The Final Walk, Melancholy but Beautiful

This is the perfect day to be writing this Wednesday Walk. They say that scent is the most powerful trigger for memories. I always like to wash my clothes before I come home from a trip. The day we left Kirkcaldy, I crept downstairs into our little sauna bathroom where the clothes were hanging and dried. The entire room smelled like freshly cleaned clothes. I folded them all up, and packed them away. Today, I pulled pants out of my drawer, and they were from that last day in Kirkcaldy. The scent him me and I've been reeling in memories ever since. Every time I move, I'm transported back to our beautiful little cottage in Scotland. Memories... bittersweet memories! hehe

Now the walk that I'm actually sharing today is NOT from Kirkcaldy! After that whole intro, you'd think that I was going to take you further into that little area! But that will be for another time. Today was for the final walk of the entire trip - and the feeling of melancholy for that walk, matched the feeling I had today! Now you see?

On this final walk of our vacation, we were all a little bit quiet. We looked at the planned route, and it seemed simple enough. The route was far from simple and we did get a bit lost at times, but that was part of the fun! Discovering our way around together!

After parking the car, getting our route mapped (sorta hehe), we started for the hills. But first, we saw this amazing little display! A mother-daughter artist duo has woven all these willow branches into figures! A hug, some people farming, a horse.. hehehe My little buddy Jack (@samsmith1971's son) and I had to walk all around and we even held a "town meeting" inside the hut. More pictures to come later in the post to show our shenanigans! hehe

Next, @penderis led the way up this neat little walkway. We knew the general direction was taking us to the Air Force Memorial and on the way - it was really neat! There is about an acre of land that actually belongs to the United States at the top here. Pen had tried to get his US visa late last year, and when that didn't happen - we were all disappointed (but not defeated!) When we made it to the top, I grabbed him in a hug and said hey!! You made it! You're on American soil!!! So much for needing an American visa! hahahaah We all laughed and felt like we had properly stuck it to the man, if for just a moment! hehe

Now these might not look like much, but it was a very very long stretch of stairs that kept going, going, going. Our little Jack was famously telling us that he was "bored" at times throughout the day. I told him, sorry - don't know what that word means! hehehe So we kept finding ways to try to keep his mood "entertained". hehe At this point, Pen was walking ahead, and I told Jack... how old are you? He had just celebrated his 10th birthday. I pointed ahead to Pen and said - Do you know how old he is? a LOT older than you. If you run out of energy before he runs out - I'm going to be VERY disappointed! 😄

Pen heard Jack approaching and took of sprinting up the steps - with Jack chasing behind. Sam and I busted out laughing because no matter how old Pen is - we are pretty sure that he would not run out of energy before Jack - SIMPLY on will alone! hehehe and... as the day continued, that would be true!

Near the top of the myriad of steps, we saw the Air Force Memorial. We had a lot more to see, so we saw no need to explore further. We wanted to see the Forest of Memories (a new place dedicated to those lost from COVID), the Writ in Water, the place the Magna Carta was signed, and then just.... walk!

We kinda sorta found our way around using Google maps and just Pen's sense of direction. He was nicknamed "the homing pigeon" on our vacation - so, we felt like we were in good hands! hehe

Here you can see a nice panoramic view of the luscious green grass everywhere! I paused a bit to try to get Sam walking. I couldn't have gotten Pen and Jack if I tried! They both took off running down this slippery hill - and... LOOL well, they had a LOT of fun! and they might have also been covered in a BIT more mud than when they started! hahahaha

There in the distance you can see the little memorial gazebo where the Magna Carta was signed! And, once again, we were fine to just see that from a distance! hehehe You know, when you're enjoying each other's company - it's funny how it doesn't really matter where you're walking so much as what you're talking about, laughing about, experiencing together. That's a lot of what I felt on this trip! Very cool to see things, but much cooler to see the things WITH the people I loved!

Now this... this was labeled as "Writ in Water" on the Google maps - and I had no idea what it was. A water tank? Who knows. Let's go check it out! As we got closer, I was thoroughly unimpressed. hahaha It just looked like a strange little building, without much fanfare at all! We walked inside and it was... interesting. LOL It was this circular walkway, and it was dark, and I really had NO idea the purpose of this little place on Google Maps! And then finally, we entered the middle chamber, and this is what we saw.

Do you see it?

It took us a moment to see it! But take a look... the water is actually in a basin that must have a black bottom, because the water looks black. And the reason for that - is so that it is the perfect reflective surface - still and mirror-like. The words that are carved into the stonework - is backwards and upside down. Why? hehehe now do you see it! Because the REFLECTION of that .... THE WRIT... IN WATER... is actually the special feature! It is reflected to read perfectly! and isn't it so beautiful???

I'm not even sure if you can TELL what you're looking at! Because the water is SO perfectly still that it actually is hard to see where it begins! The lighter blue-grey ring is the stonework, and then the darker below with the deeper grey is the water's reflection! If you'd like to see some more pictures so that you can see a bit better and learn more about it - please head to this link for the Writ in Water! Please go here and check out the awards it won! Very special!!

And then - we really took the long way back! hahaha But my goodness was it beautiful! It was SO beautiful, and we were SO engrossed in the exploration and chatter and finding our way back with our "homing pigeon", trying to NOT get stuck in any flooded mires, and generally just having a good time - that we took NO pictures until we actually made it back to the beginning! hahaha Sorry, but those images will live rent-free in my head.

But these?

Well, our little JACK is just so darn cute posing with these sculptures that I had to grab them and share! Now with him standing next to it, you can get a better sense of scale! It was really pretty impressive what this mother-daughter artist duo accomplished! How wonderful to know that your art will be in a place like this to be enjoyed for years and years to come!

Jack found a friend! I think she likes his hugs! hehehe

And ahhh it's been so long since I've ridden a horse, this one was very tempting!!! hehehe But - nope, I'll have to get that ride another time! LOL

I hope you enjoyed this final walk in UK with me! Even though I'm going out of order, I'll be posting MORE walks from that time in the weeks to come! I can't wait to share more pics of the beautiful scenery we saw! I hope you come back for more!

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This post was an entry for the #wednesdaywalk community founded by one of my favorite Hivians - @tattoodjay! hehehe If you find yourself taking walks and seeing beautiful things - why don't you write up a post and share it on Wednesdays with us! You'll enjoy it!!! :)