Dùn Èideann....

This weekend saw Sally and I board a train for our first journey out of England. After a four hour train ride, we arrived right in the middle of Edinburgh at around 7.30pm. We quickly found our way to our accommodation, taking in as much of the ambiance of the city on the walk there as possible. Once checked in, we quickly found a local student pub, The Cragg, which sported an incredibly affordable and tasty menu.

Some of the buildings in our accommodation, with Arthur's Seat in the background.

On Saturday morning, we wandered into the heart of Edinburgh's old town, discovering the Royal Mile. At the top of the Royal Mile is Edinburgh Castle, a beautiful and preserved castle overlooking the city. Wandering the castle we saw many amazing things including the Scottish Crown Jewels (which were locked in a box for 111 years) and the spot where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James, later James the 1st. James became the first king of the three realms, England, Ireland and Scotland.

Edinburgh Castle, or part thereof.

A Huge Fireplace in the Castle.

After our extended visit to the castle, we again took to the Royal Mile, this time heading to the other end. With the Holyrood Palace facing the end of the Royal Mile, the lower end also is home to the recently built Scottish Houses of Parliament. Having been somewhat of a controversy due to its massively over budget and late construction, it is an incredibly brave design for a public building and of a huge scale. The design overall seemed to me to be over-complicated, but it was humbling to see such a bespoke building. Literally every detail in the building was meticulously tied in to the overall design. It really was no surprise at the excessive cost and construction time.

The Scottish Houses of Parliament.

An Example of the Building's Complexity.

Some More of the Incredible Details.

After the Scottish Houses of Parliament, we visited the National Galleries of Scotland. Passing the huge memorial to Sir Walter Scott, we found the galleries held some amzming works, Titians, Van Goghs, Blakes, Monets and more. Arriving with just an hour to explore before closing time, we made our way through the galleries and then made our way home.

Sunday morning we awoke with a mission, to conquer a mountain. With Arthur's Seat the major geological feature in Edinburgh and standing at 251m, we decided that this was to be our summit. We braved the track and did finally make it to the top, and it was most definitely worth it. The most spectacular view awaited us, as we could easily see 30km in every direction.

The View from Arthur's Seat Over Edinburgh.

Sally and I on Arthur's Seat.

After such a fitting Sunday morning constitutional, we began to make our way back into the heart of the city, to lunch at Valvona and Crolla. V&C is a genuine Italian delicatessen with a wonderful cafe at the rear. With such wonderful ingredients, we were treated with a tasty pasta lunch to set us right for the afternoon.

Following lunch we headed back to the Royal Mile for our tour of the Real Mary King's Close. In the original old town of Edinburgh there were many tenement buildings, all running along the Royal Mile, with tiny alleys running between them. These alleys were and still are known as closes. With the fancy houses facing onto the Royal Mile and increasingly squalid buildings running along the closes, they would have been horrid places to inhabit. Eventually a new Royal Exchange was to be built on the Mile. This necessitated that many of the tenements be demolished, but rather than demolish them, it was decided to build on top of them. Adding arches and some walls for structural integrity, the huge exchange literally built over the old town. Mary King's Close has since been rediscovered and opened for tours, exposing the well preserved buildings below.

Borthwick's Close.

Being hit with the only 10 minutes of rain experienced for the whole weekend, we quickly hopped on a bus to collect our luggage and head back to Waverly train station to return to London. Arriving back in London well into the night, we returned home with memories of our exciting and immensely pleasurable weekend.


So that's our weekend in Edinburgh, it was excellent to visit such an historic and vibrant city. I hope that everyone is well.


As usual, here's my map, updated with the furthest markers added so far!

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=108781270355512035411.000001130555522820954&ll=53.15948,-2.409745&spn=9.901989,29.223633&z=6&om=1