Forty-fourth Lighthouse Expedition

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Revision as of 15:17, 29 May 2009

July 15-30, 2004 -- Scotland with the U.S. Lighthouse Society

July 15, 2004, Thursday

1:45 pm (EDT)

Our daughter, Andrea, and grandson, Hayden, picked us up at home and drove us to the airport.

2:50 pm

We arrived at Metro airport in Detroit and said our farewells to Andrea and Hayden. We checked in and dropped off our luggage. While going through security, they went through both our carry on bags. Don had forgotten about a little tool bag he carries and they took a small pocket knife and a cork screw. Glad to know they are on the ball! He just wished he'd packed them in his checked luggage. By 3:15 pm we were at our gate. We had a long wait but we ate some dinner while waiting for our flight to be called.

6:30 pm

Our little commuter plane, Air Canada Jazz, left the airport with about 20 passengers on board.

7:40 pm

We arrived in Toronto.

7:55 pm

After 3 shuttles, we arrived at our gate for our flight to Scotland. The FIRST gate. There were to be 3 more gate changes before we reached our final gate. While we were waiting, we met up with some other members of the tour group - Mary and Phil Borkowski (who had 6 gate changes while they waited) from Ann Arbor, Nancy Johnsen and Donna Basso (who just made the flight) from Minneapolis, and Lynne and Jim Millies (who drove to Toronto) from Grosse Pointe Woods, MI. We finally boarded our Air Canada flight at 11:05 pm.

11:35 pm

Our plane left the ground - one hour late! During the flight a man became quite ill. There was quite a bit of commotion in front of us as he was attended to. There was also a very fussy baby on board who finally fell asleep just as we were leaving the plane. So under the circumstances, we did not sleep during the flight.

July 16, 2004, Friday

10:40 am (BST, Scotland Time)

Funny thing, the airport in Glasgow didn't have a gate for us either, so they parked us out on the tarmac away from the terminal. We were an hour late and the man who was ill needed to be taken off the plane first. In the mean time, we sat on the plane - for another hour. The Scotland Public Health Department came on board and said while they didn't think the gentleman had an airborne illness, they were going to take some precautions. Each passenger had to fill out a brief itinerary where they could be reached while in Scotland and we were each given a card with the Public Health Department phone numbers in case we were to become ill while in the country. Thus a physician could call and get details about the kind of illness the passengers had been exposed to. (Fortunately none of this information was needed.) We were shuttled to the terminal, had a long wait for our luggage, went through customs and were delighted to find Iain MacDonald, our Scottish guide for the tour, waiting for us. We went to the bus and there were other tour members who had been waiting for our plane to land and be "released" for about 4 hours. They were happy to finally see us. We felt bad that they had been waiting so long, but it really wasn't our fault.

12:45 pm

We were finally on the bus and on our way to Edinburgh.

2:15 pm

We arrived at the Royal Terrace Hotel in Edinburgh. We got to our room (very small) and organized our belongings as best we could. Our room was on the third floor and it overlooked a beautiful garden and a very large chess board - the kind people walk on to move their pieces. We got a map of Edinburgh and took off walking to see some of the sites near the hotel.

7:30 pm

We had a great dinner in the hotel dining room where the entire group was assembled. Our traveling companions for the next two weeks would be: Helene Agnew from Norwood, PA; Ron and Pat Bandock from Collingswood, NJ; Donna Basso from Mt. Iron, MN; Phil and Mary Borkowski from Ann Arbor, MI; John and Donna Bowie from Milton, MA; Don Broadbent from Petaluma, CA; Ken and Margie Conard from Louisville, KY; Holly Dahms from Menomonee Falls, WI; Bev Dobosz and daughter Debbie Dobosz from San Jose, CA; Henry Harding and Pam Perry from Pheonix, AZ; Dave and Phyllis Idell from Milton, MA; Dorothy Jarczynski from Clinton Twp., MI; Nancy Johnsen from Minneapolis, MN; Al and Jean Krueger from Sonora, CA; Wally and Sue Miiller (yep, two i's and 2 l's) from Wilmette, IL; Jim and Lynne Millies from Grosse Pointe Woods, MI; Carol Nettleton from Maplewood, MN; Shirley Reeve from Rochester Hills, MI; Kathie Renard from Thurmont, MD; Shirley Roberts from Greenville, SC; John and Nancy Sampson from Ft. Meyers, FL; Dan and Donna Serven from Ozark, MO; Dave Snyder, our tour leader from the USLHS from San Francisco, CA; Len and Jan Stahlgren from Louisville, KY; Ron and Nancy Stewart from Whittier, CA; Howard and Joyce Sykes from Durham, NC; Johanna Trowbridge from Haddon Heights, NJ; and Mary Wheeler from Irvine, CA. Most everyone was pretty tired after traveling from various parts of the U.S. (although some had arrived the day before) and we went to bed early.

