A Wee Visit In Edinburgh

Scotland, the land of sheep and whisky. A place with a strong identity of culture and tradition where it is not uncommon to see men wearing kilts during formal occasions. The Scot’s passion for a wee (or maybe not so wee) glass of whisky is comparable to their passion for football, ruby, and of course golf. As soon as I arrived Edinburgh I felt a connection to the city. At that moment I knew that this would be a memorable trip.

My trip with Harlaxton College was from January 28^th to the 30^th. It was an early wake up call because the coach was scheduled to leave at 8 a.m in the morning. However, the coach had a mechanical problem in the morning and another one had to be readied and sent to the manor. This delayed our departure for over an hour. The ride up the A-1 was very scenic and I had the chance to see a lot of the country side and the North Sea. I arrived in Edinburgh at about 4 p.m, which was disappointing because the sun was already going down, limiting what I could do on Friday.

This is a picture of sheep grazing on the hillside at the border of Scotland and England.

After I checked in the hotel the school was staying at on Princess Street, me and a few others began to walk the streets of Edinburgh. I had two things on mind food and whisky (a Scotsman state-of-mind). We walked around the blocks surrounding the hotel to see what there was to eat. Fortunately, Rose Street was right around the corner. Rose Street is where most of the pubs and night life happen in Edinburgh. Spending a few moments wondering around, we started to walk back to the hotel. I stopped in a Scottish heritage store where they sold all sorts of traditional Scottish products, including whisky. This store had a whole wall dedicated to Scotch Whisky and even offered tasting of a few choice brands by men wearing kilts. Being a college student, my eyes went straight to the bottom shelf where they were some bottles in my price range. I ended up with a 350mL of Lauder’s. It was by no means a luxury whisky, but offered classic Scotch Whisky flavor and style.

My roommate and I went headed back to the hotel to enjoy a few tastes of our newly purchased whisky and to rest a bit before heading out to dinner. The group of people I was hanging out with met in the lobby of the hotel and headed out to a pub for dinner. The problem wasn’t trying to find a pub, but finding a pub that wasn’t packed! It may have taken up to 45 minutes to find a pub that didn’t cost a small fortune and had seats available. The pub we ate had pretty good prices on food and pints. I ordered a steak pie with a pint of Foster’s. The food came out quickly, almost too quickly. It made me a little suspicious of how good the food was going to be. My steak pie was hot, but disappointing. It wasn’t even a true pie because only the top had a pastry. I was expecting a pie that had the pastry baked all the way around with the steak filling in the center. I suppose I got what I paid for.

After dinner, two other people and I just decided to walk around the streets aimlessly for awhile to see what the city had to offer. We walked through Grass Market, but at night everything there was closed down. Eventually we took a few random turns to try to get back on the main streets in town, but we accidently wandered off. Somehow we found Edinburgh University and right around the corner was a pub that had student discounts on drinks. Sold. Hanging out in the pub was fun and after a few drinks it was time to walk back to the hotel because we had to get up early to make breakfast.

Statue dedicated to the Scottish folk legend, Greyfriars Bobby the world most loyal dog. The dog’s master was a constable in Edinburgh and died at the age of 45. His Skye terrier would sit on top to his grave everyday for 14 years, never leaving his master’s side in life or death.

The hotel in Edinburgh actually offered a real breakfast, unlike the one in London. I had a full Scottish breakfast consisting of sausage, bacon, and eggs. A filling breakfast is just what I need for a long day around the city.

The first stop was to go see Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh is a very interesting city because its landscape is shaped by an estuary and volcanic crags. The castle is perched on one of these such volcanic rocks. Three fourths of castle is on the edge of the volcanic rock, making the east side the only accessible point.

Edinburgh Castle during the morning of my tour. Yes that is person in a bear suit. There was a commercial being shot there before the castle was open to the public.

A panorama from Edinburgh Castle. Being on top of a high volcanic rock gives a great view of  “New Town” Edinburgh.To the far right is Calton Hill, the large dark spire is the Scotch Monument, and water way to the back is the Firth of Forth.

An iron casted cannon that overlooks Edinburgh from within the Castle. This cannon is actually from a naval vessel, but placed as the castle simply for show.

