EDINBURGH
Historically, the city’s old town was mostly built around mountainous terrains with roads and steep steps running up and down, with alleys curving in and out. Today, though it adapts itself to a modern lifestyle displaying a relatively flat land, it still manages to retain its ancient charm with the new parts of the city harmoniously blending with the old. The city holds a world record of having the most number of buildings with special architecture and historical significance (listed buildings), apart from its treasure of buildings holding monumental value.
As the Capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh lies at just a four hour distance from London, both by road and train. With a history since 8500 BC attached to it, the city has experienced both glorious and inglorious periods.
Edinburgh, as we see today, is characterised by short buildings, spacious roads, super fast connectivity services, latest shopping avenues and supermarkets. It is definitely a must include in an ardent traveler’s bucket list.
UK, IRELAND Diary : DAY 6 - 16th April 2017 :
Leaving London city that morning, we boarded a train eagerly looking forward to our next destination - EDINBURGH. Platform “9 1/4 “ in the Kings Cross Station (much famous for its HARRY POTTER connection) was flooded with kids and parents trying to get their best picture. We were no exception to that. Pretty "in-house" shops kept us engaged till it was time to board our fast train. The 10:30 AM train reached Edinburgh Waverley station exactly by 2:30 pm. A pre-booked taxi ride took us to our apartment accommodation hosted by CITY SUITES located in Western Harbour Midway (Leith). It was just a 10 minute ride.
Now what can I say ! The tall buildings stacked right on the banks of the North Sea swept us off our feet. The spacious and luxurious 3 bedroom apartment on the 7th floor was heaven. It offered far away views of the city. It was even better than the one in London. It gave us the feel of a penthouse with high roofing and extra large windows. The pictures will speak for themselves. We were excited to spend the next 5 nights here. The intent was to see as much of the country as possible by staying put here.
By 5:30 pm we had settled down and even managed a short nap before heading out on an evening walk covering the surrounding area.
A less than 3 minute walk from the apartment building landed us at a local bus stop right opposite the building area. It was super convenient. Visiting the OCEAN TERMINAL MALL from there was a good choice. The mall lies at a 12 minute bus ride distance.
Traveling like a local was very easy. We bought tickets from the driver for a single ride and made ourselves comfortable.
The bus rode pretty empty from our stop. There were few kids who joined in at a stop ahead of ours. Conversing with them was fun. There was no other new passenger till we reached our destination stop by the Victoria Quay road (swipe right for pics in the gallery).
The Ocean Terminal
This water front shopping centre in the Leith area of Edinburgh, overlooks a water body and covers around 81 hectares of land. Offering more than 70 spacious shops, totally soaked in a swanky and stylish ambience, the mall hosts a wide variety of restaurants, coffee bars, clothing, accessories, kitchen ware, entertainment, cinema halls, a gym and more. It is sure to leave anyone spellbound.
The building also hosts one of the top tourist attraction of the city - the ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA, the yacht of the Royal family. This boat has been The Queen’s former floating palace for over 40 years. One can take a tour of its interiors for a fee. The tickets are available in a small office within the building. We were contented with viewing the Royal boat from a distance. The evening skies were good for a photo shoot.
ocean terminal shopping centre
We walked around the mall, had dinner in one of its restaurants before we rode a bus back home.
We got off at a huge nearby local ASDA supermarket. This supermarket was massive and offered everything one could possibly use in a life time for a living. It was a great shopping experience there.
8:30pm : We ended the day with some tasty, hot & fresh food made in the beautiful kitchen in our accommodation. The night views from the big windows and balconies were to die for. Cooking together during group travels is so much fun. It not only saves huge amount of money and keeps us healthy, but also binds us together progressively. We become family.
DAY 7 - 17th April 2017 :
This day was allocated for a tour of EDINBURGH city. The Bus Terminus right across the street adjacent to the CITY SUITES apartment building, was super convenient. It helped us get to and from the city centre, during our entire stay, at a cheaper price than any other means of transport.
By 9:00 AM we boarded the bus towards Kirkgate Centre, after purchasing a day pass from the driver. We exchanged buses to get to the Museum of Childhood stop at the City Centre. The journey lasted around 40 minutes.
change of bus at kirkgate centre
The best way to get introduced to any European city/town is to join a free/ paid walking tour (wherever available ), which not only improves knowledge but also helps appreciate the place better. It is good to check reviews of such tour operators on the internet before making your choice. We had enrolled for The SANDEMAN’s new “two hour” free walking tour of Edinburgh (on their website).
