Christmas at Traquair 28th Nov 2015

All our trips with GIG so far have had lovely weather on the day, but this trip looked as if it was going to be different. Rain, wind and a chill in the air greeted our departure - and unfortunately continued throughout the whole day. Saturated fields, full of bedraggled sheep and/or livestock were on either side of the roads, which themselves had rivers of water running along at the edges. In a few places these even met in the middle - flooding the whole road. Hats, gloves and umbrellas were therefore the order of the day!

Traquair House is situated to the SE of Peebles and is, it is claimed, the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland. It is built in the style of a fortified mansion. The estate is made up of about 4000 acres with several farms, cottages and areas of forestry along with a stretch of the River Tweed and its associated fishing. Over the 900 years of its existence Traquair has had 27 monarchs visit, and sometimes stay, in their 50 rooms.

However if you are a visitor to Traquair, you cannot use the main entrance.

The Bear gates were installed in 1738 but when they were closed after Bonnie Prince Charlie passed through in 1745 the Earl at the time vowed that they would never be opened again until a Stuart king was on the throne! They therefore remain closed to this day.
 

 

Today Traquair was hosting a Festive Fayre, with the house open for visitors to see it decorated as in Victorian times. There were craft stalls to buy presents and many activities for children to participate in. Unfortunately, with the weather on the day, walking around the grounds was not really an option. There are no formal gardens here but you can walk around the grounds, some of which run alongside the river, and try to find your way around the maze! Traquair have previously been part of the Snowdrop Festival in Scotland, when many of the grounds were open for visitors to see them covered in snowdrops.

 

 

 We wandered around the house seeing some of the furniture and artefacts on display in the various rooms. The Drawing room had many portraits of family ancestors....

 

 

 

The Dressing room showed how everyday life was lived in days gone by ...

 

 

The King's room was where Mary Queen of Scots stayed....

 

 

... and the Museum has some of her belongings as well as a mural dating from the 16th Century.

 

 

The Still room contained some stunning 18th Century porcelain and the Dining room was set out as if for a meal...

 

 

 

The Library was filled from floor to ceiling with books...

 

 

Even the cellars had wonderful collections in them...

 

 

 

... and there are maps and old prints everywhere - all relating to the wonderful history of the house.

There are stone staircases that take you from floor to floor but they are often spiral staircases and we had to take care when going up and down. We also saw some more secret stairways....

 

 

Traquair also has it's own chapel, built in the 19th Century, and its own brewery! This dates back to the early 1700's but went out of use and the space was filled with family memorabilia. It was rediscovered in the 1960's with all its brewing equipment intact and brewing began again. The brewery became a success and beer is exported all over the world.

As well as the craft stalls erected in various rooms of the house for the Fayre, there are also some craft workshops in the grounds. There is also a small café serving refreshments.

Despite the weather, we enjoyed our visit to a fascinating place - even if we couldn't use the main entrance!

Curling at Lockerbie

Another trip to 'have-a-go' at a sport meant we were heading to Lockerbie Ice Rink on the warmest day of Autumn but in multi-layered clothing. Most were getting a bit worried about having to stand or walk (or run?!) on ice.

Once welcomed to the rink our footwear was inspected as any particle of grit would cause havoc to the sliding stones. We were warmed up with a few exercises to help prevent aching muscles. Our lead coach was Marion Murdoch, quite possibly the best curling coach in the world as her son was Skip of the Olympic men's medal winning team.

We were then taken onto the ice and despite the first few steps being very tentative we soon got a bit more confident.

Split into 4 groups on two sheets (note the technical terms!) each group now had a coach. For the first hour on the ice we were shown basic techniques and rules of etiquette and the game which we tried out in turn.

Not everyone could cope with all the squatting and bending but we were taught how to use sticks to push the stones.

Gradually we were pushing the stones further and further with slight spins.
For the second hour each group had a 'match' with another group.

Please excuse the blurred photos - people were moving and I was standing on sheet ICE !!

We actually managed to get stones in the house, set guards and miss completely!!

