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.
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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.