Not A Good Day For Photographs

Today was all about getting rid of the manual car and getting an automatic.  We left Aberdeen

with much clearer weather than the day before,  Sunny and clear, but cold!  We headed south through a lovely, pastoral setting,

and decided to stop at Birnam wood, where a 500 year old oak still stands, one of the last that inspired Shakespeare's "Scottish Play".  

"Macbeth shall never vanquished be,

until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him."

Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us drive to the tree, and we chose not to walk the half mile because we were pressed for time, having to get to Edinburgh to get a replacement car.  We did go and look at "high Dunsinane hill" though... 

Then into Perth, where we grabbed a cot cuppa and a roll, for our breakfast, but couldn't stay long.

As we crossed the Firth of Forth into Edinburgh, I suddenly realized that the Forth Bridge was right there to my left.  This iconic railway bridge  is a symbol of Scotland, and when it opened it had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world.

I got a poor photo as we crossed.

Making our way toward the car hire people past typical urban scenery, we were told no vehicles were available, 

so next came a mad rush to Newcastle on Tyne to get this new car before the office shut. 

It's a BMW 435D, which isn't as new as the Jaguar we had originally, but is big and fast, and hopefully, with it's automatic transmission, more suited to our journey.

And so, finally to our BnB in Whitley Bay...