Edinburgh, Selkirk, and Dundee 2025

On top of Edinburgh Castle

The king's guards and us

The guy in the foreground is my boyfriend

Ashley and me in the Abbey ruins at Holyrood House

Dolly the Sheep, cloned

There is a cemetery for dogs on the property of Edinburgh Castle

The scarf I bought. They also have a hand-woven version that's made from llama wool and rose fibers. That one is too expensive for me. I'd be too afraid to lose it. 

Operating room in the Royal Yacht Britannia

Living room in the Royal Yacht Britannia

Prince Philip's room

Queen Elizabeth's room

Me with my scarf, outside of Araminta Campbell

Araminta, designer of the tartans is on the right. Miranda is on the left.

On the left is the hand-woven version of my scarf. It can take up to a week to set up a loom.

Araminta is a self-taught weaver. This is the first piece she ever did and it hangs in the atelier. 

Pam teaching Maddie and Kourtney about her craft

Look at sweet Abby tear up over the beauty of the work

A fabric designed for Supreme by Lochcarron

Hello Kitty collaboration

Lochcarron made the fabric for this suit. Taylor Swift wore a suit just like this on her Eras tour.

Beautiful fibers, beautiful yarns, beautiful fabrics

Makar's Mash

Aboard the Discovery

Nellie Ashby and me

Avocado toast at a tiny bike shop near the V&A in Dundee that we discovered in 2022. 

After the tour at Verdant Works, the students did a short weaving workshop and made a souvenir to take home

I just love Scotland and time spent in Edinburgh. It's such a fun, walkable city with culture everywhere. We stayed in a different hotel than in the past - The Travelodge - and it was excellent. The location couldn't be beat and the rooms were good. Breakfast had a lot of choices. I'd recommend it. Probably 3.8/5 stars. Does the job, but not fancy. 

We probably have some of the favorite, most unexpected appointments while in Edinburgh. We go to Lochcarron of Scotland, the largest manufacturer of tartans. We also go to Araminta Campbell, a boutique weaver of tartans from llamas (non-allergenic). We go to Dundee to learn about early days of manufacturing textiles during the industrial revolution. We go to Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood House. So much interesting history. 

We also enjoyed some yummy food while in Edinburgh, including pork sandwiches at Oink and delicious meat and potatoes and Makar's Mash Bar Restaurant. The fun thing that happened while at Holyrood House was that the King's guards were holding an annual archery competition. We not only saw them shooting arrows, but some came and talked to our small group. We got a selfie with one. We joked that he was my UK boyfriend. He was older and distinguished. We asked him and his colleague what they liked most about being one of the King's guards, and they said they loved the brotherhood and comaraderie. Hoe cute is that?

Nellie Ashby, a woman who works in the study abroad office with finances, joined us in Edinburgh. It was fun to have her along. She had some great ideas for things to see and food to eat. She was told to pick a study abroad to join to see how it works and get an idea of how it looks from a student standpoint. She said she decided to pick one that she would have wanted to go on. She also said she'd always wanted to join our study abroad. Natalie, Nellie, and I took a side trip to the Royal Yacht Britannia, Queen Elizabeth's home on the water. It was a cool tour. There was a bit of rain at times, b

ut it didn't ruin our time. I thought it was interesting that both she and Prince Philip had their own rooms, with twin beds. The only room with a queen bed was the one that Charles and Diana used on their honeymoon. 

While in Dundee, Nellie and I paid to enter the "Discovery" ship museum that's right next to the V&A. We had both been there and we had both read a lot about Shackleton and his arctic adventures. We had to buzz through quickly, but it was worth it. I saw a stuffed life-sized penguin, which was cool. 

I bought a scarf at Araminta Campbell, that I've been thinking about since 2 years ago. I almost bought it then, but decided against it, thinking I don't wear scarves. Then I decided that I don't wear scarves because I don't have one I like. It's called Highlands at Dawn, and is inspired by the colors of Scotland in the morning. I got a photo with designer and founder, Araminta, and her director of marketing who helps with our tour. 

Some of our students had a really meaningful visit with the darner, Pam, at Lochcarron. Pam is about to retire. Our visit was the 3rd time I'd learned from her and watched her do her work. She sits all day and inspects yards and yards of fabric, looking for and fixing imperfections. Abby Richardson, one of my favorite students, asked Pam what she likes about her job, if it's hard, etc. Evidently, that sparked an connection between the 2 of them. Pam said that even though she'd taken a break from that work, she had come back and that you never forget your trade. She asked Abby if she'd like to try darning and taught her. Abby teared up over the experience. I was in a later group, and Pam let Kourtney and Maddie also try. 

Edinburgh miracle: Natalie had the bright idea to hire taxis to take us to and from church so we could make our flight. She got everything arranged. We got to ride in real UK taxis. The only problem was that someone at church, without us knowing, told the cabs that were waiting for us that we wouldn't need them until later that day. After we waited and waited for the cabs, Natalie called and they said that someone had dismissed them. She said we needed the taxis and they came back. We made it to our bus and to Delft, then the airport.