July 17, 2004, Saturday

7:30 am

Breakfast in the hotel dining room.

9:00 am

We had a bus tour of Edinburgh with Iain and a bus driver named Robert. We went to the Port of Leith first and then headed toward Old Town Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Castle is high on a hill and can be seen from most anywhere in Old Town. The town grew up around the castle first and then kept expanding. What they call New Town was mostly built from 1760 to 1840. The wealthy people moved out of Old Town to New Town. New Town is mostly Georgian architecture as the town was being built during the time of King George IV. We passed the statue of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (better known as Sherlock Holmes) and the Conan Doyle Pub where it is said he frequented. We also passed the building for the Northern Lighthouse Board which is the group responsible for all the lighthouses in Scotland. They have a cute lighthouse model on the front of the building. When they were contacted about our visit, the group (as well as the tour in 2003) were denied access to most of the lights. We could photograph them but not enter the towers or climb them. They are not quite as "friendly" as other counties we have visited. They sighted "safety and insurance" problems as their reason. Other sites on the bus tour included: residence of the First Prime Minister on Charlotte Square, beautiful churches (most of them The Church of Scotland which is Presbyterian) statue of Kathryn Sinclair who started a school for servant girls - the only monument to a woman in Scotland, the home of the author Robert Lewis Stephenson, a monument to Sir Walter Scott and a statue of Abraham Lincoln in a cemetery to honor those Scots who died during the American Civil War. Other sights we saw: a statue of Robert Burns the Scottish poet, The Palace of Holyroodhouse which is the Queens official residence when she is visiting Scotland (Balmoral Castle is her private property), and the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, the little dog who sat on his masters grave for fourteen years.

10:25 am

We arrived at Edinburgh Castle for our tour. The weather so far seemed to be typical of Scotland: Rain, then sunshine and then light showers again. We enjoyed walking around the castle. There were lots of people as this is one of the major visitors attractions in the city.

12:00 pm

We were back on the bus and arrived at the Museum of Scotland at 12:10. After a brief visit there, we started walking back into Old Town and shopped on the Royal Mile. Our son-in-law, Duffy Baxter, asked that we bring him some "Baxter" tartan. After stopping in several shops and having no luck we arrived at the Scottish Woolen Mill and discovered that the Baxter tartan is no longer being made. We found some "Baxter" items with the family crest and picked those up for him along with a poster showing the old Baxter tartan. We ran into Dave Snyder along the way and he walked along with us. We took his picture with a fellow dressed as one of the Scottish warriors from "Braveheart" era. We also found the Greyfriars Bobby statue and took a picture there. The three of us stopped at The Royal McGregor for lunch. We found with the current exchange rate that things are very expensive in Scotland. When we exchanged our money, it was just about $2 to the pound. Thus a £4.99 hamburger became a $10.00 hamburger for us! It kind of took the fun out of shopping and eating!!! After lunch Dave went on his way and we did some more shopping and sight seeing. We found the Hard Rock Café and bought our son David a T-Shirt. He is getting quite a collection from our travels.

5:30 pm

We returned to the Royal Terrace Hotel.

7:10 pm

Dinner was on our own this evening. We walked to the bottom of the hill and ate dinner at the Bronx Diner. A little bit of New York in Edinburgh! Don had the fish and chips and Diana had the lasagna and neither were very good. We returned to the hotel and crashed. We were still trying to adjust to the time change and we had had a very busy day with lots of walking.

July 18, 2004, Sunday

It's very sunny today and they are predicting 70 F.

7:50 am

Breakfast at the hotel.

9:00 am

The bus left the hotel and headed towards Leith.

9:10 am

We arrived at a spot where we could see the Inchkeith Lighthouse off shore. This is a photo opportunity only, and not a very good one at that. The light is located in the Firth of Forth and was built in 1804. We left 5 minutes later.

