A relaxing afternoon tea on the canals ...

 It is no secret that I love the canals which criss-cross our county & much of England. They were the super highways of times past - an easy way to move goods around, especially the  delicate, fragile items from the potteries of Staffordshire & Shropshire. They take on different moods at different times of the year as it is lovely when frosted in deep winter.  It was my choice of a day out for my own birthday this year ... I digress ...

For my friends big birthday, I booked an afternoon tea for us both on the canals. It is a section of the canals I haven't travelled on & hubby & I did a pre-visit trip to get my bearings & see what is around it. 

We arrived in good time,  all 26 spaces booked up on the boat - Georgie's canal cruises was our choice as they do afternoon teas & other events.  Fairy lights amidst some green swags looked so inviting inside. 

The tables were set for tea & as soon as we were on board, tea & coffee was offered, along with the traditional afternoon tea of savoury sandwiches, sausage roll, scones with jam & clotted cream, a gorgeous cheesecake like treat in a glass & a cake of course. 

It was very relaxing just chatting & enjoying the passing countryside. 

Everything is very green after a wet summer. We passed through several locks before turning at the basin & making our way back. 

A thoroughly enjoyable time & a lovely birthday treat for my friend - her first canal cruise. 

Thank you for stopping by & spending time reading my blog. Your visits are always much appreciated, 

Dee 💕

Rosslyn chapel's connection to the Da Vinci Code ...

 Few of us could have missed the closing scenes in the Da Vinci code where they enter a chapel in the search for the Holy Grail. 

Rosslyn Chapel just outside Edinburgh was the setting for these final scenes between Robert Langdon & Sophie Neveu. It catapulted this tiny chapel in to the limelight with close on 180 000 visitors a year now. It needed a whole new visitor centre entrance to manage this fame & manage it well they do. 

However, I am getting ahead of myself .... 

The chapel's surfaces are almost entirely covered in the most amazing carvings . It was founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair, 11th Baron of Rosslyn and Prince of Orkney. He is depicted in the carvings wearing his prince’s crown & holding his sword. 

 It took 40 years to build with many stonemasons working on the elaborate carvings. There are over 100 green men carved inside & out; they are the traditional symbols of nature. The St Clair family were of Viking descent so there are some viking symbols like the Yggdrasil on the Apprentice Pillar with the dragons eating its roots. The St Clair heraldic shield shows an engrailed cross (scalloped edging on the cross). The family wore this motif on their battle shields & it still features on the family’s coat-of-arms. 

There are also gargoyles above the north & south doors of the chapel. Their faces are meant to frighten away evil spirits in this peaceful country setting. 

The chapel is compact so tickets give you one and a half hours inside, before it is cleared for the next group. There is a no photographs inside policy which is useful because you do not have people posing while you are concentrating on the chapel. It therefore retains its spiritual feeling. Of course there were some covert photos but it did not distract from the experience. 

The Gothic style of architecture is very evident outside with the vaulted roof, the flying buttresses, the tower pinnacles & the pointed arched windows. It is just stunning to walk around it because it leaves one in awe that this fairly remote private family chapel could be so spectacular ... 

Thank you for your visit, please leave a comment, & follow 

Dee 💕