks but at my request, the sweet girl made the necessary alteration and allowed me to use the single bed. It was interesting to see that our neatly made beds with pretty floral bed linen had cute names; Babu’s was Starfish and I had Sea Urchin.

We had two young girls as our room mates for the first night; Ichika was from Kyoto, Japan and Kate was from Johannesburg, South Africa.

We quickly did the preliminary unpacking and freshening up before making a dash for dinner as we had been forewarned that the last order always has to be before 8pm.

Although our driver cum guide had spoken very highly about the curries at Taste of India, we wanted to have authentic local fare and hence walked across to Saucy Mary’s which was just a few steps away. As expected, the food was too good to be true and the ambience warm and friendly.

Back in our room, we had a hot shower before retiring for the night. The toilet, clean and compact with a tiny window offering a beautiful view and neat little bathroom are separate but on the same floor as our room. A hair dryer and even a straightener was available for use.

Bathed and fed, in the reverse order and finally tucked under the warm covers, I enjoyed some nice conversation with my young roommates. How else would I have known that Kyoto, the official capital of Japan in the earlier times ranks the foremost destination in terms of traditional Japanese culture. Not only that, Ichika also shared that the city has around 2,000 temples and shrines, including the Golden Pavilion. Being the foodie that I am, I learnt the names of a couple of Japanese dishes, Kaiseki Ryori which is a multi-course Japanese gourmet cuisine and Shojin Ryori which is the traditional Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.

Kate was the quiet type, more of a listener and she let her smile do the talking.

I couldn’t help feeling bad that the lovely girls were checking out the next day.

Our room had small window on the slanting wall which offered a beautiful view during the day and through it, at night, I could gaze at the stars shining in the clear sky over the tranquil village of Skye.

The next morning, we treated ourselves to a basic breakfast at the self service kitchen, as the breakfast menu at the nearby restaurants was way to expensive. After that, we were picked up for our tour across the island; unfurling the mysterious presence of the legendary faeries in tranquil glens, waterfalls and mountain pools; exploring castle ruins, visiting whisky distilleries and sampling local beers and ales; taking a stroll through the countryside or boldly ascending a mighty mountain till as far as our legs would take us.

We returned to our room to find a young couple as our new roommates. The newly married couple hailed from Brazil and they were very nice and friendly. As we got talking, they shared their beautiful experiences during their recent journey along “The Wild Atlantic Way”, vividly describing it as one of the longest defined coastal route in the world, 2600 km in length, winding its way all along the Irish west coast. They gushed over how the route, right from the start and all the way to the finish, unravels the wonders of nature, the glorious expanse of the ocean with its imprint on the shores of Ireland, and the diverse picturesque countryside. They emphasised that it is a must visit and their words and pictures on their camera made us put it at the top of our bucket list.

We had retired for the night after a hearty local meal of Salmon and Angus meat at the lovely restaurant called King Haakon; the other three in the room were in different stages of slumber, when our room door opened almost noiselessly to let in our fifth roommate. He was careful not to switch on any lights and from what I could gather, he had changed into his night clothes outside the room so as to avoid disturbing us.

Such selfless concern and consideration are beautiful lessons that we have picked up during this trip.

Packed and ready to leave this beautiful, peaceful, serene and soothing fishing town of Kyleakin did bring a slight feeling of remorse, but I thanked my lucky stars that I had the good fortune of visiting this pretty picturesque place.

Well, three hostels, each different from the other; the contemporary Wombat’s City Hostel London, the almost Gaelic-Gothic Castle Rock Hostel Edinburgh and the rustic Skye Backpackers Kyleakin, Isle of Skye, had quite a few things in common.

Each one was :

* warm and welcoming…

* clean, homely and hassle free…

* equipped with adequate basic amenities….

* pocket friendly room rates…

What remains the most intriguing questions is :

How is it that despite being packed to capacity, there is never a dearth of toilet roll/tissue paper nor in the supply of hand wash and not a single overflowing bin in the clean well maintained toilets.

From this trip, if nothing else, civic sense of the guests was something truly commendable and I couldn’t help wishing that it would one day be the same in our own country.

Luck favouring us with non-interfering, considerate, interactive roommates, this hostel-hopping experience of the mother-son duo was certainly an enjoyable one and we discovered the newfound joy of budget traveling.

All I can think of now is saving up a bit and setting off on a backpacking trip again with my all time favourite travel partner.