Edinburgh - Getting Touristy

The days (and months apparently) have flown by, and a one week break from posting quickly became six (or eight)! Between course work, hockey, and various social events, I haven’t been able to find the time or energy to properly sit down and type away. Time to get this blog rolling again J

 Mid-October brought a lot of rain and a lot of stormy weather to Glasgow, but it also brought my first visitor from the West Coast – Bambs! Turbulence aside, she made it safe and sound, and arrived in Glasgow bright and early the Friday morning. After swiftly settling her in (to sleep off the wicked jet lag), I was class-bound for the next half of the day. Bambs was visiting for 9 days in total, which meant we had ample time to spend in Glasgow itself. We planned our attack of Edinburgh Friday night over a few G and T’s, and set off bright and early Saturday morning (or at least we attempted to, Glasgow is a challenging place when it’s pouring rain and you’re dragging luggage). Eventually, we made it to Central Station, found our platform, and as joyously as we could, we settled into our train compartment.

Our X-country trip to Edinburgh took under an hour, and before we knew it we were standing on the Waverley platform, trying to get our bearings in order. We both embrace travelling on a budget (aka. We. Are. Cheapos.), so we opted to make the trek to our weekend accomondation near Calton Hill on foot. It was an journey of approximately 20 minutes, so naturally, we pit-stopped at a cafe along the way for hot coffee and snacks. We eventually made it to our AirBnB and settled ourselves into our room. Alhtough the rainy weather kept us from straying too far away from our accomodation, we were determined not to let it discourage us. As soon as we changed our water-logged socks and jackets, we armed ourselves with umbrellas and set out for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery for some culture.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery  

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery opened to the public in 1889, and is the world's first purpose built gallery. The neo-gothic palace was desgined by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson as a shrine for Scotland's hereos and herioines. Inside, one can find the National Collection of Portraits, and also the National Photography Collection. There are 850 works in the gallery, and the collection has grown to include depictions of specific places and events, and landscapes of Scotland. The aim of the gallery is to collect and continue to add portraits of Scots, and in 1982, a policy was created to commission portraits of living Scots by contemporary artists. (https://www.nationalgalleries.org)

                                                   

After our excursion to the Portrait Gallery, which is highly recommended in rain or shine, we decided to continue exploring the city and made our way towards Princes Street to gawk at the Scott Monument from underneath our umbrellas.

The Scott Monument 

The Scott Monument is impossible to miss when visiting this area of Edinburgh, and provided us with an excellent point of reference when wandering in the surrounding area. The monument was designed and erected to commemorate the Scottish literary figure, Sir Walter Scott, after his death in 1832. The Trustees of the memorial hald an architectural competition in 1836, and in 1840, the design submitted by George Meikle Kemp was chosen and construsction began. The statue of Sir Walter Scott at the base of the momument was carved by Sir John Steell from Carrara marble, and took six years to complete. The statue features Scott with his beloved hound Maida. 

We continued to wander around Princes Street, marvelling at the architecture and trying not to take anyone's eye out with our umbrellas. Since it was too early for us to retreat to our AirBnB, we decided to cross the South Bridge and soon found ourselves on the Royal Mile.

                                          The Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is made up of a succession of streets that form the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh's Old Town. The Mile runs downhill from the gates of Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace (where the Queen stays!!). The Royal Mile contains a collection of tourist attractions, eclectic shops, and more notable buildings such as the City Chambers, Parliament House, St. Giles' Cathedral, and the Canongate Tolbooth.

Even for a rainy day (typical) the Mile was crowded and tourist groups were making their way to and form various sites. Saturday was a very casual day for us, but when we returned to the Mile on Sunday, we spent more time visiting specific buildings and seeking out attractions we had scouted during our planning phase. Saturday night, however, was our chance to take in the city nightlife, and we headed back to our AirBnB around 6pm to plan an evening out on the town and to dorn our heels (this adventure soon to come).

The Parish of St. Cuthbert

Our first visit on Sunday morning was to the Parish of St. Cuthbert, situated at the western foot of the Castle Rock. The present church was built in 1892, on the same site as an estimated 6 other churches that came before it. Cuthbert, the Celtic Bishop of Lindisfarne, is said to have established his Christian community beneath the rock of Edinburgh Castle some 1300 years ago.

The rich history of Edinburgh could have kept us occupied for days, but we couldn't visit this incredible city without geeking out over the role the city played in... you probably guessed it... Harry Potter!

