The Glastonbury Experience: Witches, Warlocks and Wells

Glastonbury is a beautiful small town in the Sommerset region of England and was the location of our most recent adventure!  There are so many reasons to visit Glastonbury - both for what it offers now, and also for what it offered in the past.....(insert mysterious music here)...

The best way to describe Glastonbury is that it is a New-Age town and attracts new-agers and people with neo-pagan beliefs and interests.  It is by far unlike any place I've ever been, the surrounding landscape, the high-street (which the kids and I thought felt like Diagon Alley), the people, and its history. 
Glastonbury is said to have been the site of the ancient isle of Avalon.  The site where Joseph of Arimathea drove his staff into Wearyall Hill and a Thorn tree grew.  Many of the thorn trees in Glastonbury have in some way come from graftings of this original thorn tree.  He also is said to have burried the Holy Grail near/in Avalon. Then enters the Arthurian emphasis of the area (my personal favorite!) as King Arthur and his quest for the Holy Grail.  Arthur was then mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlan by Mordred and burried at the Glastonbury Abbey along with Guinevere. 

We stayed at a fantastic place called Middlewick Farm http://www.middlewickholidaycottages.co.uk/ which I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to explore the area.  We had a lovely little stone cottage called "The Pippin" which was an old converted barn.  Each morning, the owner would meet the kids outside to go and collect the freshly laid eggs from the Hen House.  So fresh, they were still warm (and a touch poopey)!!  We finished our long days off with a swim in the indoor pool and an indulgent massage in the pamper cabin.

Our first morning we set off on a long hike up to the top of Glastonbury Tor.  The walk began in the orchard at our farm and passed through some lovely countryside and farm fields.  We then came to the site of 2 ancient oak trees.  We've all seen pictures of majestic old cedars from western Canada right?  Bah!  These two trees were beleived to have been planted by the DRUIDS (over 2,000 years ago)! Probably not the original trees but in druid times, the druids would replace dying oaks with the seedlings grown from it. Now, picture how old a druid would be.  Now look at how old these trees look:

Gog or Magog - Ancient Oaks

The Tor is a huge hill on top of which sits St. Micheals tower - the remains of a medieval church.  It is also home to Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the Fairies. This is just one example of the many overlaps between Christianity in the area and the pagan beliefs of the old religion. 

Glastonbury Tor

Our stay up at the top was cut short by really strong winds that I was sure were going to sweep the children up and blow them all the way to fairy-land, and by some approaching rain clouds. 





We then walked down into the town of Glastonbury and decided to start at the Chalice Well, one of Britain's most ancient wells.  To be honest, I thought it would be a quick stop - arrive, see the well, make a wish and leave.  However, this site ended up being one of my favorites!  The brochure stated that the well "is a living sanctuary in which the visitor can experience the quiet healing of this sacred place. For over two thousand years this has been a place where people have gathered to drink the waters and find solace, peace and inspiration".  Sounds cool, right?  The gardens were unbeleivable - filled with giant Yew trees and flowers of all sorts. The gardens were also filled with those seeking the above experience so we had to make sure the kids stayed somewhat quiet.  Everywhere you turn someone was nestled into a little quiet garden nook.  Our kids were mostly interested in the water.  After several sips of well water, Rowan turned to me and whispered "Mommy, I think I feel younger"....

The Vesicus Pisces with staff going through.

After the well, we decided to head up high street and have lunch and check out the shops.  I have been in countless New-Age shops over the years and love every bit of them.  But Glastonbury is for hard-core new agers!  Rowan begged me to buy a cauldron, but I settled for a Green Man wall hanging.  The children had lots of questions about what they were seeing and it was a fantastic opportunity to teach them about these earth-based religions. 

Our last site was the Glastonbury Abbey (originally built in 600) and is the earliest Christian Sanctuary in Britain.  Obviously now it is a collection of ruins but still quite magnificient when you think of how long it would have taken them to build these structures.  Again, we encounter Arthurian legends here as this is where Arthur and Guinevere were burried, dug up in 1191 and entombed in the chapel (in the presence of King Edward the 1st). After the dissolution of the monastaries in the 15th Century the tomb was taken and no one knows where it is...



