Scotland Sundays: Rosslyn Chapel

One of my favourite chapels in Scotland lies just 40 minutes outside of Edinburgh city centre.  Surrounded by intrigue (home of the holy grail? history of Knights Templar? murder? ghosts?) and recently made famous by a certain novel (which has allowed for some fantastic restoration work), Rosslyn Chapel has it all.

It's one of the most ornately carved chapels, both inside and out.  I love the gargoyles that flank the entrance.  They seem much more ominous in the winter time when the sky is overcast.

I wore my me-made 1940 McCall hooded dress, with my Ness beret and wellies.  It seemed a perfect pop of colour for such a grey day!

Here are some pictures of the inside of the chapel and all the amazing carvings:

The famous 'green man' carving:

Everywhere you look, there is a surprise:

The legend has it that there was a master stonemason who was carving the pillars of the chapel.  He decided to travel abroad to get inspiration and materials, leaving his apprentice in charge.  The apprentice, who was just a wee lad, had a dream about an ornately carved pillar.  When he awoke, he set out to replicate what he saw in his dream resulting in the most talked about set of carvings of the time period.  When the stonemason returned, he became enraged and jealous that his apprentice outshined him and legend has it, he murdered the apprentice in the chapel. 

The apprentice pillar:

Many people believe that the holy grail at one point resided in the chapel and that many other Knights Templar treasures may still exist somewhere within the chapel walls. 

Building on the chapel begun in 1446 and it has remained in the possession of the same family for its entire history (the St. Claire family).

The side of the chapel, with it's beautifully carved window:

There are a few gravestones and memorials in the chapel yard:

Overall, a fabulous (but windy) day, which caught me by surprise more than once! hahahaha

Have you been to Rosslyn Chapel?  Do you love mysterious stories from historic monuments?

Scotland Sundays: St. Giles' Cathedral

On New Year's Eve (or Hogmanay as they call it here in Scotland), David and I had the chance to attend a candlelit concert in St Giles' Cathedral.  If you've ever visited Edinburgh, you can't miss St Giles' Cathedral.  It's the church right on the Royal Mile between the castle and Holyrood Palace.  It also has a spire that looks like a crown.  It's an appropriate name for the church since St Giles is the patron saint of Edinburgh.

The cathedral is absolutely stunning inside.  Beautiful stained glass windows and stonework.  The oldest part of the cathedral are the four main pillars which date from the early 1100s!

It has a wonderful large organ in the cathedral.  While we didn't get the hear the organ at this concert, I can testify that the cathedral has amazing acoustics!  The concert was of several Bach and Hadyn numbers and included the St. Giles' Choral group and a very impressive soprano named Carine Tinney. There is something very special about hearing classical music in such an impressive and old building!

We were facing the large window pictured above and since Edinburgh lets off fireworks hourly on Hogmanay, we actually got to see fireworks light up the sky through the stained glass window.  That's something I will never forget--it was almost surreal!

I took the opportunity to wear my 1937 gown and matching bolero:

And like the smoke from the candles, the feelings of the cathedral and sounds of the music still linger in my mind and bring a smile to my face!  Such a wonderful way to bring in the New Year!

I hope you all had lovely New Year's celebrations.  I'm really excited for all the potential that lies in 2014!

Scotland Sundays: Dean Village

This past weekend, David and I revisited one of our favourite places in Edinburgh, Dean Village.  Dean Village is a quite, tucked-away neighbourhood right in Central Edinburgh.  

You take an unassuming (and steep!) street down into Dean Village and a beautiful, picturesque place unfolds before your eyes...

The area used to be a grain milling community for about 800 years and there is still evidence of water mills and old mill buildings.

On this particular outing, I wore my 'Hiatus' dress, sewn using a McCall pattern (3939) from 1940:

The Water of Leith runs right through Dean Village, providing some very picturesque views looking out from the pedestrian bridge:

And of course, Autumn is a beautiful time with all the leaves changing colours.  There are more yellow tones in all the trees and they are rapidly losing their leaves.  We've had some surprisingly sunny days, which often fool me into thinking it's getting warmer.  However, when the sun goes down (at 4:14pm already!!!), it gets properly cold!

