Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Edinburgh

Another long weekend. Fresh from our long weekend in the French Alps, we had a four day weekend in Scotland. On Friday night we flew out of London City airport (a first for us!) and into Edinburgh. August is Fringe Festival month in Edinburgh and we were arriving on the last weekend of it.

We arrived in town around 10:30pm and found our accommodation. There was so little available when we were booking, but we finally settled on (had no choice but) two single rooms in a hostel. Well at least a hostel in summer. For the rest of the year it is university accommodation. It was, however, well located just down the hill off the Royal Mile.

Edinburgh was in party mode - the Royal Tattoo had just finished and many Fringe shows were just getting started. The ticket booth was shut, but we walked around and found a comedy show in Underbelly on Cowgate. The show was Girls Behaving Badly - a somewhat crass, mildly witty, series of stand up routines by five women - including a British Indian, Scot and an Aussie. We had a beer and headed back to our beds.

Saturday

Today we hired a car to have a look around Edinburgh before heading north for the weekend. First stop was a coffee shop for take-away breakfast and a walk up Arthur's Seat. Arthur's Seat is an inactive volcano in the centre of Edinburgh. It was a great walk up with hazy, but rewarding, views of the city and the Firth of Forth.

Next was a look at Roslin chapel, eight miles south and most recently made popular by The Da Vinci Code. The ceiling and pillars of the chapel have amazing patterns and carvings. The chapel is well presented and they have resisted the urge to cash in on the Da Vinci popularity. In the chapel there is no mention of it at all - you have to wait for the gift shop.

North out of the city and over the Firth of Forth. We hadn't really a plan of where we were going or where we might stay for any of the next three nights. But this time we are prepared...

Read more about Scotland Camping before we return to Edinburgh.

Tuesday

This afternoon we return to Edinburgh to return the car and fly back to London. We left ourselves a bit of time to have a look at Edinburgh Castle. The castle reminds us very much of the Tower of London except it is perched on a big rocky crag that dominates the city. Inside the castle walls we did a guided tour and were impressed by the understated nature of the buildings. The most appealing building is St Margaret's Chapel, which is the oldest building in Edinburgh. It is a small, but very cute chapel on the inside.

Click on the photo below to see more Edinburgh

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