Arches at the Abbey ruins

If you are going to drive to Glastonbury, try to work in a visit to the nearby city of Wells.  Complete with a lovely cathedral, Bishops Palace and Vicar's Close (my fav) - the oldest and continously inhabitated medieval street in Europe.  On our way home, we drove via the Cheddar Gorge (yes, where Cheddar cheese originated!).  We had planned a great hike to the top of the gorge but got completely rained out!  We settled on a scenic drive through the gorge and a stop at the Cheddar Gorge Cheese company where we learned how cheese is made and indulged on some delicious samples! 

Where will our adventures take us next I wonder...

Sweet Flower-Girl

"Mommy, I'm a Green Man"

Love

Rowan and Kristina's Excellent Royal Wedding Adventure

Several months ago, just after the royal family announced the wedding date of Prince William to Kate Middleton, I was over at my friend Lori's house indulging in a few glasses of wine.  She then told me that she had just booked a hotel for her and her daughter in London for the Royal Wedding...my first reaction was "why in the world would you do that"?  I mean, the crowds, the chaos, the CROWDS!  She then suggested that Rowan and I come with them.  After a quick mental list of pros and cons, I decided that it was an opportunity we couldn't miss to make some wonderful memories.  I accepted, and that is how it started!

Kate and Will were not the only ones making important preparations, WE had to decide what to wear, and what the girls would wear, and most importantly we had to think "strategy".

After a longer than anticipated train ride we arrived in London on Thursday evening and took a taxi to our hotel.  We had our first taste of the royal wedding chaos driving by all the people camped out in tents on the sidewalk!  Some had been there for days just to catch a glimpse of the couple during the processional. It sort of reminded me of the news footage from Justin Bieber events where the die hard fans camp out just to catch a glimpse of the cutie.  But Bieber-Fever had nothing on Will and Kate!

Friday morning, the day of the wedding, we set out with our master plan in place.  To simply head over to the processional route and keeping walking until we found somewhere to stand.  We had decided we would do no camping out, and no dragging the girls out to stand around for 8 hours in a crowd of people where the only means of entertainment would be to see who looses their marbles first. 

We never got to the processional route - the police had decided to block off all roads leading to the processional route because of the huge numbers of people already in there, something that no one was expecting.  After several tries to get up to the route it was obvious we were not going to get to see the processional. What now?  

So, perhaps despite better judgement (!), we decided to do the UNTHINKABLE!  We headed to Trafalgar Square.  It was that, or going back to the hotel and watching it in HD, but we had come to London to experience the wedding!  It is hard to explain how we felt walking there, more like floating in amongst the huge crowd of people.  At one point, I imagined it was like a pilgrimage, everyone carrying on in order to get to this a monumental destination. 




Pilgrimage to Trafalgar Square

 When we arrived, Lori and I looked at each other and said "Oh my God", tightened our grip on the girls and plunged into the sea of people.  We slowly inched our way forward.  Then... I saw her - Kate Middleton!  There she was in all her glory! On the big screen 1 km right in front of me! What a moment :) 

I put Rowan up on my shoulders, and bless her, she waved her "Will and Kate" flag and wooted and shouted with the crowds!  She then described to me Kate's dress and  what was happening in the ceremony. Although we couldn't see much ourselves, it was wonderful to feel the excitement and hear the church bells at Westminster Abbey!  At least for awhile, until I realized Rowan was not as light as she once was and then I just couldn't shake the image of my vertebrae seizing one by one down my spine.  Adding insult to injury, I was starting to hate that f*&!# in' flag as it continually swat me in the face.

Remember the planning of what to wear?  It may start out like "what to wear in case I end up on television", but next time I shall think about what is most practical with a 7 year old sitting on my shoulders, death grip around my throat, mussing my hair, and with each smack of a flag removing bits of my makeup. 

In summary, my blistered worn feet and exhausted daughter were worth every second of this experience!  We will both remember this event forever, and remember that we survived Trafalgar Square on the day of the Royal Wedding!

View of crowds at Buckingham palace from the London Eye

Up 'Yer Kilt!

