UK Trip in 2012 - Scotland and England

My inspiration for wanting to go to Scotland came from the following biography:

"Robert S. Grieve was born on a pioneer farm within two miles of the city of Xenia on July 27, 1831, a son of Archibald and Agnes (Stephenson) Grieve, natives of Scotland, the former born in Selkirk in 1775 and the latter, in Roxboroughshire, who became residents of Ohio in 1814 and here spent their last days. Archibald Grieve grew to manhood in his native Scotland and on March 11, 1811, was there united in marriage to Agnes Stephenson, daughter of John and Isabella Stephenson. A year later, in 1812, he and his wife came to the United States, landing at the port of New York, and in 1814 left that city and came to Ohio, presently settling in this county and buying a tract of one hundred acres in the vicinity of Xenia, where they established their home and where the spent the remainder of their lives. They were members of the old Seceder (Associate Presbyterian) church and their children were reared in that faith. They were [sic] nine of these children, of whom five lived to rear families of their own, hence the Grieve connection in this generation is a [of] no inconsiderable one hereabout." 

My mom has always been into genealogy, and I felt I had little to contribute in the way of research and was sometimes bored with it. After looking through her records, though, I discovered this brief bio about Robert S. Grieve, my great-great-great-grandpa. This excerpt is from the "History of Greene County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions Volume II." This article about him contained a great deal about the original Archibald Grieve, his father, who came over from Scotland with his wife Agnes in 1814. We discovered through Ancestry.com's birth, marriage, and burial records that Archibald and Agnes were married in Yarrow Parish in 1811. Finding this little parish church became my primary goal for our visit. 

Yarrow Kirk (Church), taken in July 2012 in Selkirk, Scotland

The trip was made all the more meaningful because I discovered some of my family's heritage, but this was a great trip for many reasons. While this write-up has been long overdue, I'm excited to take you through the journey of Scotland and England that we took as we traveled through the United Kingdom, and I hope you'll be inspired to take your own journey there soon.

Starting out was a bit rough, as our trip was pushed back due to poor weather on our departure day and a flight cancellation. We did end up flying out of Dayton International Airport on June 29th, 2012, however, and after a few connections we landed in Edinburgh. 

View of Edinburgh from Edinburgh Castle (this is what good weather days look like in our experience)

We immediately got our rental car and drove straight for the nearest golf course we could find. This was one of the items on my bucket list-golfing in Scotland. We found a beautiful course to play in Gullane at the Gullane Golf Course, where we played Course 1. Hole #7 yields a beautiful view along the North Sea, and Amanda didn't mind walking with me to get the experience of the tumultuous Scottish weather, which changed often. There are many courses in the area, though, and I would recommend finding one that will allow you to rent clubs and bring your own golf shoes. The shoes are easier to pack, plus you'll have golf shoes that have tread on Scottish turf!

On the course at Gullane Golf Club, with a beautiful view of the North Sea behind us

We only made it 16 holes before weather forced us to turn in early, but found a nice little restaurant on our way back named "Ducks Kilspindie House." I had the Bucclea Steak and Amanda got a chicken risotto, both of which were delicious. The great thing about the restaurant though is that the menu is seasonal, so go with the special while you're there and be sure to enjoy your first Scotch in Scotland after dinner. You should definitely try some single malts while you're in Scotland, although be sure to pace yourself! A good video on how to read the bottles to get what you want out of a Scotch can be found from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

We finally turned in at the Philip Burns Best Western. This is a bit of a change from Ireland, where we stayed at B&Bs for most of our trip, but I'll have to say that this felt like a large B&B. Our room had two floors, with a loft above the living area. My only regret is that we didn't stay here longer, but the Scottish Breakfast they served in the morning was brilliant.

After breakfast we went out to find Yarrow Parish Kirk (the Church of Scotland spelling) and sat through a very nice service. I'll never forget how welcoming everyone was. We learned that the church was the same building that the original Grieves were married in back in 1811, but that had experienced a renovation and a fire in the interim. Still, it was a beautiful and quaint parish church (or "kirk") where we found many Grieves in the cemetery outside. Apparently many were still around, and we visited another parish kirk in Ettrick parish, not far away, and found many more Grieve headstones.

View inside Yarrow Kirk

View from behind our pew at Yarrow Kirk

Headstone found in the cemetery of Yarrow Kirk, along with many other Grieves

View of Ettrick Kirk, the other parish church in this dual parish containing a cemetery full of Grieves

More recent Grieve who passed away, taken at Ettrick Kirk

After leaving Ettrick, we drove around for a while enjoying the beautiful countryside of the Scottish Lowlands. We passed by a mill and decided to stop for lunch at Philiphaugh Estate and eating at the on-site cafe, the Waterwheel Restaurant, where you can get some amazing smoked salmon from the River Ettrick and stroll through some lovely gardens and local trails.

Beautiful countryside in Yarrow

Finally, we toured the Glenkinchie Distillery, the best part of which was the tasting room afterwards. In the words of one of the church-goers from the morning service, people in the lowlands aren't known for having the best distilleries, but they still "appreciate a drop of whisky every now and then." The nice thing about visiting Glenkinchie is that it's part of a group of distilleries that make the famous Johnny Walker Scotch blends, but each also makes their own single malts. Some of my favorites that we got to try were Oban, Cragganmore, and Lagavulin. Either way, you'll be glad you visited a distillery to see how what is arguably Scotland's most famous product of origin is made.

Me at Glenkinchie Distillery

We finally drove back into Edinburgh after our brief countryside excursion and checked into a B&B, the Fraoch House, after which we went out for some authentic, (British) Indian food at Assam's. We stopped at Robbie's bar later on for a pint and then walked back home, exhausted, but ready to take on Edinburgh the next morning. All in all it was a great first two days of travel. The only thing we didn't get to do (because of the poor weather on our original departure date) was visit Iona, the island where Christianity was first introduced to Scotland. If we had another day we would have driven up there and into the highlands a bit, but we'll be sure to do that first on our next trip to Scotland! Up next: Edinburgh.