Dumfries

I can't believe that it is already time for me to leave Ireland. This was the part of my adventure that I had fairly well planned, at least concerning the places that I was staying. Eleven day have past very quickly. And some of the near future is fairly unplanned and open. But I am looking forward to the unknown.  Wednesday morning started rainy. I had to take the bus from Ardmore B&B to the city centre, catch the bus to the ferry terminal, then catch the ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan. Once I got to Cairnryan, I had to hop on a bus to Stranraer and then finally a bus to Dumfries. I was initially worried about making all of the connections but that worry was unjustified. Everything worked out quite smoothly. I was even personally escorted by a transit worker from the drop off point in Stranraer to where I needed to meet the next bus to Dumfries.  

I can't believe that it has been seven years since I have been to Scotland. Seeing the land from the ferry was very exciting to me.  I was glad to be back. And then, as I walked off the ferry and started the bus journey through the countryside, I felt I did not want to leave.  I have never visited Dumfries before but the town turned out to be beautiful, quaint, and friendly.  

I found my way to Holly Garden B&B and checked in around 5pm. After a full day of travelling, I was exhausted and hungry. Jane, the landlady, pointed me in the direction of the local grocery store and I headed there for some dinner.  

Thursday started off teeming with rain. This was a run day for me. I delayed the run for a while, hoping that the rain would stop, to no luck. So, I thought, I'll just get wet, no big deal. I made it 3k before I hit a Starbucks and decided to stop for water and coffee. After sitting and reading for a while, the rain stopped and I headed back to the B&B to get ready for the day.  

I visited the Tourist Information Office and was pointed in the direction of the Robert Burns Centre (Robert Burns of "Auld Lang Syne"), as well as the local museum and art museum. All of these attractions were free but closed between 1 and 2.  

The Tourist Information Centre is located on the River Nith. There is a beautiful walking trail along the river and there are a couple of footpath bridges to cross. The river was flowing fairly rapidly and there was a small waterfall halfway between the two footpath bridges. A lot of ducks, called Goosanders were swimming in the rapids. These ducks really reminded me of our Canadian loons. After a lovely walk along the River Nith, I crossed the bridge and made my way to The Robert Burns Centre. Essentially this museum was dedicated to the time that Robert Burns lived in Dumfries. I was able to ready about his time as an Excise Man in Dumfries, his involvement in the community, his worry over being poor, how and where he wrote his songs and poems, his personal life, and his early death, unbelievably, at age 37. 

Walking around town, I made my way to St. Michael's Kirkyard, where Burns was originally buried. It wasn't until later years that his body was exhumed and reburied the Burns Mausoleum, situation not far from his original burial site. The Burns Mausoleum also houses the bodies of Burns' wife and a few of his children. Directly down the street is the home where Burns lived with his family.  

During the shut down of the museums, I went to M&S and enjoyed a hot soup, hot tea, and scone with Devon cream and strawberry jam. So good. Hopefully all the walking will counteract any nutritional damage that I am doing here!  

The next stop was O2, a cell phone store, as I cannot live without data. I spent almost an hour with the dude at O2. He set my phone up with a new SIMS card and explained all of the features (I smiled and nodded, never understanding what phone plans truly mean). We got chatting about my travels to which he started recommending places to visit while in England and Scotland. So I think that I have added Newcastle to my list of places to visit before heading to London.  

After my O2 visit, I headed out to the Dumfries Museum. This is a small town museum but it was highly interesting. The museum covered many time periods from Neolithic, Vikings, Romans, Medieval, up to the present day. There were also displays about rocks and minerals in the area and the different types of animals that are indigenous to Dumfries.  

The aspects of the museum that I found most interesting were the displays about Crime and Punishment, The Witch Trials, and Doctoring and Medical Health. When I think about that, they all seem a bit morbid but they are really interesting topics. There is an observatory with a Camera Obscura located in this museum but it needs to be a clear day in order for people to view and so that was not to happen.  

To end off this damp and a bit dreary day, I decided to head to the movies to watch "Gone Girl". I read, and did not particularly like the book, however, the movie trailer looked intriguing and I decided to go ahead and watch. The theatre was kind of old and pretty gross. Very sticky floors. Me, and the 6 other patrons headed in and sat through about 20 minutes of advertisements. It was unbelievable how long the advertisements lasted. Then trailers. Finally the movie, which was long. I am still unsure about the book. But the movie was well done. It did follow the book fairly well. I guess I was just not that excited by the story even though so many people seemed to love the book.   Back to the B&B for an Innis & Gunn and a bite of veggies and then bed.  

Friday, already.  

Check out from the B&B was at 10. Fortunately Jane let me leave my luggage at the B&B as my train is not until 2pm. I decided to hit the Art Museum. There was an instalment by an artist that worked with florescent lights. I figured I would be seeing lights bent into intriguing images but I was wrong. I am really not sophisticated enough to understand "art". There were four pieces where the artist had screwed florescent lights in their sockets (like the exact kind we have in the ceiling at school) onto the wall. They were lit and hummed, which would drive me mad. And that was it. I don't get it. At. All.   Upstairs there were painting from Scottish artists, which were interesting to look at. But I think that I will be avoiding art museums until I get to Italy!  

So, with the couple of hours I have left, I have been working on this blog as I listen to the edge on line and sit in a Starbucks drinking coffee and watching the locals go by, which is a really interesting way to pass some time.  

Next stop Windermere, in the Lake District, England.