Soon it will be too cold to wear dresses without winter tights!

There is something so beautiful about autumn, don't you think?  I hate the impending cold weather and wish it could stay autumn for all the winter months too!!  I'm curious, how is your autumn or spring so far?

Scotland Sundays: London Road Gardens, Edinburgh

It's been some time since I've done a Scotland Sundays post.  Today, I wanted to highlight one of my favourite places in Edinburgh; London Road Gardens.  Right in the middle of town, this park is an oasis.  It features lovely tree-lined paths and lots of greenery.

For this particular stroll in the gardens, I wore my 'First Crepe of Summer' dress (McCall 3908 from my 1940 McCall Project).   I topped it off with a lovely late 1930's black hat with a striking red feather that I bought from Adeline's Attic Vintage (also known as the lovely Vintage Baroness):

Photo credit: David McNie

The London Road Gardens has some of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen!  It would be the perfect place for a summer picnic.

Right in the middle of the gardens, there is an adorable, recently opened, little restaurant called 'The Gardener's Cottage' which serves up local and seasonal food.  It's also a social dining venue meaning that a six course set menu for dinner is served up on one long communal dining table.  You can also order a la carte and they serve weekend brunch.  I definitely want to check it out one of these weekends!!

Within the gardens there is an upper path and a lower path.  The lower path runs parallel to London Road but the upper path heads up towards the Royal Terrace and Calton Hill area.

The garden is lovely in the summer sunshine with the sun streaming through the gaps in the trees.

Here's another close-up of the dress and hat. I just love how they go together!

Photo credit: David McNie 

Sometimes it's the small gardens and hidden-away paths that are the most rewarding in urban spaces. Do you have local gardens or walking paths that you visit regularly?

Scotland Sundays: The Willow Tearoom

I have a very special Scotland Sunday this week!  It's the first feature outside Edinburgh and also represents a celebratory event--David and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary!!  Seeing as tea has played such a notable role in our relationship (our first conversations were over a cuppa tea), we decided to go to one of the famous Willow Tearooms in Glasgow.  

If you have ever visited Glasgow, you will know the name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, a Scottish designer and artist in the Arts and Crafts movement and also influential in the Art Nouveau movement.  Glasgow has several of his masterpiece buildings (one of which, the Glasgow School of Art, is just down the street from a fabulous fabric store--Mandors!!)

Mackintosh had complete control over every aspect of the design in the Willow tearoom.  The tearoom opened for business in 1903 with a special 'Room de Luxe' with high-backed silver chairs and leaded designed glass with the trademark Mackintosh rose design.  The tearoom gets it's name from Sauchiehall, the street on which it stands.  Sauchiehall means 'alley of the willows' and willows feature throughout the design.  You can still come and enjoy a wonderful cup of tea in the willow tearoom.  We always request a spot in the 'Room de Luxe' and on the day we went, we were the only people there!  So we got it all to ourselves!!

It felt fitting to wear my 1933 Butterick 'Katherine Hepburn' dress and jacket since Mackintosh's designs went onto influence Art Deco in Scotland.

There is also a beautiful mural by Margaret MacDonald, Mackintosh's wife, in the tearoom:

They met at the Glasgow School of Art and I just love her designs.  Here's a bbc piece on Margaret that explores her life and work.

I think it's fantastic that we can still enjoy a cup of tea in the original tearoom!  There's still so many Mackintosh buildings we want to see in Glasgow (for example, we haven't yet been to the House of the Art Lover)!  What a wonderful anniversary!!

Scotland Sundays: Regent Road Park

Today I want to highlight a real hidden gem in Edinburgh--Regent Road Park.  This very small park is such a tranquil place with views of Arthur's Seat, Holyrood Palace,  and the parliament building.

