The Preston Temple is in ... Chorley?

The next part of the trip was a last minute addition.  After I had bought my ticket, my parents called and asked if I would be able to swing by and add them to my plans.  It was a minimal cost to change the flight and I could add a couple of days so I said "sure, why not".  My plan was to first drop off the car in Glasgow and then get onto the train and travel to Preston where I would then get off, take a taxi to the Preston Temple, stay at the temple accommodations and then attend a session the next morning.  Sounds simple right?  Well, I will tell you that when traveling in Europe nothing is that simple.  I started out this leg of the trip on the wrong foot by first getting a late start (what else is new) from Glasgow and then by assuming that just because the temple was called the "Preston Temple" it was in Preston England.  I mean, the Salt Lake City temple is in Salt Lake City.  The Logan, Draper, Bountiful, Provo and so on are all in the towns that they are name after so I assumed that it was the same everywhere.  Making that assumption was my first mistake.  I had looked up the address before I left and I noticed the name Chorley, but because I believed that I knew where I was going I didn't think anything of it. I did a little research on how to get to the temple and what I read was that from the train station it was just a simple 5 min taxi ride, no more than 5 to 7 pounds.   What I didn't read was that I needed to get off at the Chorley station and not the Preston station, which is over 20 km's away (at least).

 

Because I was unaware that I had gotten off at the wrong station,  I get out (it of course was raining) and find where the taxi's are waiting to pick up passengers and enter the next taxi in line.  I should have known that something was wrong when the taxi driver didn't recognize the address.  I sat in the back as he looked at his map and then after what felt like 30 minutes (but probably no more than 10) he let me know happily that he found it and off we went.  He was foreign to England so I had a harder time understanding everything, but he kept up a steady stream of pleasant conversation as we traveled and the whole time we talked I watched the meter going up.  5 pounds, 7 pounds, 10 pounds, and I am starting to freak out. 15 pounds, 20 pounds, and finally 26 pounds later we arrived and I believed that I had just been taken for a ride.  What was supposed to be a 5 min ride turned out to be almost a 30 min ride and I was lucky that I had been able to change some of my Northern Irish pounds into English pounds or I would have been in TROUBLE.  I was so mad because I had been traveling all day and I had arrived there late and was worried that I would not be able to check in and I would be stranded and then on top of everything this taxi drive had just taken the stupid American tourist for ride.  When he dropped me off, he was concerned for me, but I just wanted to get away from him before I gave him a piece of my mind so I went into one of the buildings on the temple grounds and hide until he drove away.  I then found out where I needed to go, called for security to check me in and went to my room and cried.  I had some time before my roommate, a lovely sister  named Carol from Nottingham (how cool is that) got back from doing work in the temple all day so I unpacked, washed some of my clothing and tried to rest.  When Carol came in I told her my tale of woe and she was great and took really good care of me and I ended the day on a really nice note. 

 

 



The next morning I was able to go and do a session and then when I was coming out of the Celestial Room a sister grabbed me and asked if I had time to do some sealings.  I said "sure" and off I went.  I was able to help a brother out with his family and I have to say, he has some interesting last names in his family tree.  Names like (and I am not kidding) Urg, Honeybuns, Piggins and Sly.  I had lunch with Carol and then she, in her kindness, took me to the train station.  It was here that I learned that the cabbie had not take me for a ride, but that I had gotten off at the wrong station.  It did only take 5 minutes and I was ever so grateful that I had not given the poor man a piece of my mind.  Sorry to whoever you are!  Let this be a warning to whoever is traveling.  Make sure you know where you need to go before you set off.

 

The rest of my day was going from train station to train station...

 

Chorely Train Station

 

back to Preston Train Station

 

on to London Train Station

 

Walking to the Chunnel Station - it is funny that as often as it rains in London, Londoners really don't like getting wet.

