Since I last updated, we had a travel day and a whole day in Edinburgh. We woke up early on the morning of the 5th to hop the train at King's Cross station. Our train was not a scarlet steam engine on platform 9 3/4, but it got the job done!
The train ride from London to Edinburgh is about a four hour ride with stops at various stations along the way. Our tour guide, David, handed out Scottish shortbread to celebrate the crossing into Scotland. (Sorry, Girl Scouts of America, trefoils ain't got nothing on actual Scottish shortbread!)
Upon arriving in Edinburgh, we made our way to a beautiful Edwardian building in New Town that had been converted into a Holiday Inn Express. There, we met about eight new members of our group who would be joining us for the rest of the tour. We then hopped on the bus and headed to our welcome dinner at Brown's Restaurant. It was a beautiful place established in the late 1700s (so relatively new compared to the rest of Edinburgh). The welcome dinner allowed us to get to know our group more. We finished the night with a drink at the Conan Doyle, a pub dedicated to the famous author of Sherlock Holmes.
The next morning, Megan and I decided to do separate adventures. She went with a small group to hike up Arthur's Seat, a large scenic overlook with great views of the city. Meanwhile, I went with a group to the National Portrait Gallery. At the gallery, we saw an exhibit on the Jacobite Rebellion along with a plethora of other amazing pieces of art. However the art was not just on the walls. It was also the building itself.
After spending far too short a time in the gallery, I broke away from the main group with two others. We grabbed some caffiene at Costa Coffee and then started our own hike up to the Royal Mile.
Short history of Edinburgh:
Edinburgh castle is built on top of a volcanic plug, the core of an extinct volcano after the outside has eroded away. The castle is actually more of a fort and the oldest building in the castle is from the 1200s. The Royal Mile is the street that stretches down the hill from the castle. It is rather steep and absolutely FILLED with shops. There are tiny alley ways leading off the Royal Mile called closes. Each is named like a street, so Advocate's Close, Mary King's Close, etc. This whole area is known as the Old Town and the buildings are literally built up on top of each other as they follow the steep hill down.
So, you now understand what I mean when I say my calves ached! However once we got to the top, it was a smooth walk back down the Royal Mile filled with souvenir shopping and street performers. There were a lot more street performers and huge crowds out during our stay in Edinburgh because of the Fringe Festival, an art festival featuring everything from plays to comedy to music and everything in-between! It was truly an experience!
The three of us slowly meandered down the hill and made the walk back to our hotel just in time for the city tour on the bus. The city tour took us through New and Old Town and up to the castle. We toured through the castle, taking in the amazing views of the city and the Firth of Forth (bay of the river Forth). The castle was a bit crowded, but a quick rain shower cleared it out. Megan and I took our time walking back down the Royal Mile again (me for the second time and Megan for the first). As we left the castle, I quickly realized that my earlier hike up the hill had brought me to the castle without knowing it. Had I turned the corner, I would have seen it!
After my second trip down the Royal Mile, Megan and I decided to rest at the hotel for a bit, because that evening we were going on a ghost hunt!
Our late night tour started at 9pm at St. Giles Cathedral in Old Town where we met our tour guide, a thoroughly Scottish woman named Christina. She was a wonderful story teller and told us many gruesome tales of medieval Edinburgh, including tales of torture, cannibalism, and mass murder, all of them true. As Christina said, you don't need to make up stories with the kind of history Edinburgh has. We ventured down into Advocate's Close, up to the graveyard turned parking lot of St Giles, and over to the statue of Bobby, a loyal little dog who stayed at his master's grave many years after his death. The final part of our tour included a walk through Greyfriar's Kirkyard and a stop outside the mausoleum of George Mackenzie, a man who ordered the deaths of over 2000 people because they wouldn't convert to his chosen religion.
By the time we finished the tour, it was closing in on 11pm, so we made our way back to the hotel.
That's it for this update! Stay tuned for next time when I get to tell you about our drive up into the highlands!
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