The tour was scheduled to begin from the ROYAL MILE, outside the Starbucks situated next to the Tron Kirk (church). The spot was an easy reach, just a straight walk from the bus stop where we got off. There were plenty of others already waiting. Different types of tours were offered at that hour by Sandeman’s. A bunch of friendly guides checked our online tickets, greeted & welcomed the entire group before splitting them, as per their tour choice. Our group, 16 in number, joined an enthusiastic guide who had spent her entire life in Edinburgh. She led us on an unforgettable walk , literally down the memory lane, covering most parts of the old town, while she kept us engrossed with stories and facts. It was a great tour, easy to walk and highly informative.
THE ROYAL MILE
The “Royal Mile” is a road in the old town connecting the Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Palace. It is rightfully called so as it connects the two Royal Residences and measures around one SCOTS MILE (1.8 km) (which, of course, is slightly more than one “English mile”). Lying parallel to the Princess Street, a main street in Edinburgh Central, the road offers an extremely pleasant walk covering all important buildings in-between the two significant landmarks. On an average it takes around 25-30 minutes to walk its entire length. Laden with shops, offices and markets all along, the Royal Mile instantly injects the city's old, historic feel into its wayfarers. Street musicians and performers add to the lively feature.
We stopped at the ST. GILES CATHEDRAL , CASTLE HILL and GRASSMARKET for corresponding narratives. The guide poured out her mind at every stop that she made. One such fact dates back to the medieval period when many residential buildings lacked indoor toilets. The natural body wastes were stored by these residents in a bucket and literally thrown on the streets from a height. As a sign of warning to the passersby below, a loud scream of “GARDYLOO” would be initiated before the 'throwing' act. Sadly, stench filled streets had become a way of life. The blaring call remained in usage till the early 20th century except that by then, normal garbage replaced the earlier bucket contents. The glum history behind this mysteriously beautiful city was so well explained by the guide that it did dampen our spirits a bit by taking our imaginations around the erstwhile, sorrowful life style.
In the earlier years, parts of the city lay atop a sloping mountain side that required the locals to climb up and down steps to reach an adjacent area lying at the same level. History can really amaze us, isn’t it ? We couldn’t stop feeling the instant connect to this lovely little world.
The Grassmarket offered views of the EDINBURGH CASTLE.
THE EDINBURGH CASTLE
The prodigious castle is mounted atop a crag, today known as CASTLE ROCK - the remains of an extinct Volcano. Dominating the skyline of the city with its structure lying nearly 450 feet above sea level, the fortress can be spotted from most parts of the city. The Castle is said to occupy an area of 95 X 40 feet. A walk through its interiors may roughly take around 2 hours. There are a few in house museums too. The entrance can be accessed from various points in the surrounding area that lead to its main esplanade. Entry to the castle comes at an expensive price. We gave the castle visit a skip and were more than happy to savour its unhindered views from the Grassmarket street below. There was a break in the tour here and the group dispersed for a little while to explore on their own.
GREYFRIARS BOBBY FOUNTAIN
Moving further, there was a significant stop at the GREYFRIARS CHURCH. Occupying a bare minimal space at a cross road junction leading to this church, is the Greyfriars Bobby fountain. A life-size bronze statue of a Skye terrier (dog) named BOBBY is mounted atop a simple granite fountain in fond memory here. The story of BOBBY guarding the grave of his owner John Gray for 14 years, till his own death, is what makes this fountain so special (though facts surrounding this story is still widely debated).
The entrance to the church lies in-between the Greyfriars art shop and the Greyfriars BOBBY bar. There was not enough time to take a peek into the Church’s interiors. We were ushered towards the yard attached to it instead, due to its historical prominence.
GREYFRIARS KIRKYARD (churchyard)
The churchyard turned into a burial ground in the 16th century. Labeled as the most haunted graveyard in the world, the Greyfriars churchyard is a notable tourist attraction today due to many reasons. There have been spooky incidents and experiences reported time and again which makes locals believe in the existence of ghosts here.
The monuments found in the yard are listed possessions of the city’s council. More than a lakh of noted personalities are buried here. The faithful Bobby was buried here too near his master. The tombstones and monuments are impressively designed. One of the gates we saw was rather spooky with skulls fitted on it.
It was surprising to learn that many characters in the HARRY POTTER series are named after the dead buried in this yard. We followed in awe as our guide pointed to us those character names engraved on tombstones. She explained how J K Rowling was highly inspired by the city. The author chose the quiet yard area, many a times, to progress in her story and obviously discovered the names of her characters here. In fact most parts of the HARRY POTTER movie series was shot Edinburgh city. This was a thrilling piece of information for the POTTER fans in the group indeed.
We were free to wander around the yard for a while. This was the last stop of the tour. As it was a free tour, not many important touristy places were covered. However, we felt obliged to pay a good tip at the end of it all, considering the knowledge that we had gained.
