The Last Full Day Of Our Reunion: Day 5 – Scotland 2017

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10 April 2017

Just like the previous mornings, we were up at the crack of dawn. With breakfast eaten, we were back on the bus and headed out for more sightseeing. On today’s agenda was the Trincomalee, The Shephard and Shepherdess, and the Beamish Open-Air Museum.

The Trincomalee

Technically, we were headed to the National Museum of the Royal Navy, but our wonderful reunion hosts told us that the Trincomalee was the real show stopper. They weren’t wrong. I’ll be honest; I don’t remember much else other than the ship and the quayside. And the amazing gift shop! Looking at their website, I think there might be another museum building focusing on the local area, but we didn’t go in that.

The quayside is set up to look like an actual 18th-century location. All of the shops are filled with props and things to see. One of them is even functional! You can grab a drink and a light bite to eat at the Quayside Coffee Shop. It is nestled in between the other buildings along the quayside and has great views of the Trincomalee outside its windows. I managed to neglect every other area of the museum when it comes to pictures, and I have none when it comes to the quayside. All I have are these where you can see the buildings pretty well in the background. Behind the amazing ship. *Face-palm*

The Ship

As I said earlier, the ship is the focal point here. The HMS Trincomalee is the oldest British warship still afloat. Take notice of that ‘afloat.’ The actual oldest intact British warship is the HMS Victory, but she’s in dry dock. Nonetheless, the HMS Trincomalee is an incredible ship. Work began in May of 1816. As you can imagine, her history is long and eventful. For a full rundown of the history, check out this site.

A few highlights: The ship was involved in missions against Russian frigates when war was declared on Russia in 1854. Between the years of 1860 and 1897, the ship was used to train teenage Naval volunteers. It was sold in 1897 and was renamed TS Foudroyant. The ship was passed along again in 1932 and ended up in Portsmouth, where it served as additional accommodation to trainees while there. During WWII, the ship was commissioned to serve as a store hulk (basically floating storage space). Later in the war, it was used as accommodation for those with the ‘hostilities only’ Naval rating. After the war years, it spent its time switching between restoration and training use. By 2011, HMS Trincomalee was fully restored and docked in its present-day location.

It is an incredible ship to visit and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. The entire ship is open and you can explore to your heart’s content. As you can see from our MANY photos, we were enthralled. Neither of us had ever been on a ship like this before (although we’d see a second one before our trip through Scotland was over), and we were blown away!

The Shepherd and Shepherdess

After living a life on the sea, we headed off for a delicious lunch at The Shepherd and Shepherdess. The pub is named after two figures, a shepherd and a shepherdess. Both are made of solid lead. Lead was restricted during the Napoleonic Wars, and England was running short on ammunition supplies. To cleverly avoid the French blockade, pieces of art made of solid lead were commissioned and sent to England. These are believed to be the only two figures to survive. All of the others were melted down and made into ammunition. The figures are displayed at the pub that now bears the name honoring them.

We enjoyed a nice lunch here with our group that the pub had specially prepared for us. We also enjoyed a couple of ciders. Yum!

Beamish Museum

The first part of the day was fun, but I was really looking forward to the last item on the agenda: the Beamish Museum. Billy and I both love history, so we knew we were going to love it here. There are places in this world that make you feel like you’re stepping back in time. Beamish Museum is one of them.

There are so many different settings to visit here, all of them out in the open where you can see them come alive. You can go to the 1820s Pockerley, 1900s Town, 1900s Pit Village, 1900s Colliery, and the 1940s farm. You can traverse between these in period busses or take the vintage tram. It’s incredible! We didn’t have much time there, so we only saw two of the locations.

1940s Farm

There was no way I was passing this one up. I am a huge WWII history buff, and I love everything 1940s when it comes to style, decor, etc. We hopped on a bus and headed over!

As you’d guess, the farm area is set up to represent what life was like in England during the war. What’s so wonderful about this type of museum is that it is completely brought to life. When you walk into a house, someone is there, making bread or sewing. The wireless is on, playing music from the era and the occasional news broadcast. It is truly like walking into a time machine. The farm is carrying on as if the world never progressed past 1941. We watched a man feed the pigs and another sheer sheep. You can see the farmhouse, the orchard and garden cottages, and the outdoor workings of the farm. I know I’m going to say this a thousand times, but it was incredible. If I lived in the area, I would 100% work here. No doubt.

The 1900s Town

For our second half of the visit, we decided to see the 1900s Town. Not only is this another one of my favorite time periods, but Downton Abbey also shot here. You’ll recognize the sweets shop and garage from the final episode in the final season. You’ll also see the town in the Downton Abbey film that came out in 2019.

The list of things to see in the area seems endless! From a bakery to a co-op store to an inn and even a bank. It is truly a town to explore. And the best part? You can go into nearly every building. Each one is furnished in the style of the era, and some are fully functional, like the sweets shop. We explored as many buildings as our time allowed. Instead of me saying, again, how incredible it was, I’ll just show you pictures now.

The History of Beamish Museum

I guess this isn’t so much about the history of the museum itself, but more so the history of each piece that, in turn, makes up the museum. Beamish is unique in that many of these buildings are not reproductions or fabrications built to spec for the era they came out of. They are original buildings that were bought, moved, and rebuilt in the Beamish Open Air Museum. Again, incredible. For an in-person deeper dive into which buildings came from where check out this page! Many of the items at Beamish Museum were donated over the years, and they have amassed a staggering collection. We could have spent all day (or easily an entire weekend) here at Beamish. There is so much to see and there is something for everyone. You will not be disappointed!

Last Evening Among Friends

We returned to The White Swan Hotel after an amazing day out and prepared for dinner. This was our last meal together before parting in the morning. This was our most formal dinner and we were excited to enjoy a fancy yet fun night with our Titanic family. The night was filled with revelry and laughter even though we were sad to be saying goodbye. Not enough can be said about a group of friends like this. They are once-in-a-lifetime, and we couldn’t be luckier to have found them.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy