Central Edinburgh.
Jenny and Mandy with Edinburgh Castle in the background.
Emily at St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh
Jenny and Mandy at St. Giles.
Joseph on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, with the Tollbooth Kirk behind, and the Outlook Tower to the left.
Mirrors at a museum of optical illusions.
Mandy and Jenny at Edinburgh Castle.
Joseph loved the cannons.
Joseph climbing a hill at the Edinburgh Castle.
Joseph overlooking Edinburgh from the castle.
Jenny and Emily playing checkers at the Children's Museum, Edinburgh.
JK Rowling wrote much of The Sorcerer's Stone at Nicholson's Cafe. Since she wrote the book, it has been sold and become a Chinese restaurant.
Ruin in Edinburgh.
It was snowing as we arrived at Roslyn Chapel.
Roslyn Chapel is as beautiful from the outside as the inside. Stairs lead to a walkway along the perimeter of the chapel. We attended a service (as it wasn't open for tours when we arrived), and afterward chatted with several members of the congregation. The priest was a pathologist, so had something in common with Joseph. I wish I could have taken photos inside the chapel, as it was very beautiful.
Roslyn Castle is a ruin. Here it is, seen from Roslyn Chapel.
Jenny at Holy Island. This is as close as we got to Lindisfarne Castle, as the tide was coming in and was going to cover the road back to mainland England.
Bamburgh Castle
Joseph at Alnwick Castle
Courtyard at Alnwick Castle
Joseph getting knighted
Joseph in the pillory
McDermott Family in royal garb
The flying lesson from the first Harry Potter film was shot here at Alnwick Castle
Many areas inside the castle are exquisite, but are off limits to photography. This is one of the few places indoors where we could take a photo.
A walkway leads along the castle wall
This gate at Alnwick appears in the films as the way from Hogwartz to Hagrid's home.
York Cathedral is immense, and has stonework with intricate, beautiful details
Looking up at York Cathedral. Photos never do justice to buildings this size.
Nice new gargoyle. York Cathedral is being slowly renovated.
Mandy in York
Joseph was interested in the Sistine Chapel being painted by a street artist in York. We didn't get to photograph the original when we saw it, as a Japanese company has purchased the copyright and forbidden it.
Staircase to the city wall in York
This is the raised portcullis over one of York's gates (bars).
Jenny and the girls are too small to see well in this photo of Clifford's Tower, York.
Emily and Joseph on the wall of Clifford's Tower, York. The spire of St. Mary's Church, Holy Trinity Church, and York Cathedral are behind.
This view of York from Clifford's tower strikes me as Victorian.
Overlooking York Castle Museum from Clifford's Tower.
Mandy at The Shambles. This street in York was mentioned in the Domesday Book, over 900 years ago. It was named for the "shamels," or stalls and benches where butchers displayed their meat. The street was rebuilt in the 1400s, when it assumed its present character.
Here are Jenny and the kids leaving the city center through Monk Bar. Many of the place-names in York are based on Danish, as it was a strategic Viking town. York is the city where streets are called gates, gates are called bars, and bars are called pubs.
