Another day of transfer
otherwise wasted as far as fruitful touring goes. I know one should enjoy the
journey not just the destination, but that is easier said than done with a
caravan hitched on behind. The distance from Saline to Scone is not far and much
of the morning was spent hanging out at a motorway service centre. We arrived
right on check in time, were set up in a little over half an hour; Chris set to
and washed the car and caravan and I attended to bags of laundry, a task neglected
since the last Club site we left twelve days ago, apart from modest hand
washing efforts.
We are here to
explore Perth, Dundee and the surrounding area, and we will make sure we visit
the nearby Scone Palace while we are here. Scone is pronounced “Skoon”, unlike
the scone (pronounced “skon”) I ate the other day, that which many English folk
call “Skones” to rhyme with “bones”. What a confusing world we live in!
Like Perth, Scone
sits beside the River Tay, but has a longer and richer history. It was once the
one time home of the famed Stone of Scone and the first capital of Pictavia,
land of the Picts, and later united Scotland, the Kingdom of Alba, when its
first king Kenneth MacAlpine brought the Stone here in the 9th
century .
Later a priory and
palace were established here, and I am sure we will learn more about this when
we visit the place over the next few days. The medieval village which grew up
around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th
century and a new palace was built on the site. Knowing that, it almost seems fraudulent
that this is the most important tourist attraction of
the area!
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