No-one fell over but the cold did permeate through shoes and layers of socks to numb our extremities but a bowl of soup in the café (on the warmest day of Autumn) soon got us acclimatised to the outside world again.

Many thanks go the everyone at Lockerbie Ice rink for giving us such an enjoyable morning. How many will want to do it again?? 

Fun at 10 Pin Bowling

Bowling followed Pizza sounded like fun. 10 of the GIG members hired a couple of lanes at Carlisle bowling and quickly got into the swing of things.

Gutter bumpers were raised to aid shots and some of us got lucky by bouncing our way to the pins.

The ladies formed one team whilst the men on the second team vowed to get a higher score.

Fun and laughter soon followed as we tried our best. Luckily all the scoring is done automatically so we didn't have to tax our brains too much.



All too quickly the frames were completed and we headed for lunch at Pizza Hut. All you can eat buffet meant we could pick and choose slices of different pizzas along with endless salad.

Something to do again - although Curling at Lockerbie is next on the programme.

AGM and Trophy Night Wednesday 2nd September 2015

Committee members set up tables in anticipation of a good turn out for the AGM. How many people would turn up? Would there be enough members signing up tonight to make it worthwhile continuing the group?
Well we weren't disappointed. As 7pm came round people arrived carrying photographs, craft items, floral displays and food. Tables filled up and extra ones had to be brought out for exhibits. Memberships were renewed and seats filled up in anticipation. Extra seats were squeezed in and finally everything and everyone were ready to begin.
Our Chairman welcomed everyone and gave his report. A very busy year had included talks covering a range of topics and a good number of trips had been organised and enjoyed. A new Satellite group - Silver Surfers - was proving popular and several trips for the future were outlined. The Treasurer then gave her report, outlining income and expenditure and explaining that the accounts had been successfully audited. Re-election of the Treasurer followed, along with election of the members of the committee. The Chairman concluded the AGM with a thank you to all members - as without them there would be no group!
Voting then followed for the following categories-
Tom Straiton Memorial Trophy for a floral display of predominantly roses.
Hodgson Trophy for a Landscape photograph.
Annantown Garage Trophy for a Bird photograph.
Memet Trophy for a Wildlife photograph.
Craft Trophy for a hand made item.

There were fantastic entries in all categories and much work had obviously gone into every single item entered. Members of the group were then allowed to vote for their favourite item in each category. It was a very difficult decision to choose one item above all the others in each category but votes were cast. While the votes were being counted members helped themselves to the delicious looking buffet.

After the buffet it was time to announce the winners! It was very close in all the categories, sometimes only one vote separating the winner from the rest! The committee were very pleased to see just how many entries there were. Winners were announced and trophies handed out by the Chairman as follows:
Tom Straiton Trophy to Glenys Donald.
Hodgson trophy to Mike Read.
Annantown Garage Trophy to Lynne Hampson.
Memet Trophy to Lynne Hampson.
Craft Trophy to Linda Wade. (David accepted the trophy on her behalf but later sent us a photo of Linda with her prize)

Congratulations to all winners but we must say thank you and well done to everyone who entered an exhibit.

GIG trip to Culzean Castle Wed 12th August 2015

Our luck with the weather was holding - despite an early autumnal feel (in August!!) As the morning went on the weather improved to be a very comfortable summer day. Nothing could be seen of the castle as we arrived except for an arch leading into the Home Farm Visitor Centre. Passing through the arch we arrived in a very pleasant courtyard with stone built buildings. Tables outside the café were already filling up on such a pleasant day.

Passing out of the courtyard through another arch took us towards the castle with tantalising glimpses in the distance. The old stable buildings have been converted into a coffee house - but surely one of the smartest coffee houses you will ever see!

The castle is now in view - in all it's glory! Did you know an illustration of the castle was used on the reverse of  five pound notes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland?