The Chunnel station is on the other side of this cool hotel (I would love to come back and stay one day)

 

 

I was able to buy my ticket and I hurried to the holding area because I was late and needed to get there.  I needn't have rushed because the chunnel was an hour late. You can see how packed the holding area was with all of the people waiting to get on the chunnel.  I had a hard time even finding a place to sit down.  I was worried that I would not be able to find Mom and Dad as I had no cell service and I wasn't sure how to connect with them and let them know what was happning, but I figured I would be ok as I knew their number and I hoped that I would be able to call them when I arrived if they were not there.  1 hour and 30 minutes later I was in Lille, and wouldn't you know it I had no idea where to go but I followed my gut and ran right into my parents, who where waiting for me. 

A big huge mural on the wall of the Lille Train Station.

 

 

Having finished the organized portion of my trip I just have to say that I saw some amazing things and I know that I just scratched the surface of both Ireland and Scotland.  I want to go back and see so much more and I hope that I will be able to do so really really soon.

 

 



I saw Nessy....I think

So after the long day, I was up and at it again because I wanted to go to Loch Ness before I dropped off my car in Glasgow and headed to Preston England.  I wanted to get some pictures of the place that I stayed as well as some pictures of the village that was just a walk away from me.

MacKinnon Country House Hotel - Each room was a different Scottish Clan





Village of Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye



You can see some castle ruins on the right side.













 





 

 

 

 

So, I got up really early, the B&B was very accommodating about my breakfast, and packed up my car and off I went.  Lucky for me I had to just basically back track and then go straight.  I came at Loch Ness from the back so I didn't realize that I was driving along the Loch until I stopped at Urquhart Castle.  I didn't stop there right then but drove the rest of the way to Drumnadrochit where the "Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition" is located.  It was actually very cool and very educational as it explained the history of the Loch and how the myth of the "monster" came about. 

 

Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater lock.  It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland and its water visibility is exceptionally low due to a high peat content in the surrounding soil.  This is actually one of the reasons there are so many sightings for "Nessy".  Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume.  Interesting tidbit is that it contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined.

 

Another reason for all the sightings of "Nessy" is because of the great depth of the loch and the fresh water.  Apparently, the way that the fresh water move into the loch causes great ripples in the water, just like something huge swimming just under the surface, and I have to admit, I could have sworn that I saw something swimming by.  Lucky for me I had gone to the Centre before I went to Urquhart Castle or I might have started to believe that there was a monster swimming by.

  

So after going through the centre, I drove back to Urquart Castle.  There are just ruins now but it used to be one of the largest strongholds of medieval Scotland and the remains show just that.  It is also at this location that most of the "Nessy" sightings occur and you can see why.

 

It is believed that the history of the castle began in the time of St. Columba in the 6th century.  It is believed that the site is called Airchartdan, visited by Columbia in the latter half of the sixth century during one of his visits.  It is not known when the castle was built, but according to records a castle existed on the site from the early 13th century.

 

 

It changed hands a couple of times, mostly by force, then
in 1509 it was given as a gift to the Grants, whose ownership lasted until 1912. This tower is called Grant tower and it is believed that this was the primary residence at that time.  

Grants tower consists of five stories and an upper castellated wall.  The tower's south-west side blew down in a storm in the early 18th century, but the remaining sections can be accessed by the circular staircase built into one corner of the tower and provided great views of the loch and castle ruins.  Below the tower are the Great Hall, kitchen, various trades and the chapel, mostly in ruins.

The castle was captured by MacDonalds in 1545 and then it was captured again by Covenanter force in 1644. The castle was largely destroyed in 1692 by Williamite troops who had been holding the castle against Jacobite forces. They destroyed it in large part because they did not want the castle to become a Jacobite stronghold and the castle was left in ruins from that time.

The walled portion of the castle is shaped roughly like a figure-8 aligned northeast-southwest along the bank of Loch Ness.  The main gate is on the inland side near the middle, narrow portion, of the walls.  The castle is really close to the loch and a dry moat was excavated on the inland side with a drawbridge leading to the main gate.

 

It took longer than I had initially planed (what else is new) but I was glad that I went.  This was a wonderful last stop in my visit to Scotland.