BLOG 4 / From Ijmuiden / Amsterdam to Musselburgh / Edinburgh

On Wednesday, May 11th in Ijmuiden near Amsterdam we board the DFDS ferry to Newcastle / North Shields. We are relatively early when we check in and after a surprisingly short waiting time we can already board the ship and move into our cabin right away. In the following almost 3 hours, cars, mobile homes, buses and trucks drive almost continuously on the Danish shipping company's remarkably large "KING SEAWAYS". DFDS is highly recommended after our experience this time, fine ship, very well organized and friendly staff. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and soon we can enjoy our dinner in the "Bistro North Sea". The food is excellent, both the red snapper and the salmon with an unusual side dish of chili spaghetti are excellent.

Although the North Sea is totally foggy that night, it is also very calm, with almost no waves, so that we can sleep undisturbed. After breakfast we soon land in North Shields Port of Newcastle, as we were among the first to load we are now pretty much at the end of unloading so we can still 'enjoy' the queues in front of British immigration. Entry is then unspectacular - passports are checked and that's it - and we can "throw" into left-hand traffic. That hasn't caused any problems so far, especially at roundabouts you always have to be aware that the British are driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

It goes comfortably through the hilly landscape of Northumberland, still in England, until we come to the border with Scotland, which cannot be overlooked. Scotland seems to welcome us with deep black clouds, but until our first stop at the ruins of Jedburgh Abbey, the bright sun prevailed. The Abbey has a checkered history, built in the 13th century under Scottish kings and devastated several times by the English in the course of the border disputes between England and Scotland in the 14th century and rebuilt or even cheered by the Scottish kings Robert the Bruce and David . In the 15th and 16th centuries the monastery and abbey were destroyed four more times - the start of the Scottish Reformation around 1560 was the end of the great Abbey of St. Mary of Jedburgh.

Continuing north we make a brief stop at the impressive Leaderfoot Viaduct railway bridge over the River Tweed. The bridge was opened in 1863 for the Berwickshire Railway. Railway services finally ceased in 1965 and British Rail had plans for demolition after that due to dilapidation, but Historic Scotland finally took over the viaduct as a cultural monument in 1996.

Another stop takes us to Scott's View. The famous Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott is said to have regularly stopped his horse here to enjoy the view.

Finally we arrive at Drummohr campsite in Musselburgh, our base for the Edinburgh visits.

In Uijmuiden near Amsterdam we board the DFDS ferry to Newcastle / North Shields on Wednesday, May 11th. We are relatively early at check in and after a surprisingly short waiting time we can already board the ship and get into our cabin right away. In the following almost 3 hours, cars, mobile homes, buses and trucks are entering almost continuously the Danish shipping company's remarkably large "KING SEAWAYS". DFDS is highly recommended after our experience this time, fine ship, very well organized and friendly staff. It starts at 5:30 pm and we can soon enjoy our dinner in the "Bistro North Sea". The food is excellent, both the red snapper and the salmon with an unusual side dish of chili spaghetti are excellent.

Although the North Sea is totally foggy that night, it is also very calm, with almost no waves, so that we can sleep undisturbed. After breakfast we soon land in North Shields Port of Newcastle, as we were among the first to load, we are now pretty much at the end of unloading so we can still 'enjoy' the queues in front of British immigration. Entry is then unspectacular - passports are checked and that's it - and we can "jump" into left-hand traffic. That hasn't caused any problems so far, but especially at roundabouts you always have to be aware that the British are driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

It goes comfortably through the hilly landscape of Northumberland, still in England, until we come to the border with Scotland, which cannot be overlooked. Scotland seems to welcome us with deep black clouds, but until our first stop at the ruins of Jedburgh Abbey, the bright sun prevailed. The Abbey has a checked history, built in the 13th century under Scottish kings and devastated several times by the English in the course of the border disputes between England and Scotland in the 14th century and rebuilt by the Scottish kings Robert the Bruce and David . In the 15th and 16th centuries the monastery and abbey were destroyed four more times - the start of the Scottish Reformation around 1560 was the end of the great Abbey of St Mary of Jedburgh.

Continuing north we make a brief stop at the impressive Leaderfoot Viaduct railway bridge over the River Tweed. The bridge was opened in 1863 for the Berwickshire Railway. Railway services finally ceased in 1965 and British Rail had plans for demolition after that due to dilapidation, but Historic Scotland finally took over the viaduct as a cultural monument in 1996.

Another stop takes us to "Scott's View". The famous Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott is said to have regularly stopped his horse here to enjoy the view.

Finally we arrive at Drummohr campsite in Musselburgh, our base for the Edinburgh visits.