Edinburgh castle was my favorite stop on the trip. There are free tours of the castle and the guide was very informative. Most of all, the guide was proud to be Scottish and his enthusiasm made it all the more enjoyable. The castle also houses the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny. The Stone of Destiny is still used today to coronate every king or queen in Westminster Abbey.

The Great Hall in Edinburgh Castle is very unique because the roof is constructed what is essentially an upside down wooden boat hull built by Scottish ship builders. The roof is held together by wooden pins under pressure and no metal is used. In its 300 year history, all the original work is still in perfect condition.

Once I was done touring the castle, my friends and I headed over to see St. Giles Cathedral. It is just down the hill from the castle on the Royal Mile. St. Giles Cathedral is worth stopping into and seeing. It is not on the same scale as some other Cathedrals such as Lincoln, St. Paul’s, or Westminster. However, it costs 2 pounds to get a photo permit. I felt that was a little unreasonable because they ask for a donation and then want more money for you to be allowed to take pictures inside. Lincoln Cathedral, which I feel is much more impressive, doesn’t charge a photography fee.

After the cathedral is was time for lunch. I ended up going to a café named Chocolate Soup. There I had chicken curry soup with a BLT sandwich. Chocolate Soup also had a wide assortment of chocolaty treats from drinks to baked goods. I whish I had more time in Edinburgh to eat more of what they offered.

With soup and a sandwich, I also ordered this chocolate brownie. It was rich and moist with mint and chocolate on top. Possibly the best brownie I have ever had, which was a great note to end a lunch on.

Once lunch was over, my friends and I strolled down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyrood. We had no intentions of going in to see the palace but just wanted to see the outside. There wasn’t much to see because there is a large stone wall and iron gates. It was still worthwhile to take the walk because I also got see the Scottish Parliament building and the view of Arthur’s Seat was nice too.

Not too far off the Royal Mile is Calton Hill. My original intent was to hike up Arthur’s Seat, but by the time it was in the afternoon the weather took a turn. The morning was nice and sunny but it would not last. By the late afternoon low hanging clouds blew in and it started to mist. Hiking up in mud to just to see fog wouldn’t please everyone I was with. Instead we went up Calton Hill, a far less strenuous task.

View from Calton Hill. In the distance is Edinburgh Castle and the Scotch Monument sits to the right on Princess Street. In a Clear day, much more could be seen such as the surrounding mountains.

Calton Hill is also referred to as the “Athens” of the north because it raised above the city on volcanic rock. There is also this monument that resembles the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, thus making a connection to Athens.

Calton Hill was very close to the hotel and I went there to put up my feet up for a few moments. After resting my friends and I walked over to the Scottish National Museum. The museum felt very eclectic. There was what seemed to be a random spread of exhibits spread over 5 floors. There was everything from Romans and Vikings to the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. I enjoyed seeing most of the exhibits, but there was no real continuity linking them together.

I stayed in the museum until it closed at 5 p.m. After leaving it was time for a bite to eat. Down the street was a pizza parlor that offered student discounts. Eating there was a no brainer. Splitting a pizza three ways only cost me 2 pounds. Compared to everywhere else I have eaten, that was a steal. Once I was done eating, I went back to the hotel exhausted. That night I decided not to go out but instead choose to stay in and study for immunology test with a glass of scotch in hand.

The next morning was another early wake up because it was time to make the trek back to the manor. On the way back, there was a stop at Hadrian’s wall. The coach made a twisty and bumpy ride out to the wall on the border of Scotland and England. Hadrian’s wall was built to secure the most northern border of the Roman Empire. It used to span the entire width of the island, but now is mainly ruins. The wall was intended to keep the Scottish highland “barbarians” out of Roman Britannia.

A close up on misted high grass by Hadrian’s wall. The wall can be seen behind the grass and extends all the way up onto the ridge in backdrop.

A 16×9 of sheep grazing by Hadrian’s wall. I wanted to go pet them but sheep are very “sheepish” by nature.

Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole was a truly pleasant experience. Scottish tradition and culture is still very much alive. There are bagpipers in the streets wearing kilts showing off their clan’s pattern. Scotland is also very welcoming to tourists and the people are more than happy to share history and traditions. If you enjoy cashmere, whisky, and breath taking landscapes, Scotland is the place to be.