Day 2. Monday, May 9, 2022: The group walks over to the Scottish Textile Showcase and finally gets to meet Kitty Bruce-Gardyne, the local expert who helped us arrange the tour. She gives us an overview of what to expect over the next two weeks, including an important geography lesson. The shop is full of amazing treasures, and there simply isn’t enough time to see (and feel!) everything. Kitty has arranged for local weaver Kristina Taylor to come in and give a talk on her work. We enjoy listening to Kristina describe her work with natural dyes and seeing some of her rugs in different styles.
In the afternoon we visit Dovecot Studios, a working tapestry studio with an amazing William Morris exhibit. The weaving studio is in an amazing space with a lofted roof and skylights. The piece shown on the loom is part of a tribute to the Edinburgh Seven, a group of seven female medical students who were the first women to matriculate at a British university (1869). Despite higher marks than the male students, they were denied scholarship awards and did not receive degrees.
From the Dovecot website:
"William Morris (1834-1896) was a poet, craftsman, fervent socialist, and one of the world’s most successful pattern designers. This exhibition focuses on his legacy and includes framed original samples, as well as interior layouts. The exhibition will place the visitor into the 19th and 20th-century interiors these wallpapers were made for. It is the first time many of these historic samples have been exhibited in the UK."
The pictures do not do the wallpapers justice - the patterns, the detail, the vibrancy of the color were all very difficult to photograph.
Day 3. Tuesday, May 10, 2022: This is our last day in Edinburgh. Several of us take the bus to Craigmillar Castle. The buses are frequent, inexpensive and shockingly clean compared to mass transit in the US. Craigmillar Castle is fascinating and so much fun, with lots of nooks and crannies to explore. Up a spiral staircase, over to the roof, down another staircase, and so on. On the walk to the castle, we discover that Scotland has massive black slugs.
Another popular destination is the National Museum of Scotland, which is the kind of place you could spend a full day exploring. They have great exhibits on world cultures, including some very cool exhibits on Native American/Inuit clothing and artifacts, an Egyptian gallery, a Scottish gallery and wonderful science exhibits. The stuffed sheep is Dolly, the first cloned mammal.
And don’t forget the shopping! We wander around Cowgate, the Royal Mile and various other sections of Edinburgh to find special treasures. Several of us return to the Scottish Textiles Showcase to purchase things that caught our eye the day before. Others seek out unique items at the many thrift shops in town.
