We drove all the way up to Edinburgh just to find out that the Jacobite train would not be running the next day.  We were really bummed out, but the tickets are sold out and so are the tours until after we leave.  We decided to just head back to Chester and see some castles and Rosalyn Chapel on the way.

My husband wanted to see the chapel last time we were in Scotland, but it was closed when we got there. He really liked the Davinci Code and wanted to see where part of it was filmed. The church can only hold 118 people, so tickets are limited.  We bought ours online the night before and think the only reason we got them was because it was for 9am.  It was not crowded at all.  They had a talk at 9:30, so we wandered around the chapel looking at various sculptures and learning about them from placards and our brochure.  You cannot take any pictures inside the chapel.  Their reasoning is that it would ruin the experience for others.  

The stone work was unreal.  I could have taken a thousand pictures of all the cool carvings.  We went downstairs and when we came back up the talk began.  She told us the history of the chapel and I was amazed that it was left vacant for hundreds of years and was still standing.  They had to do extensive work to keep it from crumbling due to all the moisture damage.  My favorite story was about the two columns.  One was done by the master and another by an apprentice who had a dream and carved it when the master was away.  His master was so mad that he hit the apprentice with a hammer, killing him (he was only around 15 years old).  The master was hanged for the crime.  Both of their faces are carved in the chapel.  The master’s face is looking toward the apprentice’s pillar. 

I don’t have a lot to tell you about the castles we saw since we just basically stopped to take pictures, but I did get all the names.  The first was Neidpath Castle. You needed to book an appointment to see inside. I’m pretty positive that someone lives there.

The picture above is Bonshaw Tower. It is a popular place for weddings. The road to this castle was very narrow and winding and felt like a private driveway.

Carlyle Castle is right next to a very busy road. We parked next to a park and walked over to get this picture. We peeked inside and it looks more like a fort with separate buildings inside the walls.

Hutton in Forest was a pay in a honor box or online. We were there too late to go inside the house and didn’t feel like wandering the gardens (which cost 9 pounds) so we just took a picture and left.

Our last stop was Brougham Castle. This had the worst parking situation of all. We parked on a corner on the grass. It looked pretty empty inside, so we were happy with a picture. We have had some sleepless nights since arriving here and just really wanted to get back to the bed and breakfast and rest!