"Historians from England will say I am a liar, but history is written by those who have hanged heroes"

Scotland is a land defined by water.
Betty had planned ahead and has a full day tour reserved for us. We do not drive. We rely on public transportation. The limitation is that you miss the sites that can only be reached by car.
We leave the hotel around 8 AM. The Highland Experience tour bus loads at 8:30 and leaves 9 AM from Cafe Nero in the Old Parliament area. I am a little confused by the exact location since we have only an address. I rush Betty and take an indirect route. We still arrive about fifteen minutes early with time for coffee.
This corner is the central departure point for tour buses leaving Edinburgh. This side of the Royal Mile (Edinburgh Castle and St Giles Church) is blocked off from vehicular traffic except from 7AM to 9AM for the various tour buses. I am starting to relax. There are other people milling around with the same anxiety look on their faces.
The tour bus is comfortable. The driver is enthusiastic and wears his clan's kilt. This is his last tour before marriage and honeymoon in Florida within days.
The group is not talkative or social. We select seats more to the front. The tour is about 35 people. We are going to be together until 5PM.
We pull out. I am always impressed with how these drivers can maneuver these large vehicles through narrow streets. I will always be in awe of the bus drivers of Florence.
This driver is almost as impressive. As we leave the city and enter the suburbs, we hit a traffic jam. The road in front of us is under repair with a lane closed. We inch forward until the driver decides that the schedule is being affected.
He turns left into a residential street. Left, right, left again, right one more time. Back and forth. The streets have sharp turns. There are cars parked. Streets are for cars, not buses.
The driver is confident as works his way around the jam. He has been told by his dispatcher the location of the repair work. After about ten minutes, we again turn left on to the main road.
Rivers are the personality of Scotland.  Rivers have been the natural defense of Scotland.  We are in Low Country. There are no mountains. To a Scot, the rivers are omnipresent.
The first sites described by the driver/tour guide are the bridges across the Firth of Forth. The Forth River is a wide, fast moving river and slightly less than 2 miles in width. The Forth Bridge (the other bridge is a rail bridge) is impressive with a length of over two and half miles. It is considered a symbol of the New Scotland and renewed Scottish pride. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The bridge crosses over to Dunfermline. Dumfermline is 3 miles from the Firth of Forth and is on the "high ground".  Our goal is the Dunfermline church which occupies the site of the medieval Benedictine abbey (and why the church is referred to as Dumfermline Abbey).
The town was the royal capital of Scotland until the 1437 when the capital was moved to Edinburgh Castle.
The church overlooks the river and the town. The church is an active parish. The abbey (parts of infrastructure remain) was completed in 1250. The abbey was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reformation (nice term for murder, torture and burning). The nave was spared and forms the Vestibule of the new church (1821).
And why - is this of import - Robert the Bruce body minus his heart (buried, finally, at his request at Melrose Abbey) is buried here. There are a great many kings, queens and notables also entombed here. But, the tours come for The Bruce.
Down the hill is the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie. There is a "free" museum.
Back in the bus, we travel to Sterling Castle. The weather is sunny, but blustery. Sterling Castle was recommended by John and Angela on their journey last year.
Stirling Castle has been the focal point of Scottish history. It is defensive structure sits on top of Castle Hill surrounded on three sides by cliffs. Historically, it guarded the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth.
Construction began in early 12th century with the majority built between 1490 and 1600. The castle was the key to invading Scotland and to the defense against those English invasions during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Several Scottish Kings and Queens resided here. It is the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots.
William Wallace defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.  Robert the Bruce defeated King Edward I at Stirling Castle.  The Battle of Bannockburn was fought within sight of the walls of the castle.
The castle was enhanced by the Stewart Kings. The castle's living quarters now reflects this period.
As with Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle is now a series of exhibits in dedicated buildings. The size of the building's exterior belies the size of the rooms in the interior. I am guessing that is the problem with building with large stones. There is also that we are only seeing a portion of the structures rooms. At Hampton Court, there is a tour of the support - kitchen, wine storage, pantries - to give you an idea of the amount of expenses and effort to keep the castle comfortable for the nobility and house and fed a huge staff.
I know we ate somewhere, but I cannot remember.
It is now very blustery. At 3 PM, we stop briefly at the memorial park for the Battle of Bannockburn. The exact location for the battle is lost. The park is an educated guess and looks out over the topography and gives you an idea of the land. Like other historical battlefields, civility has grown up around the event. The park is on an major road with businesses on either side of the entrance to the parking lot and Tourist Center. Across the street is a residential neighborhood.
I saw the movie - The Da Vinci Code. I have read the book. The last stop is Rosslyn Chapel. We are running late. Where are we?
My vision is a chapel located in the wild heather of Scotland. A large brooding stone structure isolated from all but God, the Knights Templar and Dan Brown.
The Chapel is the last stop on our tour. We are in suburbia. Lawns and stop lights. Roslin is seven miles from Edinburgh. We have almost completed the circle back to Caffe Nero.
We pull into the parking lot (I don't remember Tom Hanks pulling into a tourist parking lot). We pass through the tourist center (anyone remember a tourist center being mentioned by Dan Brown). Actually, there was not when Dan Brown wrote the book.
The 15th century structure exterior size belies the interior size. The Lady chapel is not large. This is the family church and crypt of the Sinclair family.  Construction began in 1465.  After the Scottish Reformation, the chapel remained a private chapel until 1861.  Interestingly, the Sinclair family remained Catholic during this private period.
Queen Victoria visit in 1842 began the resurrection of the chapel from ruins by the Sinclair family.
The chapel is now part of Scottish Episcopal Church and is an active place of worship. Photography is strenuously prohibited (photos in the gift shop).
We have arrived at an advantageous time. Extensive restoration that began in 1997 was completed 2013.
The chapel has more interesting features per square feet than any other church we have visited. There is the Apprentice Pillar, the intricate 213 cravings, the 110 "Green Men" and the Crypt. There are  rumors of hidden doors and rooms. In 2010, abandoned bee hives were discovered in the rooftop pinnacles.
There is nothing direct. There is a sense that the master mason(s) has pulled off one of the longest running practical jokes in history. But, then I have a sense of humor that would understand.
A great part of the mystery is the Sinclair family itself. Part of the mystery is that the Sinclair family's roots in Norway not Celtic. Also, during English/Scottish history, there seems continually to be a Sinclair in the background.
The cravings and inscriptions are not easy to read. It is soft stone. They have eroded by time (and I am sure the lack of a roof when in ruins). You miss a lot on the nuances and have to rely on the plagues.
We arrived within a 30-45 minutes of closing at 5PM.  As the Visitor Center closes its doors behind us.
The tour was well worth in time.
We decide to treat ourselves to a supper out. John and Angela recommended a restaurant on George IV Bridge Street called Ondine. It is an excellent seafood restaurant on the second floor with a view of St Giles stain glass windows. We do not have a reservation. It is early enough to get a seating. Our server is Russian immigrate. During our trip, we found that the major immigrate group supplying the hospitality industry are eastern European and Russia.
She is young and talkative. After her second visit, she is reminded by Matre D' that there are other tables. The restaurant fills quickly. We are hungry and tired so it is a quick meal and back to the hotel.
Tomorrow, the Castle.