It's a very quiet park, there were only a few dog walkers when we visited.  We had a great time strolling down the short park lane filled with wooden benches.  I wore my Purple Parfait Pinafore (sewn from the Parfait Colette pattern) and my 1940s DuBarry blouse:

My absolute favourite part of the park is a circle of stones and plaques:

These 'Stones of Scotland' were gathered and arranged in a beautiful natural exhibit to celebrate the new Scottish Parliament.  There is a stone from each of the thirty-two local authority areas of Scotland. Here's a fabulous poem that was written for exhibit:

In case it's a bit hard to read on the plaque...here's the full poem:

Scotland

It requires great love of it deeply to read

The configuration of a land.

Gradually grow conscious of fine shadings,

Of great meanings in slight symbols.

Hear at last the great voice that speaks softly.

See the swell and fall upon the flank

Of a statue carved out in a whole country's marble.

Be like Spring, like a hand in a window

Moving New and Old things carefully to and fro.

Moving a fraction of a flower here.

Placing an inch of air there.

And without breaking anything.

So I have gathered unto myself

All the loose ends of Scotland.

And by naming them and accepting them.

Loving them and identifying myself with them.

Attempt to express the whole.

Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978)

How beautiful and touching is that?  Hope you have a lovely Sunday and a lovely Mother's Day to those in the States (including to my own wonderful mum)!

Scotland Sundays: HM Yacht Britannia

This past week, Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, which is docked in Edinburgh, celebrated it's 60th anniversary.  A super big thank you to So-Ha for alerting me to the fact that there would be a 1950s dress up event to mark the occasion!  We've been wanting to check out the former Royal Yacht for quite some time--so this was perfect!!

The Royal Yacht was commissioned in 1953 to serve as Her Majesty's floating royal residence.  It has since sailed around the world, covering more than 1,000,000 miles.

It was really fun taking a look at this historic vessel.  Much of the equipment and furniture is original to the 1950s:

I took the opportunity to wear my Mrs Peacock skirt made from a 1950s Simplicity (3196) pattern and my swing jacket which was sewn from a 1940 McCall (3619) pattern, but could easily pass for a 1950s swing jacket:

I have the perfect little 1950s teal topper hat that I got the last time I was out West in the U.S. at the fantastic Urban Eccentric Vintage store.  I love how it goes so well with the swing jacket and skirt (I love it when that happens--Teal can sometimes be hard to match, but I think they go together quite well!):

The yacht was amazing!  I love all the details of the royal residence from the lights, to the wood panelling to the pictures of the royal family scattered throughout the boat.

One thing that really struck me and that they highlight on the audio tour is that the Queen didn't want the royal yacht surroundings to be over the top, instead, she wanted something that had a bit more of a relaxed feel--where she and her family could relax and entertain guests.  The living area is a perfect example.  Of course, what you don't see is a baby grand piano off to the left which has been bolted to the floor--so they could keep themselves entertained even at sea!

This is the seamen's dining quarters:

I'm a sucker for anything nautical--and I just love portholes!!

The Yacht was decommissioned in 1997 (and hence is no longer called a 'Royal' yacht) and is now permanently based in Leith (which is part of Edinburgh, in a newly developed harbour area).  The yacht has been turned into a museum--and a quite interactive one!  Captain David approves:

Many dignitaries have stayed aboard the Britannia including four U.S. presidents (Eisenhower, Ford, Reagan and the Clintons).  Princess Di and Prince Charles also celebrated their honeymoon aboard the yacht. 

We had a fabulous time! There was a professional photographer (Ruth Armstrong--who took the photo below) and our pictures even made it onto the Royal Yacht Britannia website.  We got a free bottle of champagne for dressing in the spirit of the 1950s!  I told the woman that I dress like this normally...lol...but that we would happily accept the champagne :-)

I definitely recommend visiting the Britannia if you are ever in Edinburgh, it's an interesting piece of history and has lots of neat nautical elements (like the most amazing engine room I have ever seen) and a little bit of something for everyone!