july 2008 in Europe
Wally’s mother’s family, the Ogles, were holding a family reunion in Morpeth, England just north of Newcastle Upon Tyne in July, and we decided it was now or never for our trip to the United Kingdom. His great uncles and cousins were going and I figured this was the only way I was going to get him to go. I had been wanting to visit Scotland forever and since the reunion was in northeastern England that borders on Scotland it worked out perfect. We fly into Edinburgh and rented a car - a scary proposition when you’re driving on the opposite side of the road. We ordered an automatic so at least Wally didn’t have to shift and drive backwards.
Part I: Scotland
I decided to explore the the areas of Scotland that we thought my great-great grandfather James Frank Bowie had come from, and mapped a journey that included interesting local destinations along the way. We travelled down the Fife Coastal Route and stayed the first night in Crail, an utterly charming little fishing village that was completely devoid of tourists. It was as if time had stood still two hundred years ago. The cobbled streets and window boxes overflowing with flowers in bloom were gorgeous. We headed northeast the next day with St. Andrews our next stop. St. Andrews is home to the oldest golf course and St. Andrews University, and Wally wanted to check out the Old Course. The magnificent cathedral and castle ruins are perced on the edge of the North Sea and the city is a shopper’s delight. We walked down to the beach below the castle ruins and to my delight, there was sea glass everywhere! I brought home several little bags that now fill a bowl in our living room.
We arrived in later in the afternoon in Nairn on the Moray Firth. The king suite at the Invernairne Guest House was wonderful, and we would definitely stay there again if we go back. www.invernairne.com. I kept looking for the resident dolphins in the firth but never saw them. On a cold, misty day we drove to Inverness and down along Loch Ness to Urquhart Castle, that was built in the 1100s. On the way back to Nairn we visited Castle Cawdor, and it was one of our favorite stops. Known as one of the most romantic castles in Scotland, the family still lives there part of the year and it feels warm and welcoming inside. The gardens were absolutely amazing and I could have spent days there.
Elgin was our next stop so I could do some Bowie family research at their archives but I came away disappointed. I did hit all the thrift shops or “charity” shops in town and found several Scottish wool sweaters which was perfect because it was cold! We made a stop at Johnson’s Wool Mill where I picked up several cashmere scarves for Christmas presents. We headed south, back down through the Highlands and stopped off in Grantown on Spey, where we had lunch. As we headed south back past Edinburgh we stopped off at Dunkeld, a delightful little town nestled against a small river. We didn’t have time to really look around but will definitely go back there again on another trip. They had a great antique shop right by the river.
We drove on south through the Borders, stopping to photograph a windmill farm on one of the tall hills. They are really quite fascinating to watch - and huge! Of course there were sheep everywhere we went and I loved seeing them. No so many cattle and only saw one group of Angus - most seemed to be Simmentals. We arrived at Morpeth, England and Longhirst Hall where we joined up with the Ogles clan for the week.
More to come later! :)
Part II: Northeastern England - Northumberland
Summer 2008: Scotland, England & Amsterdam
We travelled to Scotland, England and Amsterdam with Wally’s “Ogles” family
We stayed at Selcraig House
in Crail, Scotland our first night
Sheep dot the countryside
Crail is a beautiful little fishing village
Left: Wally at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. Right: Jamie and Wally at Loch Ness
St. Andrews Cathedral ruins and cemetery
Wally in front of a windmill farm on the border between Scotland and England
Cawdor Castle in Nairn was one of our favorite places - the gardens were amazing!
We arrived at Longhirst Hall in Morpeth, England late in the afternoon and immediately spied Wally’s great-uncle, George Ogles. Cousins began to filter in that evening and we tucked in early that first night. The next day the entire Ogles clan gathered for the first excursion day trip. Wally’s great uncles, George and Jimmy Ogles were in attendance, as well as his cousins, Mark, Jim, Shawn and Starr. The rest of the Ogles were new to us and they came from all over the United States and a few were from England. It was amazing that some of the Ogles women who had never met before looked so much alike, with bright blue eyes and engaging smiles.
The tour bus awaited and “Cousin Jim” from Atlanta, the reunion coordinator was our proclaimed leader. Hexham Abbey and town was our first stop. The Abbey’s origins dated back to the 11th century, evolving from an earlier Benedictine monastery established in 671. It had been added on to over the years. One of the ancient Ogles had paid to have a “Chantry” where the clergy was to saw prayers every day for the deceased Ogles to make it to heaven. After touring the Abbey we were released onto the streets of Hexham for a few hours to shop and eat lunch. I hit every charity shop in town and discovered a great antique shop - packed to the brim with great prices. I found an original watercolor of sheep in a pasture and a small grass basket for my trip souvenir. We happened upon a lawn bowling tournament in progress and enjoyed getting to watch this English past time.
We piled back onto the bus and journeyed to Prudhoe Castle that had some past Ogles history. The square keep was constructed in 1175 and was one of the first to be built in Northumberland. Henry II ordered the castle built after attacks from William the Lion, King of Scotland in 1173 and 1174.
The next day had been eagerly anticipated by most as we were visiting Ogle Castle. More of a manor house in demeanor today the medieval remnants of the moat are still visible. We enjoyed touring the house where the present owners the Boanas family had tea and snacks for us. This was one of the ancestral homes of the Ogles family and the King of Scotland was once held in the tower until he was sent on the the Tower of London. The gardener shared his bounty of strawberries and we hung around on the lawn for a while. Jim and Starr discovered a horse buggy in the carriage house and entertained (and mortified some) the group with their hi-jinks. Then we visited St. Mary Magdalene’s church.
Longhirst Hall, Morpeth, England
L-R: Mark and George Ogles from Georgia
Wayne Ogles from Chicago
Wally standing in Hexham Abbey
Prudhoe Castle built in 1175
Ogle Castle, just outside of Ogle Village, to the south of Whalton, England.
The Ogle Village parish church was St. Mary Magdalene of Whalton Church, ca. 13th century
Wally and I played hooky the next day as it was going to be a really long day. Instead, we made our own little day trip, driving northeast along the coast where we stopped off at Alnwick, home of Alnwick Castle, the castle where Harry Potter was filmed. It was like Disney World so we bypassed touring it and drove on. We ended up eating lunch in the little town of Almouth, which sits right on the beach. Almouth is home to the oldest nine-hole golf course in England. We had fish and chips at a local pub and it was delicious - fresh fish! We hung out on the beach for a while, enjoying the sunshine and warmth for the first time in days.
More to come later...