We have reached our final stop in our 10 day Scotland adventure - the lovely Edinburgh! Apart from being the most beautiful city I've ever been to, Edinburgh oozes with culture and history. We arrived last night and decided to grab a quick bite at a local pub. It was Friday night and let's just say people were bringing in the weekend with a vengence! Rowan and Walker couldn't hear a word I said if I was not shouting across the table, and they watched with facination as the volume got louder and louder and more "festive"!

The next morning over breakfast, I heard a familiar sound...a CANADIAN! We met a young man from Fredericton, New Brunswick who was very friendly and gave us his take on what to see in Edinburgh. The castle was a must, however, he claimed he almost went crazy-mad at being surrounded by so many tourists at the castle. So, we got started right away!

One of the most unique things about Edinburgh Castle is its location. It is perched up on a massive stony mound overlooking the "Royal Mile" of downtown. When you are standing street level it looks rather imposing, as did the dozens of tourist coaches driving up into the car park.

Despite the crowds (which shouldn't put anyone off as this is a must-see), the castle and its history are amazing. The highlight for me were the crown jewels - the crown, the sword and the sceptre all from the 14th century and are priced at "priceless". They were hidden in 1707 (I believe) and rediscovered in 1818.

We then walked down the Royal Mile (the mile-long street that goes from Edinburgh castle to Palace of Holyroodhouse) taking in bagpipers, human knight statues, and lots and lots of tourist shops! When we ask our children what their favorite part of the day was, they both say "The man who swallowed the sword and then ball of fire!" Scottish buskers really take it to a whole different level. This guy not only did those tricks, he also had this very tall and burly man stand on him on a bed of nails which were pointing down into the performer. It was all fun until he abruptly ordered the man to get off and then had to pry (yes, I said pry) the bed of nails off and out of himself. The most puzzling was that there wasn't any blood, so the nails did not go in deep enough. But for a moment I thought to myself "Oh dear, this is going to be awkward explaining this to the children". But it was all good and his spirits lifted once people started tossing money in his hat!

Next stop was Mary King's Close, the hub of Edinburgh back in the 1600's but was buried underneath the new city buildings. Now, it is an underground city which still has streets, houses, and buildings. A little spooky but well worth it!

I think my favourite site in Edinburgh was the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth whilst in Scotland. Apart from having free parking and way less tourists pushing about I think it was my favorite because of the link to Mary Queen of Scots, for it was here that she gave birth King James the 1st and also where her husband murdered her italian assistant in a jealous rage by stabbing him some ridiculous number of times. Alot of attractions now have a seperate audio tour for children, this one included. I wondered what the children's description was of that gruesome event and hoped they didn't notice the, what I hope was a staged, bloodstained oak floor...

Rowan and Walker in a guard hut at Holyroodhouse.

Scotland is definitely one of my favorite places I've been to thus far. I adored the rustic and barren beauty of the islands, the culture and history, the scotch, and of course being able to share such a wonderful trip with my husband and children! Sadly for me this is the end of my Scotland blog entries until I manage to go again...

Searching for Nessie!

We have now headed inland to Loch Ness, the famous lake said to be home to "Nessie" the Loch Ness Monster. Loch Ness itself is the largest body of freshwater in the UK and contains more fresh water then all of the lakes in England and Wales combined. It is deep enough to hold the entire population of planet earth three times over. That right there should be enough to convince people to go and see it!

However, it becomes obvious when you approach Loch Ness that people are looking for something else...dum-da-dum.....With binoculars hanging around their necks, fancy cameras with telescopic lenses and tripods they are there to go "Nessie Hunting", a rather embarrassing tourist activity whereby tourists are trying to catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster itself!

We started in Drumnodrochit at the Loch Ness Exhibition centre, an interpretive centre which takes you through all of the sightings and research done in the area. The centre was brilliantly done in terms of the exhibits themselves, but I had to question their marketing strategy. One would think that because the majority of the tourists in the area are there to see Loch Ness as the home to a potential sea monster that you would kind of play this up? I was hoping for pictures of sightings, underwater views of Nessie's cave, and looks of horror from witnesses of close encounters (for the children of course). Instead, I left feeling as though my imagination was a bit squashed, and feeling a bit silly. Most upsetting to me and my mystical imagination was that each picture of "sightings" was then explained by saying "This one cold be a log", "This one could be an overturned boat". I began to feel as though it was an inkblot test.

