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The UK Tour, Part Two On Friday evening, July 21st, 46 members of the Ayr-Paris Band along with 52 members of the community flew out of Toronto to Shannon, Ireland on their ninth International “Celtic Caravan” tour. Over the next 14 nights, they would be traveling to Ireland and Scotland. Here's part 2 of our tour... The second week of the Ayr-Paris Band's "Celtic Caravan" tour was spent in Scotland arriving at Edinburgh Airport from Dublin on Sunday. Our luggage was a little heavier except for Barb Black's, whose luggage was lost on the flight and has not been seen since. We proceeded to Dunkeld, located on the River Tay at the gate-way to the highlands. This was an absolutely beautiful, quant village which had many sights to explore. A highlight of the trip awaited us as we performed an evening concert in the Dunkeld Cathedral. The accoustics in the Cathedral were amazing and we have never heard such a wonderful sounding band. Jessica Brunton performed the Highland Fling to eth band's Tunes of Glory which was thoroughly enjoyed as well as number from out barbershop quartet "Handel with Care". Another evening performance was enjoyed in the courtyard of the hotel with a live celtic band and lots of Guinness and Harp. An early morning departure saw a full day of sightseeing around Dunkeld. Our first stop was Blair Castle then on to Pitlochry was little village with lovely gardens and Scotland's oldest distillery. Our stop on the way home at the Hermitage, which houses woodlands laid out by the Dukes of Atholl, was a beautiful spot. Here we walked through some of the tallest trees in Scotland before reaching the Black Linn Falls next to the stone bridge which spans the gorge. It is said that the hermit's cave hides amongst the rocks adding mystery and interest. We stopped at the Queen's View, set in the heart of the Tay Forest Park, erected for Queen Victoria's visit. We made a visit to the Beatrix Potter Centre and Gardens on our return to Dunkeld. Beatix Potter drew inspiration from her childhood holidays spent along the band of the River Tay and is reputed to have written "the Tale of Peter Rabbit" on one of her trips to Dunkeld. We enjoyed our time in Dunkeld and were ready to move on to the capital cith of Scotland, Edinburgh, located on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. On our arrival to Edinburgh we made a stop at the Ocean Terminal where we toured the Queen's Royal Yacht, Britannia. It was very interesting to view the Yacht's five decks and be given a rare glimpse into the life of the British Royal Family. We enjoyed a city tour showing us sites of the old and new towns of Edinburgh, the Scottish Parliament building, Holyrood Palace, the Edinburgh castle where many went for a tour the next day. Some of the younger band members enjoyed a visit to the Edinburgh Dungeons, one the world's most chillingly famous horror attractions. Here they saw some of the most terrible chapter of centuries of Scottish history in the deep shadows and dark caverns underneath Edinburgh. Wednesday, Bus "A" departed for Alnwick, Northumberland England to visit the Alnwick Castle, which was used as filming location for Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves, Ivanhoe, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth and most recently, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This walled city is still owned by the Duke of Northumberland who is the second largest land owner next to the Queen. Alnwich Castle is the second largest castle in England built in the 14th century. Bus "B" made a short trip to Penicuik to Visit the Rosslyn Chapel made famous in THE DA VINCI CODE. This Chapel has been in the ownership of the St. Clair family since 1446. We viewed the Mason's Pillar and the Apprentice Pillar, which are suggested to represent the pillars of Boaz and Joachim, which stood at the inner porchway of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, and that Rosslyn Chapel itself is a reproduction of the temple. There are many claims, suppositions and theories that add to the Chapel's aura of intrigue and mystery making it an interesting place to visit, including William the black cat who lives in the chapel. An impromptu concert outside out hotel in Hunter Square that evening drew a huge crowd and collected 21 pounds for the band's coffers. This was the bands first attempt at busking.
We departed Edinburgh for Ayr Thursday morning with stops at Doune Castle and Stirling Castle. Doune Castle was made famous in the 1975 movie "Monty Python's The Holy Grail". We were prepared with coconuts for our visit to the castle with a parade up to the front door [you need to see the movie]. A self-guided tour of the castle showed us all the scenes from the movie and an open air view from the roof of the castle. We arrived in Ayr at the Station Hotel to a warm Scottish welcome by pipers Kieran McPate and James Murnin playing us a few tunes. We felt like royalty staying at the Station Hotel: during our last visit we stayed in the Craigie College dormitory. The band along with Mayor Kim Denouden were guests at a civic reception hosted by Provost Winifred Sloane held at the South Ayrshire Council Chamber. A light lunch was followed by kind words from Provost Slone acknowledging the bands 50th anniversary and the ties between Ayr, Scotland and Ayr, Ontario. An official Friendship Certificate was then signed by Provost Sloane, Mayor Denouden adn Director Merry Schmidt. Mayor Denouden presented Provost Slone with a beautiful engraved plate on behalf of the Township of North Dumfries and Provost Slone presented gifts to North Dumfries and the band. Our first performance in Ayr was to be the opening act at the 46th annual Ayr Flower Show. This three day show is put on by over 300 volunteers and is the biggest in all of Scotland. A thrill for the band was having people come up that had billeted the band in their homes in 1980 and also had come to Ayr, Ontario with the Beresford Girls Choir in 1966. An impromptu soccer game was held that evening at Ayr Pipe Major Kieran and Kelly McPate's home in Monkton, just outside of Ayr. Ayr, Ontario came on strong but lost 4-3 in the last minute of the game. A rematch is planned for August 2008. We toured the Ayr area on Saturday morning with stops at Burns Heritage Center, Burns Cottage, Burns Monument and Culzean Castle. A large group attended the Dundonald Games, held at Dundonald Castle in the afternoon, at which the Ayr Pipe Band was competing. We thoroughly enjoyed the highland dance competition, heavy events and of course, the Pipe Band contests at which the Apr Pipe Band placed 3rd overall. Our farewell concert was held at the Ayr Town Hall that evening with the Ayr-Paris Band, Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra and Ayr Pipe Band performing. This was truly a performance the band will remember for years to come with the highlight being all three groups performing together for Amazing Grace and highland Cathedral. Thanks goes to Wallace Galbraith and Kieran McPate for organizing the concert. A Ceilagh was held after the concert at the Station Hotel with food, music and laughter and many new friendships being formed old ones being renewed. A wonderful ending to a wonderful tour!
This page was last updated December 11, 2009 |