10:00 am

We arrived in North Berwick. Along the way we viewed the Tantallon Castle from the bus. We could see the Isle of May Lighthouse way off in the distance. We could also see the Fidra Lighthouse, but it too was a long ways off in the distance. Fidra Light sits on an island in the Firth of Forth and was built in 1855.

10:30 am

The boat left the dock and we headed toward Bass Rock. The wooden boat is forty years old and along with our group there were some others so the boat was quite full. The captain, Chris Marr, is also the attendant of the lighthouse.

11:00 am

Arrived on Bass Rock where the Bass Rock Light is located. Because the tide was out, it was not an easy climb from the boat to the dock area. Some people chose not to make the climb. However, they were able to get good photos from the boat. Bass Rock has the largest colony of gannet birds in the world! Believe me, they were everywhere. The top of the rock is white due to lots of birds and bird droppings! We were able to get into the tower and the view of the shore line was beautiful. The lighthouse sits on the side of this large rock island located in the Firth of Forth. The lighthouse was built in 1902.

12:00 pm

The boat left Bass Rock and returned to North Berwick at about 12:30.

1:00 pm

The group walked from the boat dock to the Grange Restaurant for an excellent lunch. Diana had the salmon and Don had the gammon (ham). The food was great, but the wait for service was way too long. Lunch took two hours!!!

3:10 pm

The bus left North Berwick. The weather was beautiful.

3:15 pm

We got closer to the Fidra Lighthouse, but there was not time to stop for photos, much to Don's dismay.

4:00 pm

We arrived at the Roslyn Chapel. This beautifully ornate chapel is known world wide for it's unique carvings. It was built in 1446 and is full of symbolism of Biblical stories, Knights Templar and Free Masonry as well as some pagan images. The chapel is used for weekly services for the Scottish Episcopal Church. The chapel is in the process of renovation, so it was surrounded by scaffolding. As we left the chapel we passed the Roslyn Bio Center where "Dolly" the sheep was cloned.

5:20 pm

We arrived back at the Royal Terrace Hotel. The temperature was 72 F! Nice day!

7:30 pm

We had dinner in the hotel dining room. We had chicken and wonderful lemon tarts.

8:55 pm

Don and Diana walked to the Palace of Holyroodhouse which was about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Tours are available, but we were there after hours. When the bus drove by yesterday, there wasn't even a place for the bus to park so we could take pictures. This evening there were no cars around and we were able to get pictures from several angles. The Palace is best known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots. These days the Royal Apartments are used by The Queen for state ceremonies and official entertaining. We arrived back at the hotel about 9:25 pm.

July 19, 2004, Monday

7:30 am

We had breakfast at the hotel. Iain announced we would not be following the printed itinerary for the day. (As it turned out, that happened several days!)

8:45 am

We left the Royal Terrace Hotel and Edinburgh. We now had two buses and our two drivers were George and Gary.

9:10 am

We stopped to view the suspension bridge (and to take a break) that we would be crossing over the Firth of Forth. The bridge was built in 1965. The 1895 rail bridge also crosses the Firth right near by. The buses were parked near Hawes Inn, the scene of Robert Lewis Stephenson's book Kidnapped.

9:35 am

We crossed the Forth Bridge over the Firth of Forth. We had a very good view of the rail bridge while crossing.

9:50 am

We passed by Loch Leven and could see the ruins of the Loch Leven Castle built in the late 14th century on an island in the Loch. This was where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in the 1560's.

10:05 am

We arrived and had a tour of Falkland Palace which was the residence and hunting lodge of eight Stuart monarchs, including Mary Queen of Scots. The palace was built between 1501 and 1541, and is a fine example of Renaissance architecture. It includes a beautiful Catholic Royal Chapel which currently holds services and is surrounded by beautiful gardens which were added in the 1950's. We also saw The Royal Tennis Courts, which are considered to be the world's oldest. We left at 11:20.

11:55 am

We arrived in the town of St. Andrews. This town is probably best known for the St. Andrews Old Course, the golf course where it is believed the game of golf was played for the first time in the 1400's. However, St. Andrew's University, where Prince William now attends, is also well known. It is the oldest university in Scotland. Both of Iain's daughters attended there. Iain took us on a quick tour of the University area and to the ruins of the St. Andrew's Cathedral and Priory. We were on our own for lunch. We met back at the buses and left at 1:20 pm.

1:55 pm

We arrived at the Elie Ness Lighthouse which was built in 1908. The buses parked so we could see the light across a small bay. This was only a photo opportunity. We left at 2:10.