As we were leaving the centre we were chatting about which of us believed that Nessie exists - it was 50/50. My conclusion was that, like many other things in life, the scientific community refuses to accept that there are thing out there that they cannot explain, so a photograph becomes a floating log.

We then headed to Urquart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness to experience the much talked about views of the loch. The castle was wonderful and worth the visit, as were the views! And as I glimpsed out at the Loch I could have sworn I saw something ripple in the water....

Urqhart Castle

Yay Scotland!

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Grey "Skyes" are gonna clear up...Isle of Skye Part 2

Today we had our first taste of how crazy the weather can be on Skye.  Erik had skillfully researched and selected two hikes (one coastal and one uphill) that were good for the kids, but by ten o'clock that morning it became obvious that we had just been rained out of our plans for the first time on our trip.  Erik and I do not share the same weather tolerance - never have.  For Erik, weather just "ups the game" and makes you tougher with a way better story to tell at the end of it.  Over the past eleven years, I have had to adapt, but I draw the line and gale force freezing winds and rain that is pelting so hard the children are actually saying "ouch".  However, like Yin and Yang Erik and I have always complimented each other...and on a hot, sunny, tropical beach - guess who outplays and  outlasts?  That's right - Erik's smooth yet porcelain complexion stands nothing against my sun tolerance (and years of suntanning practice) and the ability to lie completely still for hours on end.  I guess I should get back to telling you about the Isle of Skye...

Walker enjoying the gale

The Isle of Skye has alot to offer, however, as we discovered today, nothing indoors.  We decide to attempt to drive around the north end of the island and up into Waternish peninsula, a journey that took us the better part of the day including several stops.  One for Erik (Skye Brewery where we pick up a large selection of Ales) one for me (Shilasdair Yarns, a yarn shop that hand dyes all their wool using native plants from Skye) , and one for "the children" (Skye Serpentarium, where Rowan got to hold a Royal Python named Rhiannon).

'The' passing place

The next day as we were leaving Skye, we decided to take a "scenic coastal" route.  This is Gaelic for "death trap" and turned out to be a road where the asphalt was crumbing, and it was half the size of the typical single track road on Skye.  But it was well worth it!  The funniest bit of that drive was when we came upon a flock of sheep with a baby lamb amongst them.  Erik and I were cooing away sweet nothings at the cute little sheep, when Rowan exclaimed to one particularly disheveled sheep "Wow, now THAT is a bad hair day!".

Bad hair day?

We now leave Skye and head to the mainland for some "Nessie Hunting" at Loch Ness!  Stay tuned!

Going on up to the Spirit in the Skye - Part 1 of 2

The Isle of Skye is probably the most popular island in Scotland for tourism, and is convenient accessed either by bridge, or by a relatively short ferry ride.  When the Egsgards sign up for adventure, we take it all the way.  Why take a bridge when you can take a ferry? I'll tell you why.  Because if you are like me then even those little ripples in the ocean crossing will turn you into a green, crazy person sitting out on the deck in the freezing cold repeating the words "stare at the horizon" over and over....and over.  I made it, thank goodness, and minutes after we drove off the ferry it felt like it was worth it.  The Isle of Skye is a stunningly beautiful mix of rocky coast, open tundras, mountains and quaint villages.  At some point during our stay I asked Erik how he would describe the characteristics of Skye and he replied "Barren, rocky, mountainous, harsh, and unforgiving".  So, I wouldn't put exactly that on a tourism poster, but it is true.  The craziest part is that it is insanely beautiful!

