World’s End
“We don’t travel to move around, we travel to be moved.”
What do you get when you reunite a mother and daughter separated by 6,000 miles? A shopping trip, of course!
After a good night’s sleep, Pam was ready to hit the mean streets of Edinburgh to see what all the fuss is about. We decided to stick to the lower end of The Royal Mile because there are a number of Christmas shops, along with the city’s key Outlander filming spots (like with every other warm-blooded woman in the world it seems, Pam is also in love with Jamie).
First up was Tweeddale Court where they filmed a number of season 3’s market scenes, including Claire’s reunion with Fergus. (Notice the acrid smell of burning plastic 💳 and the telltale addition of a shopping bag to the photo. )
One of the scenes filmed in Tweeddale Court. The distinctive house in the background stands out and makes for a memorable photo op.
Next up was Bakehouse Close, the scene of Jamie and Claire’s dramatic reunion in the fictional Carfax Close at Alexander Malcolm’s printshop.
Is Jamie really worthy of all the hero worship?
The door from the brothel where Jamie rented a room after Claire traveled back through the stones to save their unborn daughter. (Irony of all ironies, the building truly once was a brothel!)
Jamie emerging through the same door where Pam and Amanda stood.
Jamie walking from his house to the printshop and the now-famous steps.
Claire approaches the printshop.
As before, there’s only one thing left to do—reenact Claire’s intrepid approach to the steps of A. Malcolm printshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYkTy9SR6vA
Such a cool old close, even if it didn't hold such significance for Outlander fans.
Another set of steps, but these were just part of the backdrop from the Outlander street scene below.
Would so love to know what exactly lies behind this old wee door.
No better way to wrap up the Outlander tour than by stopping for lunch in The World’s End pub. No, it’s not a pub dedicated to Christian eschatology, but a reference to the pub’s location (the design of the sign above is a hint).
Back in the 16th Century, Edinburgh was a walled city. Just outside the pub rose the imposing Netherbow Port gate. The pub is so close to the old gate that part of the Flodden Wall still exist in the pub’s foundation. As far as the people of Edinburgh were concerned—outside the gate was no longer their world.
Today the pub is a great place to stop in for fish and chips (What?) and a pint.
Oh, did I mention they filmed some Outlander scenes in the pub as well? Bonus!
Two hot toddys and a pint of Edinburgh’s own Innis and Gunn please Daffyd (I know, I know, but our waiter looked and sounded exactly like him!)
One of the very best parts of English and Scottish pub culture (besides that they welcome dogs) are the many deeply-held superstitions.
Two great examples come from our 2009 visit to the East Midlands of England. The Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem pub in Nottingham was built in 1189 😲 and is England’s oldest surviving inn. The name is derived from when King Richard the Lionheart and his men congregated at the inn before embarking on the Crusades in Jerusalem. (I digress, but holy crap that’s an awesome backstory isn’t it?!)
Anyway, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is home to the cursed galleon—a small wooden model of a ship in one the upstairs lounges. It is claimed that people who have cleaned it have all met a mysterious death. Landlords have refused to allow anyone to dust the ship over the years, allowing inches of thick grime to build up on it. The galleon is now encased in glass.
Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem also houses an antique chair; it is claimed that a woman who sits in the chair will increase her chances of becoming pregnant. So many people have sat on the chair in the hope of it bringing them pregnancy that is now is too weak to withstand the huge demand and is on (roped-off) display in one of the upstairs lounges.
So what calamity might befall a visitor to The World’s End pub? Check out the picture below.
The caption reads, “The picture above, of an unknown murderer from the 1700's, has hung in this position for many, many years. Rumour has it if you move the picture your world will end.”
I’m telling you, you really need to be careful what you touch and where you sit in a pub!
