Edinburgh, Scotland!

Edinburgh Airport

Tailor Hall Hotel and the Three Sister's Pub on Cowgate

A portion of my background is Scottish (my great-grandmother came from Stevenson), so I knew that I would one day have to visit the country that makes up some of my ancestry.  When I, after keeping a close eye on flight deals,  found a round trip direct flight from Toronto to Edinburgh for $400, I grabbed opportunity by the horns, and once again found myself on a trans-Atlantic flight (the best kind of flight in my opinion!).  This time however, learning from my past mistake, I landed in day-light, and began my Scottish adventure soon after dropping my luggage in my hotel room.  A quick note on my accommodations - we stayed at the hotel attached to the Three Sisters Pub on Cowgate, which gave us a convenient location from which to set about town.  It is historically significant as it was built in 1621, and converted into a hotel in the late 1990's. 

Edinburgh Castle

                Edinburgh has a comforting, slower paced feel to it, which beckons you to wander about its hilly layout without an itinerary and simply experience each of the sights for what they are rather than rushing to the next.  The most prominent feature of the town is the impressive, grand Edinburgh Castle perched atop a cliff-like escarpment over-looking the town.  It offers a great vantage point from which you can see the acropolis on Calton Hill, the Salisbury Craigs, the Palace of Hollyroodhouse (the Queen's Scottish residence & recently the backdrop for Zara Phillip's wedding), the Princes Street gardens and monument, and on a clear day, the North Sea!  

The Royal Mile

Edinburgh Castle

St.Giles Cathedral

Palace of Hollyroodhouse

                 The Royal Mile (composed of Castlehill, High Street, and Canongate), is a treasure trove  of things to do, see, eat and purchase.   Starting at Edinburgh Castle and making your way down towards the Palace of Hollyroodhouse, you can find yourself watching looms fabricate wool  apparel, visit St.Giles Cathedral for a moment of reflection, spend some time perusing one of the many museums on the Royal Mile, or catching a meal in one of the many pubs and restaurants (World's End Pub does a delicious Fish and Chips, or dine on one of the Filling Station's economical but filling meals!  

A 'creepy' close at night

Due to the physical geography of Edinburgh, the city was composed of a number of 'closes' (narrow, straight, deep alleyways that are towered over by the imposing buildings built high on either side of them).  Many of the closes still exist today and are named for the families that resided there (e.g. Borthwick's Close), or for the products that one could acquire there (e.g. Fleshmarket Close) in days past.  Once such close has become synonymous with myth, legend and rumours of ghosts, murders and the plague - Mary King's Close.  Although this particular close was once closed to the public, it was re-opened in 2003 as a tourist attraction, where one is taken down for a tour of the dark depths of the close and regaled with the stories that have made it famous.  If you are brave enough, it might be an attraction you would enjoy (truth be told I spent a great deal of time with either my eyes closed, or my ears plugged thinking 'happy thoughts')!   If  you are even more bold, you may opt to take a toured ghost-walk about the city with one of the many tour groups that offer such late night jaunts. 

               

The Princes Street Gardens

Monument in Princes Street Gardens

 The "Old Town" (Royal Mile area), is separated from the "New Town", and accessed by crossing a number of bridges (The Mound, Waverly Bridge and North Bridge).  By crossing one of the bridges, you will find Waverly Station (which provides easy train transport to neighbouring cities, other parts of Scotland and England), the Princes Street gardens (with its famous Scott monument), and a great deal of shopping along Princes Street (Marks and Spencer, Gap, Princes Mall, etc.).   Interestingly, the valley that is now home to the Princes Street Gardens and Waverly Station was formerly a freshwater lake come open sewer (from all the 'waste' flowing down from the closes of "Old Town"), called the Nor Loch.  The Nor Loch was drained of its contents in the early 19th century - perhaps all those years of 'fertilizer' is what makes its greenery so lush?!  Calton Hill makes for a nice afternoon stroll, or perhaps even a picnic lunch after a morning of shopping, or browsing the art work in the National Gallery of Scotland. 

The National Gallery of Scotland

The Scottish Highlands in all their glory!

               Although I could have spent my entire trip meandering around Edinburgh, there were other ventures that found me on a bus, touring the Scottish Highlands, viewing reminders of some of the legends that brought Scotland to what it is today (e.g. the Well of Seven Heads).  Breathtaking views (of Ben Nevis),  and a moment of reverence was found at the Commando Memorial (erected in 1952 by the Queen Mother), which seemingly rose after driving in the 'middle of nowhere'.    Last but not least on my itinerary was my venture out on a boat gliding across the murky waters of Loch Ness (unfortunately it was not a day that Nessie felt like revealing herself)!   From the boat, we saw a different viewpoint of the remains of Urquhart Castle (a former stronghold of medieval Scotland).  

The Commando Memorial

The remains of Urquhart Castle from on Loch Ness

               
 If you have a stomach of steel, and are willing to go out on a limb, order a full Scottish breakfast before the end of your stay, complete with black pudding, tattie scones and haggis - if you dare!!