Our first day on Skye we went to Dunvegan castle (13th century - clan McCleod), a must-see on the island.  This castle is particularly famous for the fairy flag it houses.  The fairy flag was a flag that was given to the chief by a fairy to protect the clan in battle (that would be the Coles Notes version of the story).  The fabric of the flag has been dated by experts to have originated in the Middle East between the 4th and the 7th centuries AD.  That rates "Crazy old' on my timeline.  We then proceeded to the Talisker scotch distillery before we headed back to Portree (the town where we were staying).  Erik had signed himself and the kids up for a boat cruise (notice how I was not signed up?) that headed out of the harbour for some wildlife viewing. The kids were thrilled as they saw Puffins and some other sea birds.  The highlight was the Scottish Sea Eagle that came swooping down right beside the boat to grab some fish.  I've put some pictures down below, one of which is a picture of the harbour front where you can see the colourful buildings lining the pier.  I propose a contest!!!!  I am challenging you all and the first to answer this question correctly will win a turkish delight (I had first put Haggis but then thought it might get complicated if |I had to mail it).  The question is under the picture.

Swooping sea eagle

The Egglets

Portree harbour.  See the pink building?  That is our hotel - guess what it was called?

That night we went to a wonderful sea food restaurant, and most amazingly, it had no kids menu!  We warned them ahead of time and they were surprisingly agreeable to it.  They felt special to be the only children in the restaurant and they gobbled up their McSalmon (just kidding) like they hadn't been fed all day....which may be the key for all us parents with picky-eaters.  The funniest bit, was the way Rowan looked across the table at  me with my enormous bowl of fresh mussels (she actually had to kind of look over the bowl which may be an exageration) and she was trying really hard to be mature when you could tell she was horrified that we were eating them.  When I offered her one, she violently shook her head and said "No thank you".  

More later!

Channeling your Inner Outlander

I realized late last night as I fell asleep after the most amazing dinner (fresh mussels and local salmon) that I simply must add a mini-post and tell you all about a side-journey we took of our way out of Mull to the Kilmore Standing Stones.

 If I am being honest, I will admit that my interest in standing stones originated from reading the Outlander series by Diana Gibaldon.  Outlander is the story of an English woman who accidentally travels back in time to 18th century Scottish Highlands via some standing stones.  She then meets Jamie McKenzie, a pure, raw, sexy, kilt wearing highlander and falls in love, and the 6 books in the series follows their story.  Beyond time travel love stories I find I am increasingly interested in visiting and reading about stone circles and standing stones.

 The Kilmore Standing Stones is a small site with only 5 standing stones, and only 2 are left standing.
Who better than to give you a mini-lesson in standing stones then my history-crazed daughter in the video below.  The picture underneath - the really silly one of me - you will only really "get" if you have read Outlander.  If you have not read Outlander, then this picture will either inspire you to read it, or not.

I call this yoga pose "The Sapling" as it is not quite a "Tree"...

If you've read Outlander you'll know what I am listening for, if not you'll just think I'm a nerd.

Tourists wanted in Mull - Sissies needn't apply.

As we left the Ferry Terminal in Craignure (Isle of Mull) to drive to our B & B in Dervaig we just couldn't stop looking around at the gorgeous scenery!  The wind is sharp, the hills are steep, rocky and jagged and even the vegetation looks tough.   Erik explained to me that this is why the highlanders are so rugged and tough - they have to be.  But not the sweet cuddly sheep that cover most of the land, they are soft and
snuggly :)

The main "attraction" that has brought us to Mull is Duart Castle - home to the clan MacLean.  Erik's mom is a McLane (different spelling  but same thing) so we were pretty excited to see the place where Erik's maternal ancestors came from.  It was a magnificent castle in a very wonderful setting perched high up on some rocks on the coastline.  Here are a few pictures of the castle.

From the castle we drove to Calgary Beach, a beautiful stretch of white sand beach on the shores of Calgary Bay.  We had stunning weather - warm and sunny.  That is however, until we pulled into the parking lot at the beach.  My idea of the perfect afternoon, sitting prettily on our beach blanket, sipping a coffee and watching the children frolic in the sand collecting beach treasures quickly faded, and I was soon pulling on my parka and green wellies and assumed the bottoms up "shell seeking position" - because one had to keep moving to stay warm.  Regardless of the weather we had a wonderful time.  The children collected a pailful of sea shells and even explored a tidal pool with Erik.  After almost losing Erik head first into the tidal pool after he slipped on a rock, Rowan reaches down (this is one of those moments as a parent where things happen in slow motion but at the same time too quickly to react) and says "look at the pretty Sea Anemone..." then......."ouch - it is sticky".  It is embarrassing to admit but my mind flashed to Finding Nemo and the part about sea anemone and I don't think you are supposed to touch it.   After a gentle reminder and concluding that she was fine, Rowan agreed she would abstain from touching anything ever again.