2:25 pm

We arrived in the town of Anstruther and boarded the boat the "May Princess." We could see the Anstruther Pier Lighthouse as we left the harbor. We had an hour long boat ride to the Isle of May, five miles out into the Firth of Forth. During the trip we met a young Scotsman, Iain Hamilton, who was going to the island to see the wildlife. He thought it was interesting that we were going there just to see the lighthouses. We could see the lighthouses as we approached the island. The island is situated at the "mouth" of the Firth. It has been a National Nature Reserve since 1956. There are 68,000 pairs of puffins, 7,000 pairs of kittiwakes, 18,000 pairs of guillemots, 2,000 razorbills along with shags and terns. When the boat landed we had a brief talk from one of the naturalists, Therese Alampo, who stays on the island for 7 months of the year. Besides seeing all the birds, we also enjoyed many beautiful flowers and we could see seals out in the water. The first lighthouse there was built in 1636 and is now only ruins of the bottom part of a square tower. It was first lit by coal. The Isle of May Main Light was built in 1816. It looks like a castle. The Isle of May Low Light is down the hill and nearer to the water. It was built in 1844.

5:30 pm

The boat left the Isle of May and we went along the backside of the island where we could see caves and at the tip of the island were many seals.

6:35 pm

The boat docked back in Anstruther.

6:50 pm

The buses left. We did not have time to visit the Fife Ness Lighthouse! Another bummer!

7:05 pm

We passed the St. Andrew's Old Course again.

7:25 pm

We made a very quick stop to photograph the Tayport High Light and the Tayport Low Light. The buses parked along the highway and those who wanted to photograph them had to run down a steep hill and then climb back up again. These lights were on the south side of the river leading to the Firth of Tay. The buses left at 7:35 pm We passed through the town of Dundee and had a brief glimpse of the North Carr Lightship.

8:35 pm

We arrived at the Montrose Park Hotel in the town of Montrose. We had a much larger room in the "attic." It was a nice comfortable room. We had been expected earlier and the hotel was nice to keep the staff on duty so we could have dinner. We ate with Jim and Lynne Millies and discovered that we had been on a GLLKA trip of the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie together in 1993. Small world! After dinner we walked with Dave Snyder and Jim Millies hoping to see the Skurdie Ness Lighthouse. We realized it was much further than we thought. We returned to the hotel at 11:20 and a few minutes later the manager, Allan James, agreed to take a van load of us to a beach area where we could view the light. Dave, Jim, Jan Stahlgren, Margie Conard, Don Broadbent, Carol Nettleton and Holly Dahms joined us for the ride with Allan. It was beautiful on the beach at night and the Scurdie Ness Lighthouse was shining out to sea. We returned to the hotel at 11:40 pm.

July 20, 2004

Andrea and Duffy's Eighth wedding anniversary.

7:30 am

We had breakfast at the hotel.

8:50 am

We left the Montrose Park Hotel in Montrose. As we drove through the town, we saw a young man with a University of Michigan sweatshirt on. GO BLUE!

9:15 am

The buses dropped us off at the boat dock in Arbroath. Diana was very excited to be in this town. This is the town from which her great-great-great grandparents, Ann and Robert Gibson left Scotland and went to Ontario, Canada with their 11 children in 1834. We didn't have much time now to look around as we had to get on the boat, Girl Katherine II for our trip to Bell Rock. This was not an easy task. The tide was very low so the boat was not able to pick us up at the usual spot. In order to get on board, we had to climb straight down a 15 foot narrow ladder which was attached to a cement wall. Don was the first one down the ladder and he and some of the others were very helpful in getting camera cases, purses, and backpacks down and also by giving lots of encouragement as each person made the descent from the dock to the boat. This took 45 minutes!!!

10:05 am

The Girl Katherine II with Captain Alex Smith at the helm left the dock.

11:30 am

The boat finally reached the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The rock is a very small island and many ships were wrecked there before the light was built in 1811. A bell had hung on the rock to warn ships before the tower was built, thus the name "Bell Rock." When the tide is high, the water comes several feet up the base of the lighthouse and only the light tower can be seen. The door is 33 feet from the rock base and up a steep ladder. Fortunately, we didn't have to climb that one! The three keepers were on duty here for a month at a time. It would have been a very lonely place and very frightening during storms. There was netting over the lantern room to keep birds from building nests. We saw lots of grey seals on the rocks and on our way back we saw a minke whale and some porpoise. A Scottish Air Force base is nearby and we got "buzzed." One jet was flying rather low and gave us quite a scare! We also saw loons in the water as we returned.

