Inchmahome, Callander, and Edinburgh

Since I last wrote, I've done some more exploring! Thursday, 19 September, the archaeology department master's students went on a "required" field trip to Inchmahome Priory on the Lake of Menteith (fun fact: the Lake of  Menteith is the only 'lake' in Scotland, the rest are called 'lochs') and Callander. So we departed from the archaeology/geosciences building at 10:00 in the morning and didn't make it very far before we had to stop. For about an hour and a half. Turns out, the other bus had broken down and they would have to wait for a mechanic and then turn around and get another bus! Thankfully, my program in particular was absolutely required to go to Inchmahome, so I didn't miss a single thing, aside from being late.

We got to the Lake of Menteith and it was raining. Not full-on downpour, but gentle mist and enough to get wet after standing outside for a while. Upon arriving, we took a small motorboat out to the priory itself, which rests on an island in the lake. It was absolutely magical feeling. Of course, I'm sure I'll see many more amazing priories and ruins of abbeys and the sort, but stepping foot on Inchmahome certainly confirmed that I was going to be studying the right thing in the right place. The picture to the left is my first glimpse of Inchmahome after coming off the docks.






Unfortunately, I do have to write an essay on either the ecclesiastical landscape of Inchmahome, or on a future fieldtrip to Kilmartin Glen, so copious amounts of academic photos and notes were taken. The picture to the right is taken from what would have been the Nave, or the public part of the church/cathedral, where everyday persons could come and listen to the services. Behind where this photo is taken and to the left is what remains of a tower. I loved Inchmahome, but our time there was limited due to arriving so late, so we took what time we needed and then rushed off to Callander.

Callander lies just on the border of where the highlands meets the lowlands. Our professors said there was a Roman hillfort site that we would be walking to. I wasn't quite prepared for the hike ahead of me. Little did I know that I would be hiking up pretty close to cloud cover and at some points I could barely breathe, but finally we made it to the top. Though the remains of the hillfort were not unearthed and the area had never been excavated, the view was amazing. We had a small lecture up there (amongst the cow pies and rain) about defensive positions from hill-forts, and valleys, and how hill-forts were more of a conscious defensive maneuver whereas placing your center of operations in valley showed your concern not on defense, but control of the surrounding pathways and areas.

I'm proud to say that I hiked the amount that I did on Thursday. My boots did me good up until the very end, too. Little leakage, but there were many mud puddles and a lot of wet ground to cover. There was no path for the entire hike, just a small area of trodden down wet grass and mud. I can now officially say that I've hiked up near the highlands, climbed the Egyptian pyramids, hiked up Lykabettus Hill in Athens, and went to a medieval abbey with those boots. I'm sure I've got more places to go, too!

Such as on Saturday, Carolina and I went to Edinburgh! It was my first time riding a train since a trip long long ago to Strasburg Railroad as a kid. I got myself a 16-25 railcard so I now get discounted rail tickets. We hopped on a short train ride to Edinburgh. Carolina did a study abroad there last year, so she was able to show me around and get some pretty amazing things accomplished on my first trip out of many to Edinburgh. One of the first things she showed me was JK Rowling's handprint for the Edinburgh Award (as seen to the left, fun fact: her hands are only slightly bigger than mine) in the pavement! Shortly after, we stopped by the Elephant House, where she wrote some of Harry Potter on her laptop. Though the cafe itself boasts that it's the "birthplace of Harry Potter", JKR actually wrote her first inklings of HP on a napkin while travelling via train. I also got to see where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived for five years between 1875 and 1880 (conveniently next to where Sir Walter Scott had lived some 100 years previous) near the University of Edinburgh.

So, the geeky things out of the way, we got down to business for the big thing I wanted to do while in Edinburgh for the first time. The castle costed money, so that was out, and museums were nice and free and indoors - but I felt quite adventurous. So we climbed Arthur's Seat! Arthur's Seat used to be (years and years and years ago) an active volcano. It wasn't quite as strenuous a hike as the one near the highlands was, but the view was equally gorgeous. Below is a full picture of Arthur's Seat, myself and Carolina at the top, and just part of our wonderful view of Edinburgh.

What an exciting two weeks I've had here in Scotland. It's hard to believe that I've explored so little of this beautiful country, when it feels like I've done so much! I'm hoping to visit Stirling soon now that train tickets will be cheap enough and perhaps head over to Durham in the coming months to see what I would've seen had I picked Durham instead of Glasgow (and also the Lindisfarne Gospels). I want to go so many places: the Highlands, Aberdeen, Isle of Skye, Orkney, Iona, Dublin, Durham... so many! I'm incredibly grateful I can call this place home for a year and have the chance to go as many places as possible while keeping up with my work (of course).

Even though I haven't had any courses yet and will not have them until Wednesday with the start of my Research Training Course, I've got an incredible amount of reading to do. Thankfully, the archaeology department is super nice, close-knit, and we have many resources at our disposal, including a nice quiet post-grads only office space, with an area designated for taught post-grads since we don't get fancy offices and desks like the PhD students do. I spent a good amount of time there reading today, and despite the fact it gets a little cold, it's very nice and cozy and a great place to work and focus.

Right now, I'm reading Arthur's Britain by Leslie Alcock for a book review essay and though I'm not far, I'm enjoying it! Arthurian myths, legends, and historical archaeology, ahoy!