Over his Easter holiday, my brother James came up from California to visit me in Scotland and check out Edinburgh and Glasgow universities. Over Easter weekend, we were invited by our cousin John (second or third or fourth cousin - it gets kind of confusing in our family to figure out who is related and how) to go up to his house in Inverurie, in Aberdeenshire. This is about a three hour train trip from Edinburgh, and we took off on the morning of the Monday after Easter. After a nice and uneventful train ride up, we met John at the station and he drove us to his house. His house is on what used to be an estate, and there is an old building, "our ruin" as he calls it, on the property which used to belong to the estate owners back in the day. For a ruin, it is pretty magnificent.
"our ruin" with Nutmeg the dog and, just to the right of her nose, a yellow patch of daffodils
an image of Easter from home - Isabelle's Easter basket
Once we arrived at their house, we were greeted warmly by Juliet, John's daughter, James, his son (lots of people called James in our family) and his wife Cassandra. We were offered hot cross buns (in honor of Easter I think) and coffee, and both handily polished off two seated at the small kitchen table. Following that refreshment, we followed John on a walk around the property, Nutmeg close behind. Nutmeg is John's black lab. If you have ever seen Downton Abbey, you will know that Lord Grantham has a lab, called Isis I think, who follows him everywhere he goes. Nutmeg is the same - she follows John all over the estate. As we walked, I marveled at the weather. It has been cold or grey or windy or rainy or snowy or hailing, or some combination of them all, since probably September in Scotland, but during the entirety of last week, it was warm (!) and sunny (!!) and not windy (!!!) and it was especially so in Aberdeen. Probably about 60-65F, with the occasional light spring breeze and warm soft sunshine. As we walked, I noted the abundance of yellow, springy daffodils and the smell of fresh grass, flowers, and new life. This is what spring feels like, and I felt like I was discovering it for the first time. In Oakland, it never really gets too cold, and the sun shines on and off throughout the year. It gets foggy sometimes, but never too bad, so the transition from winter to spring has never been particularly pronounced for me. But this, this abrupt shift from snow last week to undeniable spring this week, has been a revelation of spring for me.
SO MANY DAFFODILS
The stairways wer also tiny, and steep!
the doorways were tiny, as James demonstrates
After walking around the property, we had a farmer's lunch, as my dad would have called it - a selection of hams and cheeses, salads, and a loaf of bread. This was followed by a trip to Castle Fraser, a 15th century baronial castle about a fifteen minute drive from John's house. It's a very interesting castle because walking from the bottom to the top is almost like traveling through its history. The bottom begins with stone walls and floors, and the first room visitors see is the kitchen, full of old cooking instruments. It is plain and simple, and looked to me like it would fit well in the 15th century. As you go up more flights, though, the interior gets more modern and lush, full of carpets and colorful bedspreads, until you reach the top where the rooms are still outfitted as they were for the last inhabitants, who I believe lived there in the late 1800s. The rooms in the top floor look like a family's house, with black and white photographs and drawings on the walls and the table still set for tea. There was also, interestingly, a room full of taxidermied animals from all corners of the world.
Castle Fraser
the decrepit gate leading into the churchyard - a little eerie I'd say
After the castle tour, we went on another walk around John's house, this time passing an ancient ruined Catholic church surrounded by gravestones green with age (which Nutmeg sniffed enthusiastically) and an old railroad house. The landscape in the part of Aberdeenshire we were visiting is beautiful - very green, lots of shrubs, flowers, grasses, and trees. It was a welcome break from the bustle and city life of Edinburgh, and seemed like the perfect way to celebrate Easter and the end of classes for semester 2 - with the coming of spring and new life in a new place, coupled with visions of lives led before in churches, castles, and estates.
the church (and James' head peeking in the doorway)