12:30am : We walked to a nearby square to have our home cooked meal. The day was only half way through.
1:00pm : After lunch, we strolled down to “Forest Road" and boarded a bus to get to “Leith Street”.
CALTON HILL
A short walk from the bus stop took us to CALTON HILL, an iconic, historic landmark of Edinburgh that is stamped as a world heritage site. A long, wide stairway next to the HOWIES restaurant on 'Waterloo place' (a relatively quiet street), led us to the top. Of course, there are many other routes that one can access to get up there. The climb took us less than 10 minutes.
Often referred to as the ACROPOLIS OF EDINBURGH, the hill lies at a height of about 100 odd meters and has been in existence since times immemorial. However, it came into prominence after various monuments were installed on it, not only to commemorate the sacrifice of brave soldiers in various Napoleonic wars but also in the memory of many other noted, Scottish personalities.
The aesthetic composition of the hill top is enhanced by a handful of monuments that lie scattered around the mounded green land. This comprises of The Dugald Stewart monument, The observatory house, the Nelson monument, The National Monument of Scotland, The Portuguese cannon and the Playfair monument. We also noticed a couple of roads or hiking pathways reaching the top.
THE DUGALD STEWART MONUMENT
Adorning one of the view points found on the Calton hill is this Greek inspired, cylindrical shaped stone monument. It was the first one that we sighted when we got to the top. Built in the memory of an 18th century Scottish philosopher cum mathematician Dugald Stewart, the monument features a circular, high risen pedestal that holds on its circular rim nine, strong Corinthian pillars, all supported under a circular roof. Amidst these pillars, in the centre stands a single large amphora on a plinth. Most times, the images of this MONUMENT is what pops up while browsing the internet for details on the city.
The monumental structure lies guarded within a short metal fence. The platform around the monument provides excellent views of the city. We were dumbstruck by the vast layout at the top. This monument was the first one within our sight.
Alongside the monument lies the rear side of the Observatory house at a height. Looking like some centuries old castle its “fortress on a hillock” type rear views was a treat to the eyes.
Hopping from one monument to another, trying to shoot the best pictures we spent a little more than an hour on the hill
THE OBSERVATORY
The Calton Hill observatory was built in early 19th century, also highly influenced by the Greek style of architecture. The first Royal astronomer, Thomas Henderson contributed to the astronomical world with his discovery of parallax measurement and also the distance of the stars.
The observatory today houses an art gallery open to tourists.
THE NELSON MONUMENT
Built in the shape of an upturned telescope facing the sky, the monument is built on the highest point on Calton hill drawing millions of visitors around the year. The tall tower has a museum offering free entry, at its base. However, a small fee is charged for a climb of around 150 steps to get to its topmost point. The aerial views of the city from its pinnacle are said to be astounding.
The Monument was built to commemorate Admiral Lord Nelson who was badly wounded in the battle of Trafalgar during the phase of Napoleonic wars. The monument was also previously used for signalling purposes across the city.
THE NATIONAL MONUMENT OF SCOTLAND
The biggest of them all, the National Monument of Scotland is sadly referred to as SCOTLAND’S Disgrace. The construction of this ambitious, mammoth structure, inspired by the Athenian Acropolis, had to be stopped midway due to lack of funds and remains so till date. We felt dwarfed beside it. We were happy with the wonderful pictures we captured against it.
The hill seemed to be a favourite picnic spot too. Families sat on the green grass and enjoyed the natural surroundings. Yellow wild flowers bloomed in various corners providing a befitting ambience. The views of the city from the hill are definitely unparalleled. The monumental structures and views makes CALTON HILL really worth a visit.
We savoured our home made picnic by the meadows. Sadly, it started drizzling. We were partly drenched trying to find shelter but that did not dampen the spirit of a traveller in us. Before long it was time to leave the place.
Holyrood Palace
We walked down a certain twisted, mountain side path on the Calton Hill to reach the main road below. Across the street was a pathway leading to the HOLYROOD PALACE.
An official residence of the British Monarch, the palace lies at the opposite end to the Edinburgh Castle on the Royal Mile. The QUEEN’S GALLERY lies at the beginning of a narrow, approach road leading to the gates of the palace. Capsuled within acres of well maintained royal gardens, the palace is best known as the residence of Mary, Queen of Scots. The walls of the palace narrate both happy and horrific experiences of the queen, linked to her marriage and brutal killing of her personal secretary in her own private chamber. Her King is said to have conspired the murder as he believed that Mary was pregnant with the secretary’s child. The secretary was dragged by the conspirers to the queen’s chamber before being stabbed 56 times. The Palace is said to be haunted ever since. We, of course, never experienced anything paranormal there, but a few chambers did seem eerie.
