UK|European Summer Tour - Part 2

For the second half of June 2026, I traveled around the United Kingdom with my meditation-family-brother and friend, Andy. Andy lives in Arthur's house in Langho, near Manchester, England. He had taken two weeks off and planned a whirlwind tour for us.

After our London adventure (see my last blog if you missed it), Andy and I took a train northwest toward his home, in the county of Lancashire (aka "the Shire").

I had visited Andy and stayed at Arthur's house before, three years ago. Then, I took pictures and wrote about my adventures. (If you missed that blog or want to revisit it, click HERE). Though I'd already taken pictures of the Shire, I took more, because Andy brought me to new spots. This time, we walked around the Clitheroe Castle grounds and an abandoned monastery in Whalley. We stood at the gate of Stonyhurst College. We hiked in parks and woodlands. I walked 2.7 miles (or 4.35 kilometers) from Whalley to Langho. What's a girl to do with all that north-of-England terrain and architecture? I took pictures. A little further down, I'll share a 5-minute video of "more pictures of the Shire" with you.

I saw Andy's family again. This time, I met Andy's sister (who had been traveling during the last time I visited). Andy and I ate a hearty lunch at the restaurant where she worked, chatting it up whenever she had a free moment. It was deeply sweet to witness how much Andy adores his sister. I also met their brother Stephen's girlfriend (who was visiting from the USA). Stephan, his girlfriend, and Patrick (Ste's son) were walking in front of Andy and I while we were in Whalley for the farmer's market. I had been about to ask about visiting them and they appeared before us like the serendipidous magic beings they are.

I visited Andy's (other) brother Chris and their Mum, too. Andy visited them a lot more than I did. It's challenging for me to be in a house where a chain smoker lives, and Andy's mum is that. Even so, my one visit with them was delightful. Andy and Chris were in the kitchen. Mum was showing me her robotic stuffed dog. She was fideling with the underside for quite some time, trying to turn it on. With dry humor, I scrunched my face and told her, "That just doesn't look right." She laughed a lot, and kept trying. I repeated my observation a few times. "Mm, yeah," I'd say, "still looks wrong." We laughed so hard I think we both peed our pants.

Andy and I went on daily hikes in nearby parks. One evening, I got a hankering to run on the track, until, in absolute disappointment, my knee reminded me this was not acceptable behavior. One night, to my absolute delight, we revisited my favoirite South Indian food restaurant, "Thira" in Blackburn. Every bite was as ecstatic to my tastebuds as I'd remembered.

HERE is the promised 5 minute video of "more pictures from the Shire." I figured out how to download more background music, so please, let me know if this makes the video more fun. The picture below is a teaser. There are many gorgeous spots like this one, around the Shire.

Our next big excursion was to Edinburgh, capitol of Scotland. It was a four-hour trip from Langho. Andy drove the whole distance as me-driving-on-the-opposite-side-of-the-road would not have turned out well. While I watched the scenery pass, I was struck by how the northern England expanse of pastures turn into the even more impressive expanse of Scotland’s Pentland Hills. We saw miles upon miles (or kilometers upon kilometers) of sheep and wind turbines on farmland and mountains. The views were glorious. I was spellbound. I was so much in awe, I did not take one picture. To compensate, during our return trip (from southern Scotland to northwestern England) I snapped a lot of shots. Looking at the pictures now, it's challenging to distinguish which pictures were in Scotland and which were in England. All I can say is, where there are mountains, we were in Scotland. Here is a 3-4 minute video from our 4+ hour drive from northern England to Scotland (or visa-versa). Again, I'll pop a teaser picture in below...

Mountains... definitely Scotland.

Andy and I stayed at an Airbnb in Portobello, outside of Edinburgh, walking along the beach by the Firth of Forth (bay) by night, and by day, taking the bus into the city of  Edinburgh. One day, while walking back to our Airbnb from the bay (where we had eaten our take-out dinners), Andy pointed to a book in a storefront window. The book was about his Tai Chi teacher (from the Shire), and trips they had taken to China. Andy proudly stated he was in the book. I looked at the author's picture, and then at the man inside. "Isn't that your teacher," I asked. We learned that Andy's teacher had moved to Portobello and was teaching Tai Chi by day in this little restaurant he ran at night. We were invited in for a healing brew of herbal tea and the two men caught up on years of life lived since they'd last seen each other. It was a truly serendipidous moment in our journeys.

I created three separate videos from pictures and video clips I took while in Edinburgh. There were too many to combine, so I organized them into three different themes. This first video is a collage from three days of wandering through the streets of Edinburgh. The first two pictutes in this video were from our first morning, eating a full Scottish breakfast in a restaurant where our waitress had tatooed on her arm a picture of a female version of The Little Prince. Below is a teaser picture: The Little Prince(ss).

The second video is from the day we toured Edinburgh Castle. The castle reminded me of the Citadel I walked through while traveling in Malta. The Citadel was a full-on fortress town, created to protect the island people of Gozo. When invaders arrived on Gozo's shores, all the island's inhabitants moved into the walled city and the gates were closed until the invaders left. Edinburgh Castle did not open its doors to the town as the Gozo Citadel did, though similarly, it was a royal residence, a military fortress, and had a prison. Nowadays the castle is a tourist attraction and backdrop to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo during the annual Edinburgh Festival. To view the video, click HERE. Below is a teaser picture of the entrance to the castle:

The third video is from our day exploring the National Gallery (of Scotland). In the gallery, I learned about Sir Walter Scott, born in Edinburgh in 1771. He become a lawyer, sheriff, poet, and novelist, writing the Waverly novels and profoundly influencing European and American literature and art. Sir Walter Scott was so well loved by the people of Edinburgh they built the massive statue seen from just about everywhere in town, in his honor.

The Sir Walter Scott monument in Edinburgh, Scotland

There were a couple of impressive statues outside the National Gallery and many fine art pieces inside. Inside the National Gallery, I was especially drawn to the story and art of the Glasgow Girls. These were a group of female artists who emerged around the same time that Sir Walter Scott lived, when women faced significant barriers to artistic training and recognition. Against all odds, this small group of women shaped the distinctive "Glasgow Style," influencing generations of artists and designers.

This third video also includes a short clip of me releasing some of Meesh's and Jess's ashes on the Gallery lawn. I videotaped the after-scene and noticed a young man sitting near us. I finished recording, approached him, and we chatted. "Jordan" (from the USA) had been chronicalling his way through Scotland, writing short quips and drawing ink sketches in a little journal. There's a picture in the video of Jordan holding up the sketch he'd just done. To view the full (third) video (and see Jordan's sketch) click HERE. Below is another teaser picture, of an outdoor statue by the lawn, with a small sectional view of Edinburgh, including the massive statue honoring Sir Walter Scott (the view Jordan sketched).

I also made a short (two-minute) video from our last day in Porobello. Andy and I walked to the beach by the bay for breakfast, watched the fog rise, and I released more of Michelle's and Jessica's ashes into the Firth of Forth. These two Loved Ones are being spread all over the planet! The earth, water, and air are feeling more and more precious.

After my whirlwind two-week visit with Andy, I flew from Manchester to Amsterdam, making my way to the ETA Summer School in Doorn, Netherlands. To follow the adventure, look for UK|European Summer Tour - Part 3 coming soon...