The roads on Mull are interesting in a "oh my God" kind of way.  They are generally single track (about 3/4 the width of my old driveway in Canada.  But they are two-way with passing pull out lanes every so often.  So again, this theme of "hard core highlanders" creeps in. "Firrst 'ye must surrvive thee wind and coold and rroocks and mountains, and then thee rrooads!" (FYI that is not some clever scottish tourism billboard saying, that is an original with those nice rolling rr's and oo's put in and everything).  I couldn't resist videotaping a snippet of our coastal drive which I have attached below.  Perhaps more dangerous than the road itself are the Highland cattle that are often on the road!  It is amazing, but they tend to like to lull about on blind corners and blind summits and they love the ones with no passing zones.  They are large animals with enormous horns, but their faces are so cute and hairy that it is hard to take them seriously.

Don't attempt a staring contest with a Highland cow, they will always win.

At this moment I am urging Erik to roll up his window,
 and he is assuring me the cow is "peaceful".

There is tons I could write about from our time on Mull - but I need to stop somewhere.  To sum things up - Mull is amazing and I could have spent a whole week there exploring!

On the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond... and beyond

I heard it.  As we were driving through the rolling hills of the scottish highlands down the shores of Loch Lomond, I heard the faint sound of a scotsman singing...

"Oh, you'll take the high road and I'll take the low road
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye.
Oh me and my true love will ne'er meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond".

As it got louder and ever so slightly out of tune, I looked over and realized it was Erik, who although not a native-scotsman, does put on a good accent and would look very sexy in a kilt.  He remembers singing this tune at his McLane family gatherings and felt inspired that it become our scottish roadtrip soundtrack song.  Loch Lomond is a beautiful inland lake at the gateway to the highlands and we've posted a few pictures of it below.  We stopped for a quick peek at it on our way to the Isle of Mull, our second day of the trip.

We then carried onto Oban, a small port town which houses a large ferry terminal accessing the islands.  We had some time to kill so we drove up to the Scottish Sealife Sanctuary, which was small but really interesting. The kids enjoyed the touch pool demonstration, that is until some crazed little girl managed to (impressively) body-check both Rowan and Walker off the end of the bench as she shouted "LET MEEEEE SEEEEEEE"!  Rowan was quite tolerant of the little heathen until she threw the snail she was holding into the pool shouting "EWwwwwww".  There are a few things Rowan has no patience for, and chucking sealife around roughly is one of them.

After we coo'ed over the cute seals and the two sweet Canadian otters, it was time to make our way over to the ferry terminal.  We enjoyed a smooth and sunny ferry ride over to the Isle of Mull, and spotted a few dolphins!  It is so beautiful here!  Stay tuned to read about our time on Mull!

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, to Scotland the Eggs Go!

Who doesn't LOVE a good road trip?  We've been planning this one for awhile; 9 nights in Bonnie Scotland focusing mostly on the highlands and inner Hebrides.  We left Cheltenham at noon and drove to Moffat Scotland, a really sweet little town near the English border.  The drive gave us our first taste of the M5 and the M6 on a Friday afternoon (!) but was otherwise uneventful except for the irrational hatred Erik developed for anyone in a green Land Rover or a gold car, whom he claimed were somehow out to "get 'im".  A quick stop near Carlisle, England at the Walltown Crags to catch a glipse of Hadrian's Wall, an enormous stone wall built by the Romans dividing England and Scotland to keep out the "barbarians".  After sprinting up a really big hill covered in sheep poo (which I find myself doing quite a bit here in England) we arrived at said wall, or at least the remains of part of it (sadly most of it was scavenged to build houses etc).  Checked out the picture below!  Stayed one night in Moffat at The Bridge House Hotel, which we liked very much.  The owners' son lives in Kelowna, British Columbia (small world!).  Stay tuned for more!

Hadrians Wall - Walltown Crags