Culzean Castle sits on the cliff top near Maybole, 11miles south of Ayr. In the 18th Century the architect Robert Adam was instructed to make a basic structure into a fine country house. It was the home of the Clan Kennedy until given to the National trust in 1945. A stipulation at the time was that the apartment at the top of the castle was given to Dwight D. Eisenhower in recognition of his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during WW2. He visited 4 times, including once while he was President of the United States. The apartment is now rented out for weddings, events, afternoon teas etc.
Entry to the castle opens up a historical treasure trove...

There are guides to help in each room but you can go at your own pace and spend as long as you want. There are some surprises too! On the day we were there we heard lovely harp music coming from the room we were approaching - only to find it was not just background music but a real harpist!

Out of the window we saw a helicopter starting its rotor blades - and then taking off! Who was in it and where they were going was a mystery but the possibilities were intriguing!
The final room to visit was the kitchen.... where the rules for the house were on display as we entered.

Do you think any of them should be rules for today??

After touring the house it was time to explore - the castle is set in nearly 600 acres so perhaps not all in one day. The swan pond is a 13 acre lake but there are also wonderful gardens and miles of paths as well as walks to the scenic coastline.

Walking back to the bus was quite a slow wander- were we tired or were we subconsciously putting off getting back to the bus?? The thought of an ice cream at the shop ensured everyone kept up and gave us something to look forward to. In our experience something exciting to see on the way back - such as a herd of deer - or an ice-cream at the end of a walk can keep tired legs going!

A great place to wander and explore, there is just too much to see/do in one day.

Gretna GIG trip to Wallington Hall Thursday 16th July 2015

After a pleasant ride on the minibus we arrived at Wallington Hall at 10.30am. The weather had gradually improved on the way and was looking good. Margaret had brought facilities to make tea/coffee on arrival and a delicious home made cake to refresh everyone after our  journey. A good start to the day! Even better - some members of the National Trust had vouchers for guest entries - so we had no entry fees to pay for anyone! One member of the group was even offered free access to a motorised scooter, meaning she wouldn't have to walk everywhere! Even before we got inside the grounds the day was a success.

  

After arranging our departure time, we were free to wander. Entry was through a very stately clock tower, opening out onto a huge grassy courtyard. Visitors are allowed to wander across the grass and explore the lakes, woods and grounds of the house. We decided to head for the Walled Garden, but others headed for the River walk, the wildlife hide, the plant stall, the shop or the café. There are many things for the whole family to do at Wallington.

 

 

 

We walked through the wood and past the lake.

 

Neptune overlooks the gate (and holds the key!) to the Walled Garden.



Inside is a real treat - a pool at the top with a staircase leading down through the garden. The borders are full of flowers looking, and smelling, beautiful. An Edwardian conservatory lies against one wall and is open for visitors to wander through. Everywhere looks well cared for, a real credit to the gardeners and volunteers.

 

Walled Garden

 

 

Conservatory

 

Among the plants are many statues and features. 

 

Here are some of the individual flowers, of which there were a great variety - far too many to record here. There was much repetition of "oh, look at that", "I'd like one of those" and "smell that!"

 

 

 

We could have spent more time in the tranquil garden but there was so much else to see! After a delicious lunch in the Clocktower café we moved on to explore Wallington house. It was gifted to the National Trust by Sir Charles Trevelyan, a Socialist MP. His family was rather unconventional and loved being outdoors and close to nature, hence the informal grounds. However the house is full of beautiful furniture, amazing collections and curiosities in every room. The National Trust have taken a new approach to visitors in the house in that they have removed many of the ropes that keep people away from the exhibits. You can now wander around each room and get close to the treasures within. Informative volunteers acting as guides were all over the house to answer questions and give information about individual items.

There was so much to see in the house that we used up the rest of our time inside.

Friezes in some of the rooms

 

Beautiful painted walls

 

There are lots of toy soldiers and dolls houses in the house

 



We didn't see many of our group after going our separate ways but here are just a few snapshots we managed to take during the day!

 

 

 

A quick visit to the shop and the plant stall concluded our visit - but there was just one more photo to take before we set off home....... 

 

 

 

A brilliant day- but there was so much we didn't see that another visit is  definitely needed!