We lucked out tremendously and had wonderful weather pretty much the whole time we were in the U.K.!

For New Years, Margaret got tickets for Hogmanay in Edinburgh! What a great way to bring in the new year! There were different bands through the side streets off of Princess Street and so many people. The neatest thing was, although there were so many people, everyone got along. There was no fighting or arguing – everyone was excited to be there. From 9-11, on the hour, they would have teasers of fireworks before the big show at 12! If anyone has time on their hands you have to look up 2017 fireworks: Edinburgh, Scotland on YouTube!

We also were fortunate enough to have Turk’s Auntie Jean take us over to the Isle Of Man for a couple of days. What a wonderful island! It is located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. We had to take a 4 hour ferry across. Because it is located in the Gulf Stream, there are palm trees on the island.

The Isle of Man. Who wouldn’t want to farm or harvest with this view?!

These buildings still have straw roofs!

These are four horned sheep are native to the Isle of Man and called Manx Loaghtan.

 It was amazing to have Jean and her husband, Ray, as our tour guides! They showed us all over the island. I don’t think there was much we didn’t see and even if there was, that would be an awesome excuse to get to go back! There are so many old churches here and harbors.

There is a little town called Cregneash on the island and they still farm the traditional way with horses, etc. In the summer, the town is like a living museum. We also got to see a flour mill that I would have loved to have had a tour of in the town of Laxey. The mill was built in 1860 and is still running today! They started milling grain with circular stones and are now computerized. This mill has been through two world wars and many fires, but still continues!

These are still used today in the town Cregneash.

Turk even got to see an old CLAAS combine!

The Laxey Mill on the Isle of Man.

Today, the only wheat that is milled is grown on the island to cut down on the costs of importing wheat from the U.K. It now plays a significant role for the local farmers and people on the island. Because the Isle of Man has its own government, they do not have the same regulations as the U.K. for farming.

What a great experience to see and meet Turk’s wonderful family. We can’t wait to go back and if anyone gets a chance to sneak over to the Isle of Man you have to go!! There is so much history and the countryside is amazing!