Just to prove it's summer :-)

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Resin Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a) Jul 06, 2015

Wednesday's forecast!

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Pseudo Eau Claire, WI(Zone 4a) Jul 07, 2015

Hey Resin,

Looks like Cairn Gorm is Scotland's version of New Hampshire's Mount Washington. Have you hiked it?

My nephew, much to the delight of my sister, has decided that marriage does suit him after all, and will be marrying an Irish lass next June (Ballina, County Mayo). We're definitely planning on attending and I'd very much like to include Scotland in this trip, which would be my first to Europe. Any travel suggestions for seeing some impressive trees, especially Scots Pine? I suspect we'll spend some time in Edinburg, but I'd like to get off the beaten path as well.

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Resin Northumberland, United Kingdom(Zone 9a) Jul 07, 2015

Yep, been there, though I went up the funicular. And yep, I guess similar to Mt. Washington; it's 1300 metres altitude, so arctic-alpine tundra on top.

If you're going to Edinburgh, definitely visit RBGE:
http://www.rbge.org.uk/

To see Scots Pines in the wild, you need to get up to the Highlands, I'd recommend Speyside, around Aviemore (easy by train from Edinburgh, on the Inverness line); if you're on public transport, there's a good bus service from Aviemore to the Cairngorm funicular base station, which passes through some good pine forest around Loch Morlich, pic below taken there.

Resin

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Pseudo Eau Claire, WI(Zone 4a) Jul 08, 2015

EdingburgH! Yes, that is one botanical treasure I have to check off my bucket list. Thank you for the travel tips. We're going to have to take a ferry from Ireland to Scotland and then figure out how to make our way to Edinburgh. There's much to learn, but I am so excited about this trip. The tentative plan is to spend a week in Ireland and one in Scotland. We'll save England for another time.

Have you seen Alwick Castle by any chance? Purely coincidence, but I read an article in today's Free Press (Mankato, MN) about their exotic and poisonous plants. For those Harry Potter fans out there (sorry, present company excluded), this is where Harry learned to fly a broom and play Quidditch in the Castle's Outer Bailey. I'm fairly certain Resin is a Downton Abbey fan, and would no doubt be quick to point out that this is also the setting for Season 5's finale. ;)

Apparently the place is full of dead animals -- stuffed ravens, rabbits, foxes, etc. And this: "A stuffed gray-and-white cat holds a stuffed rat in its mouth. Other stuffed rats perch on shelves." What?! I thought I'd seen all of taxidermy's peculiarities in Wisconsin, but y'all take it to another level.

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