THURSDAY 31st MAY 2012

SCOTLAND

The amazing run of fine weather we have had has finally come to an end with us awaking to pouring rain, low cloud and cold temps! Perth looked very miserable from the vantage point of our fifth floor windows and for the first time we had to crank up the hot water powered heaters! Can't grizzle because we have had the best weather one could imagine, and we knew it couldn't last forever. To make matters a bit worse, Sue Jamo awoke with a shocking cold, making her feel very miserable!
Had a light brekky at the hotel and after a quick drive around the centre of Perth, we set off to have a look at St Andrews and the famous golf courses. Perth has just earned city status so I am guessing the population is about thirty thousand or so, and it looks to be an old but quite pretty place built along the banks of the Tay River. There are lots of parks and gardens and on a better day would have been very pretty.
It was only a short drive to St Andrews, but we saw lots of new types of stuff on the way, with acres and acres of strawberries being grown under plastic shelters (Wimbledon??) and the little town looked so nice as we drove in - dozens of golf shops and hotels built around the six courses of St Andrews - but it was pelting with rain and we got soaked trying to get a few photos! We stopped and found a cafe to have some coffee (and scrumptious cakes for some!!!! Certainly not me!!!!) before taking the scenic coastal drive to Edinburgh.
That turned out to be a poor decision because although we saw some great coastal sights, the roads were very narrow and with the driving rain, Den had a huge task just to keep us safe! Once we got onto some major roads we made up for lost time and hightailed it into Edinburgh, over the huge Firth of Forth Bridge and found a spot to stay right in the city centre. This place had secure parking thank goodness and after unloading the car we flopped into our rooms for a short break, before wandering the lovely streets of the city!
Such a picturesque place with the Edinburgh Castle sitting imposingly on top of the hill right in the city, and we all fell in love with place straight away and can't wait to do a bus tour tomorrow when the weather promises to be finer.
After much wandering we stopped off in Rose Street at a quaint little pub and had a pint and then crashed out in our rooms before wandering back to a little Italian restaurant we found nearby, to have a wonderful meal!
So today the rain spoilt our look at St Andrews, which was a pity because I was looking forward to have a walk on the famous course, but the area was most interesting with golf courses by the dozen in every little town and the region quite obviously cashes in big time on the Worldwide interest in St Andrews.