Rain to Sun, Golf to Ahhhhhhhh

We left Moffat on Sunday around 1:00pm to head up to The Sun Inn for Sunday Roast with Maureen and her sister-in-law Catherine and her two Granddaughters, Ella and Freya.  We had dinner with Catherine and Maureen the evening before at the Italian Restaurant in town, Claudio's and we looked forward to another meal and a visit with Ella and Freya before heading back to their private school, Loreto School in Edinburgh.

Sunday was really the first active rain we've seen since arriving in Scotland and as we climbed the Beef Tub it was really coming down......windshield wipers on full speed!  But just an hour outside of Moffat the skies began to break up and clear and we ended up with a beautiful day first meeting up at The Sun Inn and then into Gullane and North Berwick.

So Sunday Roast in Scotland is something to partake of.  Thin sliced roast beast, mashed potatoes and gravy, Yorkshire pudding and green peas (in the pod) cheesy cauliflower and ratatouille.  It was a yummy meal in a somewhat noisy restaurant but we had a nice visit and headed out just after 4:00 to see what's what with the golf courses along Scotland's "Golf Coast Road".

This is the Victorian Almond Valley Viaduct carrying trains from Edinburgh to Glasgow across rivers and valley's still in use today.

 This is our first glimpse of the Firth of Forth looking across to the Kingdom of Fife!

 As we round the corner along the Golf Coast Road we come to the driving range just before the Clubhouse at Gullane.....all set up and ready to go!

 This is the Spa entrance at Archerfield, my task for the next day while Gordon plays golf with his buddy Mike Robson.

The Spa

 Also on the Archerfield Estate, Archerfield House which is a hotel.

 Coming into North Berwick.

Looking across a golf course out to a major rock in the Sea!

Golfers hitting their final shots before sunset.

Looking out to the North Sea.

Scenes along the coastal town of North Berwick.

The tip of land across the water is where St. Andrews golf course lies.

The far mountain is called Berwick Law and is an imposing figure behind North Berwick.

 We arrived at our B&B, the Adniston Manor House, and decided to open a bottle of wine and cozy in bed to watch Episode 2 of Downtown Abbey!

 Our room is very nice with a king sized bed, very rare in Scotland!  and a sitting room and separate bathroom.  Out our window is a huge meadow and off to the right is the Firth of Forth barely visible....and

 ....what's this a spy out our window?

 After our "full Scottish breakfast", his, not mine, we headed out for our Monday appointments.  On the way we noted several HUGE WALLS AND ENTRANCES to Gosford House, a ginormous mansion sitting on 5,000 acres not visible from the street.  Pretty imposing entrances.....

This is Luffness House, a 13th Century Castle on the Coast Road.

So I dropped Gordon at Gullane to meet up with Mike  and his buddy Justin and another man, Andy, that Mike met on Twitter who currently lives in China but is originally from Canada.  Anyway it was a drop, kiss and run situation for me as it's 11:15 and I've got to drive another little bit further down the road to make my 11:30 appointment at Fletcher's Spa at Archerfield.  I pull in the parking lot and see all these men swinging their golf clubs......wait, no one is swinging, they're just standing there....wait, they have NO heads!  Is it me or is this kinda weird and a bit scary?

So I check in and immediately get handed a delicious green juice while slipping off my shoes and slipping into fluffy slippers, ahhhhhhhh, then I'm led to my own private bathroom where I'm asked to get into my robe to be shown around.

My sink and dressing table,

Robe and toilet area.  It's spacious and beautiful.

Anyway, I slipped my camera into my purse for the day so have no real pics inside the spa.  It is an absolutely gorgeous spa, one of the nicer spas I've ever seen and the staff is exceptional.  My massage and facial were fabulous, so relaxing and their all organic and natural products smelled and felt wonderful.  Oh, I do have one more picture...after my massage and a sit in the sun in the walled garden, I'm served "High Tea" except I ordered a cappuccino along with a fruit smoothie and small dish of berries.  Delicious! AND NO I didn't eat all of those yummy treats!

I showered and headed out of the Archerfield Estate at 4:30ish to go back to pick up Gordon but,....damn these are weird....

From what I could gather, these are part of an exhibit for Nike clothing. 

I had a glass of wine with this view of the 18th hole of Gullane Course 3 while waiting for the boys to finish.  Gordon said he had a brilliant day.  The weather was gorgeous and warm all day and he required sunscreen!

 We had a beer with the boys and quick visit before heading off to the Old Clubhouse, actually almost visible in the above picture just more to the left and arrived back at the B&B at 7:30.  Tired tonight and looking forward to our adventure tomorrow heading out to the great Kingdom of Fife and St. Andrews golf course!

See you then!