1:10 pm

We arrived back at the dock and the tide had come in some, so we were able to leave the boat without having to climb back up the steep ladder. There was a small lighthouse on the pier that was built in the 1700's.

1:30 pm

Iain had arranged for us to have lunch at the Bervie Chipper Restaurant. Diana ate quickly so she could walk around the old part of Arbroath. She even made it to the ruins of the Abbey.

3:05 pm

A tour of the Signal Tower Museum was given to the group by Fiona Guest. Diana arrived about 10 minutes later and was in on most of the tour.

4:10 pm

The buses left Arbroath.

4:35 pm

The buses arrived at an area to park so we could hike to the Scurdie Ness Lighthouse, the one we had seen from the beach the night before. Those who didn't want to make the hike were taken back to the Park Hotel in Montrose. It took about 20 minutes of brisk walking to hike to the lighthouse. There was a nice path along the River Esk and it wasn't a difficult walk. The Scurdie Ness Lighthouse was built in 1870 and is a very tall tower of 128 feet. On the way back to the bus, it started raining. Good thing we carried those umbrellas with us!! We left at 5:50 pm.

6:00 pm

The bus arrived back at the Park Hotel in Montrose.

7:30 pm

We had dinner at the hotel and I'm sure they were happy to have us arrive on time this evening. We had lamb and ate with the two couples from the Boston area, David and Phyllis Idell and Donna and John Bowie. They were happy to be in Scotland and not home trying to fight traffic and road closings due to the Democratic National Convention going on in Boston. We had a great day of sunshine, clouds and some rain and nice warm temperature (for Scotland!)

July 21, 2004, Wednesday

8:00 am

We had breakfast in the hotel in Montrose.

9:05 am

The buses left the Montrose Park Hotel and we headed north traveling along the North Sea.

9:35 am

We arrived at Tod Head Lighthouse. The road was very narrow and the buses had a difficult time turning around at the wall near the lighthouse. They got both of them turned around and people scattered to get pictures. The lighthouse is on a cliff and there were lots of sheep nearby. The best views of the lighthouse were from the rocks near the water's edge. The Tod Head Lighthouse was built in 1897. Right after we got back on the buses, the sun came out!

10:35 am

We arrived at the ruins of Dunnottar Castle. This castle was the setting for the 1991 filming of "Hamlet" starring Mel Gibson. The buses left at 11:10.

11:15 am

We arrived in the town of Stonehaven for a morning break. By the time we left at noon, it was very sunny and warm.

12:20 pm

We arrived in the city of Aberdeen. This city is a major seaport and ferries depart from here to the Shetland Islands. It is Scotland's third largest city and the major industry is North Sea Oil. The Rivers Dee and Don run through this city.

12:30 pm

The next stop was Girdle Ness Lighthouse located at the harbor entrance in Aberdeen. This light was built in 1833 and stands 121 feet tall. It is located near a golf course and there is a road which goes around the wall of the lighthouse. There was a pillar nearby and Dave Snyder climbed the pillar and took pictures for anyone who wanted to hand him their camera. The wall was blocking part of the light tower and the view from the top of this pillar gave an unobstructed view. After Dave climbed down, Don got up there for more pictures.

1:05 pm

We left Girdle Ness. As we drove through the city, Iain told us some of the history of the city. It started as a herring fishing port.

1:30 pm

We were dropped off at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum for a brief visit there and then we walked along Union Street and did some shopping. We also had lunch.

4:05 pm

Once back on the buses, we toured more of the city. We passed Marischal College which was founded in 1593 and is the second largest granite structure in the world. We stopped at the Cathedral of St. Machar, started in 1131. The present structure dates from the 15th century. The heraldic ceiling contains 3 rows of shields depicting the notable sovereigns of Europe and the noble and ecclesiastical households of Scotland. There were also many beautiful stained glass windows. We were there about one half hour before leaving at 4:50.

5:20 pm

After viewing more of the city from the bus, we arrived at the Hilton Aberdeen Treetops hotel in the outskirts of Aberdeen.

7:30 pm

We had dinner at the hotel with Mary and Phil Borkowski. They will be staying on in Scotland for an additional 2 weeks to view additional sights and see more lighthouses. Boy, are they lucky!

