Edinburgh

I’m not sure why, but the city is pronounced by the locals as “Ed-in-burra”. Just so ya know.

The mixture of stone buildings in Old Town was captivating -

… and Edinburgh Castle would pop up at the end of streets…

… and tower over you when you’re nearby -

We spent our first day in the city touring the castle. This was one that actually had a portcullis in place (the heavy metal gate with wicked looking spikes). We had seen many castle gates that had the groove/space in the opening where it would be, but very few actual gates.

You can also see the variety of stone walls showing the various additions to fortifications. This was another castle built on the bedrock -

This next picture showed the great view commanded by the location, as well as the coats worn by the tourists in mid-June! (it was really windy there)

A better view of the city and surrounding hills -

The oldest building in all of Edinburgh is St. Margaret’s Chapel, which was built in the castle around 1130, and spared by Robert the Bruce when he destroyed the rest of the castle in 1314.

Another moment for asides and observations I saved — “high and tight” haircuts are a major thing for guys in both countries (shaved on the sides and left relatively long on top [a la Peaky Blinders]); speed limits in MPH on roads in Northern Ireland, while the cars have gauges in km; a pair of single temperature faucets in sinks everywhere - drove me nuts in bathrooms, as well as scalded my hands many times; G&T’s served in balloon glasses with the gin over ice in the glass, and a small bottle of tonic served on the side.

One of our favorite signs -

(sorry, the one good picture I had of this sign was missing the P)

The next day we had planned to hike up Arthur’s Seat, and nicely, we had glorious weather -

This is an ancient volcano that sits just east of the city center and rises to 822 ft. There’s no consensus on whether the name refers to King Arthur or is a derivation of “Archer”. It was a relatively easy walk…

… allowing great views of how compact the city is -

The green space and “palace” at the bottom of that photo is where the Queen stays when she’s visiting.

It was really windy up there, and I was almost blown sideways while trying to get this picture of Edinburgh Castle -

We then walked all over the Old Town…

… with its bits of whimsy…

… and stately churches -

We then walked down the hill…

… for a different view of the castle…

… and to check out New Town. This area was built between 1767 and 1850 to attract the wealthy who were fleeing the crowded and decrepit Old Town for London.

I don’t have an awesome ending for this 7 week trip (maybe I should focus on that for future trips?), but I’ll leave you with this interesting picture of one of the fun, narrow places to explore in Old Town.

Oh — if you haven’t done so recently, check out the Images page on this blog, as I’ve added to and updated it a bit. Until next trip! Ta!