Edinburgh plays a role in Harry Potter because it offered inspiration to JK Rowling, just as the University of Glasgow did. Harry Potter tours are offered for free; however, we opted to self-guide ourselves from place to place, with the intent of ending up at Holyrood Palace. There is plenty of information online about the dozen or so places that are significant in some way or another to H. Potter. The two we found to be the most note-worthy was Victoria Street (HP shop and other incredible boutiques), and Greyfriars Kirkyard (not pictured sadly).

National Museum of Scotland

After taking pictures with Harry Potter character cut-outs (not ashamed to admit we moved Harry into better lighting in the store for the perfect selfie), we decided to visit the National Museum of Scotland. The museum has six distinct galleries which include Natural World Galleries, World Cultures, Scottish History, Science and Technology, Discoveries, and Arts, Design and Fashion. The museum has something for everyone, and offers spectacular views of Edinburgh from the 7th Level terrace. We wandered through the different galleries for the remainder of our morning, and although we could have spent many more hours enjoying the museum, we knew if we were to survive the rest of the day (and each other) we needed to find some food... cue Frankenstein.

Frankenstein

I'm not planning on making a habit of listing the places I've eaten, but if you're visiting Edinburgh and are looking for a unique experience, Frankstein & Bier Keller is a good shout and knows how to get a little bit weird. The bar is located in a 19th century church on George IV Bridge in Old Town. The giant Frankenstein at the entrance is hard to miss and is a mere glimpse of what to expect inside. Mary Shelley's tale comes alive, literally, with continuous screenings of the original film, and supposedly, Frankenstein himself is known to emerge from the basement from time to time! We spent an hour soaking up the eerie environment, enjoying a much deserved pint, and resting our feet before continuing our adventure :)


The sun was shining when we emerged from the lair and started making our way towards Holyrood Palace. The contrast between Edinburgh New Town and Old Town areas are remarkable. Covering ground is easy throughout New Town, but the streets and narrow alleys in Old Town curve every which way, lined with historic building, oozing with character. By the time we made it to Holyrood Palace the tours for the day were finished. Looming in the background in Holyrood Park, however, is Arthur's Seat, so we rolled up our sleeves and decided to hike a proper Scottish hill.

Arthur's Seat and St. Anthony's Chapel

Arthur's Seat is located in the 640 acre Royal Park adjacent to Holyrood Palace. It is the largest of the three parts of the Arthur's Seat Volcano, with the highest point sitting 251m above sea level. Calton Hill and Castel rock make up the other two parts. Arthur's Seat is regarded as one of the possible locations for Camelot, the legendary Castle and court of King Arthur. At first, we had only planned on walking to the first main view point, but all the trekking over the last few days had paid off and we made incredible time scrambling up the first hill. I would love to say the scenery was beautiful as we made out way up the hill, but the sun was just starting to go down and was blinding us until we reached the summit. We took in the expanse unfolding before us, pointing out the areas we had been exploring the past few days. Once we caught our breath, we set our sights on the daunting peak behind us and made our way up to the top. As always, the trip down the mountain side was a breeze, with only a few minor slips - no flashes of life before our eyes. We didn't have to retrace our steps, and made our descent towards St. Anthony's Chapel. The medieval structure dated back to the 15th century and overlooks St. Margeret's Loch.

 As the sun set, we made our way back towards the Royal Mile. By this time we were ready for dinner and had walked over 16km. The weather was turning so we bucked up and hopped a bus to take us back towards our AirBnB.

 Calton Hill 

Our last trek before heading back to Glasgow was to climb Calton Hill, which was conveniently located close to where we were staying. We woke up early(ish) Monday morning, enjoyed another wonderful breakfast in our AirBnB, and then set out. Luckily, we had a flexible checkout time, so our luggage didn't have to make the trek with us. Calton Hill is included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site, and offers views of the cityscape and Arthur's Seat. There are several iconic buildings and monuments on Calton Hill, including the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Robert Burns Monument, and the City Observatory. We wandered around the area, remarking at the past two days spent in Edinburgh, formulating plans for Edinburgh Part Two, and when our legs really couldn't take anymore walking, we made our way back to our AirBnB to make departure preperations. 

Even on a budget, the two days we spent in Edinburgh were packed with history and culture. We traversed the city almost completely on foot, taking in the architecture and atmosphere one literal step at a time. We met a number of welcoming locals who made our trip even more memorable, and enjoyed sunny October weather while we did it. Edinburgh is a place I will definitely be back to in the future, and for anyone travelling on this side of the Atlantic it is worth a visit.