9:30 pm

We finally had a chance to play TIC. This is a card game which we have taught many people on our travels. Dave Snyder, Carol Nettleton, Jean and Al Krueger joined us with Nancy Johnsen kibitzing. We were in the bar area of the hotel and the waiter was nice to let us use a couple of tables even though we didn't order anything. He brought us two pitchers of orange cordials (diluted orange juice) which was very refreshing. We played until about 11:00 and then called it a night.

July, 22, 2004, Thursday

7:45 am

We had breakfast at the hotel.

9:00 am

The buses left the Aberdeen Hilton Treetops Hotel in Aberdeen. We were once more heading north along the coast.

9:50 am

We stopped for a long range photo shot of the Buchan Ness Lighthouse.

10:00 am

We arrived at the Buchan Ness Lighthouse. We were told not to cross the bridge as this is private property and the owners are not inclined to allow visitors. While others were out photographing, two nice Scottish ladies, Barbara and Mary were curious about the sudden group of photographers descending on their quiet village of Boddam. They said we could cross the bridge as long as we didn't try to go through the gate. The dogs wouldn't have welcomed us anyway! They are disappointed about the appearance of the light since it was purchased by an English couple. Barbara said "They've let it down." Mary was from the Shetland Islands and she left there due to some religious difficulties. She is so happy to be living in this village and thinks very highly of Mary who "took her in and befriended her." We wanted to get a picture and they finally agreed with Mary hiding behind me as she felt she was not dressed properly. They told me I was "alright" due to my Scottish heritage. Several others talking with them told of their Scottish heritage too, so they also became "alright." We so enjoyed this opportunity to get to know these dear ladies. We left Boddam at 10:35.

11:10 am

The buses parked and we began the long trek over the sand dunes to see the Rattray Head Lighthouse. The light was built in 1895. This tower stands on a 46 foot high brick base and in total is 120 feet above the rock. When the tide is in, it is completely surrounded by water. When the tide is out, you can walk to the base of the tower. The tide was out while we were there. Several of the photographers went down the dunes to get pictures from the sea level. I was surprised to find this large sand dune in Scotland. After viewing and photographing the light on this beautiful sunny day, we went to Ratty's Tearoom. Some of our group had tea and scones. They also have a Bed and Breakfast there. We left at 12:15 pm.

12:20 pm

We stopped to take pictures of some church ruins. We decided to call it "The Little Kirk of Rattray" since we didn't know the real name. We left at 12:30.

12:55 pm

We arrived at the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse and the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh. We were divided into two groups, with one group viewing the lighthouse and the other having lunch; then the two groups switched. We went to the lighthouse first with Lawrence as our guide. The many concrete posts near the lighthouse were used to dry fishing nets before the nylon nets came into use in the 1970's. The old light tower is part of the remains of the castle belonging to the Fraser family. The base (castle part) of the old lighthouse is 500 years old and the walls are a meter thick. The light was built in 1787 and was the first built by the Northern Lighthouse Board. The "new" light was built in 1929 and does not have the aesthetic appeal of the old light. At this location in Scotland there are 17 hours of darkness in January and 6 hours of darkness in July and winds here can reach 140 miles per hour! The Shetland Islands are 12 hours away by boat. The lens of the old light weighs 4 1/2 tons and has 2 bulls eyes. We climbed 69 steps to the lens area. After viewing the light, we went to the dining room of the Museum for lunch and had very good fish and chips.

2:55 pm

We all gathered in a conference room for a presentation by Bob McIntosh who is a civil engineer for the Northern Lighthouse Board. He had a power point presentation showing many of Scotland's 199 lights. Eighty-four are considered major as they can be seen from at least 15 miles away. The board is working on modernizing several light stations as places where people can stay. The presentation was over at 3:30 and the buses left the museum at 4:15.

4:50 pm

We arrived in the town of Banff at the Banff Springs Motel. From the window in our room we could view the ocean and the beautiful countryside.

6:30 pm

We left the hotel to return to Fraserburgh.

7:10 pm

We arrived back at the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses for a wonderful buffet. We could not believe all the food! We were entertained by the Ugy Folk Society group consisting of four guys and a gal. We enjoyed their various instruments and the many Scottish songs they performed for us. As we were getting ready to leave, there was a beautiful sunset that we could see through the windows.

9:50 pm

Buses departed the museum and we returned to the Banff Springs Hotel at 10:30.