Historical facts ran down our veins as we moved from Chamber to Chamber trying to grasp as much information all along. Well maintained furniture and tapestries narrated a tale of their own. The murals, paintings and every single decorative piece highlighted the rich period that was enjoyed centuries ago. The building is now utilised by the present queen for a week each year to appreciate and recognise the good work of many Scots from different walks of life.
Holyrood Abbey
After about an hour and half in and around the Palace, we walked to the ruins of the Holyrood church attached to the rear-side of the palace. Originally a Monastery, the abbey was established by King David in the same place where he underwent a miraculous experience of a holy cross appearing in the sky while being attacked by a wild stag, that caused the stag to flee. Thus came the name Holy Rood (Rood meant a cross in medieval ages). Later in the 12th century the Abbey was rebuilt on a extravagant scale and witnessed several royal weddings and a couple of coronation ceremonies. However, it did not withstand the loot of the English troops and underwent damage and dilapidation. The existing monks barely managed to recover from the loss before the Abbey was burned and looted yet again by the English.
We stood dumbfounded in the ground of its ruins. We marvelled at its decorative leftovers, while our imagination flew towards the yester-years picturising its true glory. It was something, really!!… the craftsmanship is commendable. The place is a must visit during your stay in the city.
It was almost 4 pm when we took a bus from Whitefoord house stop, diagonally opposite the Palace Road, to get to the Princess Street. We enjoyed the busy sights and the wonderful buildings while getting in and out of the big shops and malls. Shopping was fun.
By 7 pm we boarded a bus to return to the Western Harbour Midway. We stopped at ASDA market for groceries before walking to our accommodation. Our day ended with a warm home cooked dinner.
THE SCOTT MONUMENT
Labeled as the biggest ever monument in the world that commemorates a "writer", the stunning black sandstone tower- the SCOTT MONUMENT is built in the memory of Sir Walter Scott - a great Scottish novelist of his times. Built in mid 1800s , the striking monument adorns the princess street in Edinburgh centre giving the city its iconic look. This monument is built by a 'self-taught' architect and consists of four separate levels. It stands nearly 200 feet tall and carries on it carvings of nearly 60 odd characters from Sir Scott's novels. Tourists flock to climb the tower in order to experience stunning aerial views, from what could be the topmost point in the city.
DAY 8 - 18th April 2017 :
By 7am that morning, we boarded the bus to reach the Keith Centre via Shrubhill stop. The streets of Edinburgh are a treat to the eyes. I can never get bored of touring the city over and over again. We walked down princess Street, crossed the SCOTTS MONUMENT to reach Waterloo Place. The Rabbies Cafe was where we were headed to. A day tour with RABBIE’S was the itinerary that day - The Loch Ness, Glencoe and Highlands tour. The itinerary had impressed us while booking the tour online, from India.
DO NOT MISS READING THE FULL STORY OF - 1) LOCH LUBNAIG 2) GLENCOE 3 ) FORT WILLIAM 4) FORT AUGUSTUS 5) CRAINGORMS 6) PITLOCHRY (Browse the Scotland map provided) click here.
The 12 hour Journey covered most of the important sights in the Scottish Highlands. In such a scenic country, it is more important to be in search of a journey and not any particular destination.
The day ended well with a return to the Rabbie’s Cafe. After a few pictures with the friendly driver, we boarded a bus to get to Western Harbour Midway, Leith.
DAY 9 - 19th April 2017 :
It was time to visit another main city of Scotland - GLASGOW.
For full story read - GLASGOW
We returned to Edinburgh by bus quite early that evening. A bit of shopping didn’t bore us before we got back to our accommodation. It was end of day 9.
DAY 10 - 20th April 2017 :
After a not-so-great-a-previous day, we looked forward to traveling once again with RABBIE’S on another exciting day tour.
We boarded our bus to reach the Leith Stop via Shrub hill. We were getting better at navigating and were a part of the city by now.
The PRINCESS STREET never stopped entertaining us with good views, whenever we passed by it. We walked up to the Rabbie’s Cafe.
By quarter to 9 our Mini Bus was filled with travel and Whisky enthusiasts :)). Yes , we had opted for the Highland Lochs, Glens and Whisky tour this day. The tour promised some Whisky tasting, beautiful Forests, Waterfall and of course Lakes and Highlands.
Be sure to update yourselves with the FULL STORY. Browse the Map of Scotland to read : 1) PITLOCHRY 2) ABERFELDY and 3) DUNKELD
DAY 11 - 21ST April 2017 :
We continued on our journey bidding farewell to the historic Edinburgh city. For further story read AMBLESIDE