Daytrip #2: Ramblings in Roslin

The filthy state of my shoes just about sums up the day.

I am cold, tired and exhausted, but at the very least I can boast of several things

1. I have taken my first Lothian Bus in Edinburgh
2. I have seen the Rosslyn Chapel
3. And most importantly, I hiked through Roslin Country Glen! (which accounts for shoes above)

A group of us caught the 9.06am bus to Roslin, which is a little village lying in the West Lothians. It’s just about 20 minutes away from Edinburgh, thus making it the perfect destination for a short day-trip. Thanks to Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code, Roslin is now best known as the alleged home of the Holy Grail and other fabulous Templar treasures – though our guide at the Rosslyn Chapel, Fiona, strenuously denies the existence of any secret documents pertaining to Jesus’ bloodline in the Chapel vault.

Chapel Fact #1: Contrary to symbologist Robert Langdon’s claims in the Da Vinci Code, ‘Rosslyn’ is not a code for ‘Rose Line.’ Roslin is actually Gaelic for Water in a rock, or waterfall.

Nevertheless, Fiona’s cynicism didn’t prevent the Chapel souvenir shop from stocking up on a whole shelf’s worth of the Da Vinci Code.

But we’ll leave the Chapel aside for a moment because I want to blog about my day chronologically. It is intimated in my Literature lectures that linearity is passé in today’s post post post post modern novels; - but I’m old-fashioned! There you go.

So after alighting from the 15A bus (1.20pounds, one way, any stop), we decided to take what we thought would be a pleasant and relaxing jaunt around the Roslin Country Glen before heading up to the Chapel. I have to admit I entered the glen thinking that it would be structured something along the lines of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve…or even the somewhat ‘wilder’ sections of the Botanical Gardens back in Singapore, which are untamed in a very controlled fashion if that makes any sense.

No such thing. Roslin Glen was literally a freakin’ forest which possessed:

- Perilously narrow footpaths, which disappeared at certain points
- No handrails
- No signs
- Huge tracts of mud which could suck your shoes off
- Steep, steep, steep slopes

In short, a real forest. We were in the Great Outdoors!

Us by the River Esk. It was extremely cold in Roslin today, snowing lightly at one point (thankfully when we were out of the glen). The weather explains the rather strained nature of our smiles - or it might be my imagination.


Anyone who knows me will know that I hate practically any form of exercise, and that I’m bad at it. Consequently it is with some pride that I announce my survival during a 2 hour hike through Roslin Glen which was in equal parts exhausting, muddy, terrifying, hilarious and ultimately rewarding. I think it is telling that we entered the Glen feeling the cold biting through our gloves, but emerged all warm and sweaty. Some of the more memorable moments:

1. Getting Lost. As mentioned earlier, there are no maps or signs in the glen. For a while, we strayed off our track while looking for the Hawthornden castle, and ended up hopelessly lost and walking around in circles. At one point, Taira and PS recognized a tree which we had passed by at the start of our journey - although how anyone can distinguish between trees in a forest is beyond me.


Kit: *after walking in silence for a while* Do you think we are going to be lost?


Me: I think we have been lost for quite a while


Martin: *deadpans* I think we are going to die in here.


Thankfully, all roads in the Glen lead to …somewhere and we eventually found an ascending path which led us back to a more established looking route. That’s us emerging from the crest a hill, triumphant at being found and having found a proper road!




2. Confronting my twin fears of heights and big dogs. There are plenty of dogs in the glen. It’s a nice spot for dog-walking I suppose. For some reason, all the huge dogs we encountered made a beeline for me, I don’t know why. Mildly perturbing.

We also did some serious climbing while in the glen which was at some points really scary given my fear of heights. But in a sense, the view was worth it and we got some really good views of the country. And yes, it’s everything country should be right down to the grazing sheep and grassy meadows!




3. Crossing Rivers of Mud. These death traps are scattered all across the glen and frequently encroach onto the footpaths. It’s how I imagine crossing the River Styx in Hades would be like (sans a boatman). Absolutely dreadful, approached with much trepidation, but inevitable. There are ways to avoid the worst of the mud which literally can suck you in, but these methods usually involve us scaling the adjacent slopes rather precariously, or treading on loose tree logs. But in the end, every Nike shoe in our group eventually fell prey to it despite our best efforts. Lesson learnt from the locals: get a good pair of wellies and squealch through the mud blissfully without worrying about the state of your socks later on.


A river of mud. One of the better ones.



And 2 hours on, we made our way out of the glen and found the Rosslyn Chapel sitting right in front of us! Rosslyn sadly, is currently under major restoration works and is consequently covered by a giant metal sheet - problematic when trying to take nice pictures of the exterior. The story goes that in 1995, conservationists had the bright idea of coating the walls of the chapel in cement. This prevented water inside the chapel from evaporating, thus saturating the walls and making them unstable (in addition to wearing away the Chapel’s ornate carvings). As such, the external sheet currently serves as a kind of giant umbrella which prevents water from collecting on the roof and soaking into the Chapel. The walls are ‘drying out’ now so as we speak, and major repair-works and conservation are underway and will continue in the years to come.





Side of the church exterior. Ugly scaffolding.

In any case, we were able to enjoy the Chapel’s gardens which also serve as a kind of graveyard for the St Clair family (if you remember, also mentioned in Dan Brown’s book as the Sinclairs) who founded and continue to own the chapel.



Chapel Fact #2: Fiona, the Chapel Guide, tells us that the St Clair family (originally Scandinavian) might indeed have had links to the Knights Templar. The family crest (a cross with scalloped edges) is seen throughout the Chapel interior and it supposedly resembles the symbol of the Knights Templar – perhaps a subtle nod to the family’s Templar connection?


The interior of the Chapel is damp and freezing, but lovely to behold. Every inch of the Chapel is covered in carvings which include some very odd curios here and there including the ubiquitous ‘Green men’ (carvings of human faces with vegetation sprouting from their mouths) and the odd cuboid shaped protrusions from the arches (mentioned in the Da Vinci Code). My favourite however, was the ceiling which is covered with patterns of stars, lilies, roses and other flowers, with the likenesses of angels, Christ and the Sun and Moon cleverly ‘hidden’ amidst the repeated motifs. Sadly, no photography was allowed inside the chapel so I can't show you the beautifully intricate decorations which covered the interior.

Chapel Fact #3: Following the publication of Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel in 2003, visitor numbers to Rosslyn Chapel swelled to several hundred thousands, with about 1000 visitors per day in August. This prompted the Chapel’s caretakers to consider expanding visitor facilities, including the two public toilets on the premises which clearly were ill-suited to serve 1000 pressing bladders

Rosslyn is definitely worth a visit even if the exterior of the Chapel looks rather unattractive at the moment. Admittance is 6pounds, and if that’s pricey to you, well – think of it as a contribution toward the Rosslyn conservation fund which will allow future generations to enjoy the beauty (yes beauty) of this lovely Chapel! :D (Spoken like a true guidebook)

All in all, a sense of accomplishment today. Looking forward to more adventures in the weeks to come!




Cold. Sore. But Triumphant. And all too ready to go back to our heated rooms.