Edinburgh, Scotland

Hello from Scotland! We arrived here on Friday morning after an incredible drive from the Lake District. The hour we spent on the secondary road from Windermere to the major motorway en route to Edinburgh was for sure the best hour that we have ever had in a car. It was amazingly beautiful and captivating. We drove up and down hills on windy roads going up and down past trees, fog, sheep, and lakes. It was also incredibly fun to drive. We managed to stop and take some pictures even though we were on a tight schedule.





Then, we got to Edinburgh and relieved much stress by returning our rental car. After driving on some of England's tightest and most twisted roads, it felt so good to not have to worry about our little Picanto, even though it left us on foot. The car company was located about five kilometres from the centre of the city, which was where our hostel was. Five kilometres? That's nothing. We'll walk. With forty pounds on our backs. Sounds good. Actually, though, it wasn't horrible. The walk was long and heavy, but we got to see a lot of the city that we wouldn't have otherwise. It really is a beautiful city. We did feel the consequences in our feet the rest of our time there, though; they were very tired.

Once we checked into our hostel, which was great by the way, we grabbed some lunch and marched off toward the old town (where all the really old buildings are). The hub of this old town is called the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile climbs up a hill in the middle of the city and culminates at the Edinburgh Castle. The ground essentially drops away from this castle and really shows you how natural and manufactured beauty can work together so well. It was a magnificent spectacle. We spent some time around this castle, in the cemetery beneath it, and in the Royal Mile before heading back to our hostel for the day.

The Edinburgh Castle on its pedestal

A section of the Royal Mile

The Tolbooth Church on the Royal Mile

The castle at night

Our second day in Edinburgh was spent primarily on buses. We bought an all day bus pass because we weren't loving the thought of spending another day on our feet. This was a good thing. And it was a beautiful day. 17 and sunny (how does that sound Saskatoon?). First off, we went to an area of the city called Holyrood Park. This is where the queen stays when she is in Scotland - at the Holyrood Palace - and it also features the highest point in Edinburgh. Arthur's Seat is the summit of the mountain hill that is in the middle of the city. It was crazy because this mountain is in the middle of jampacked city. We obviously hiked it. It was a really fun experience. After a lot of hard work climbing up two hills, we were rewarded with tremendous views and some great scenery. It was a definite highlight. After that we jumped back on the buses and spent the rest of the day checking out the coastline (which wasn't spectacular) and some other cool parts of the city.

A beautiful river, bridge, church combo

Steps leading to Arthur's Seat

Ang shows us a view of the city from Holyrood

Now, we both show you

The marvelous cliffs in Holyrood Park
Different cliffs, but also marvelous

Our experience in Edinburgh has been great. We liked our hostel and we loved the city and its random mounds of rock sprouting up in the middle of the city. It's awesome how there's a castle on one of them. Tomorrow, we're off to Dublin on a plane.