Hi everyone!
I recently went on holiday to Edinburgh on a mini-break with
my photographer friend (all the photos in the post are hers!). We had a great time in both Edinburgh
and the surrounding area. So today in the first of 2 posts, what to do in Edinburgh
city centre - I'm thinking particularly of those of you chortling in the Scottish capital right about now.
Climb up high
If you know me by now you’ll know how much I love to climb
high things; Edinburgh offers lots of chances to climb up high. Arthur’s Seat, the only remains of an old
volcano, twisted on its side by Ice Age activity is a 822ft treat of an
afternoon. There are many theories concerning the name, many people claim its to do with the mythical King Arthur but it might
just be a corruption of Àrd-na-Said (Height of Arrows)
or Àrd-thir Suidhe (Place on High Ground). Arthur’s Seat requires minimal input for maximum views– the
experienced walkers who photo-bombed our victory photo were in brogues!
Calton Hill offers similarly panoramic views of Edinburgh and features many historic curiosities from Nelson’s upturned telescope
to the Portuguese cannon and the National Monument of Scotland, they've even got a little art gallery up there. We enjoyed studying
the city and its happy brood of bird-life from these high points.
Into
the very bowels of Edinburgh
We really enjoyed exploring Edinburgh on foot, down the winding closes, the Georgian promenades and poking our noses in interesting doorways. We got a real education at the People’s Story Museum. The PSM offers a rich
and engaging narrative of the lives of Edinburgians
since the 18th century. The museum isn't that high-tech but telling history through individual stories is very effective, ‘Meet Joan, on a warm afternoon in
1964 she is off to the wash-house to clean her clothes’.
Once upon a time, before the Royal Mile even existed, the people of Edinburgh lived cheek-by-jowl in tightly wound ‘closes’ or lanes and disease was rife. So in the early 18th century fresh investment arrived in Edinburgh, instead of demolishing the old town, they merely built over the top of it. The Continuum Group (Jorvik, Canterbury Tales) seized the opportunity to create an effective tourist-trap, 'The Real Mary King's Close' a tour of the deserted, underground Edinburgh. The tour provided enough genuine archaeology for me and entertainment for my pal who couldn’t care less about history. Just like the People’s Story of Edinburgh, a lot of MKC’s success is built around our getting to know a person, our guide ‘Walter King’ Foul Clenger, and his life on the close. Technological advances built the tour into a real experience!
Elephants and eating
Although we were camping outside Edinburgh we ate out a few times. The Elephant Café is the much celebrated birth-place of
Harry Potter, where JK wrote the novels. The food was a good price, there were elephants aplenty and there is a unique memorial to Harry Potter, concealed in the loos. The other place we
visited was SX café (Southern Cross, you dirty little whatsits!) they freely offered us their power supply for our ailing phones and tasty cakes. I even tried their haggis bites, they were gooooood.
Tomorrow, Beyond the Walls of Edinburgh
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