Advertisement
Published: January 5th 2008
Arrived in Edinburgh just after sunset (about 4pm!) and managed to negotiate the van through city streets to find our flat. The flat was really nice and in a great spot only about five minutes walk from the main part of the city. It had off-street parking for Clancy as well which was a godsend as we could look out our window in the morning to check that she was ok!
On our first night we ventured up to Calton Hill to see the torchlight parade....took us a while to actually find a way in but at least we were nice and warm by the time we got there. Joined in the procession of torches (even though we didn't actually buy one for ourselves) and enjoyed watching the 'burning of the elk' and fireworks display before gorging ourselves once again on a huge dinner on the Royal Mile.
Over the next few days we did some sleeping, eating (sound familiar) and exploring the sights of Edinburgh city. What a fantastic city it is! So much history combined with the most beautiful buildings and funky cafes. There was a great vibe in town as well as people prepared for Hogmanay
celebrations.....found it difficult to find a Scottish accent for the Aussies!
Decided to skip the castle tour, holding off to our next visit when (hopefully) there will be less people around...opted instead for the drinking option: a whisky tour! Tried out a great Scottish restaurant....we're really beginning to like haggis as long as we don't think of what's in it. A big walk up to Arthurs Seat the next morning proved a nice cure for the Whisky hangovers, in readiness to do it all again for New Years Eve
New Years Eve preparations began early with Jas and Mick braving the craziness of a very busy Tesco's to stock up on snacks and drinks whilst Karen and Kirst braved a needle through the nose in a little pre-turning-thirty craziness. Hasn't yet succeeded in making us look any younger but at least we feel very youthful (even if a little sore).
Our New Years Eve party began with yet another huge feast and some pre-party drinks before heading out to take part in one of the biggest street parties in the world! A great time was had by all....thanks to Jen and Paddo for the advice on taking
Royal Mile
Cup of Coffee and people watching...aaah!a hydration pack with us....it proved very useful and ensured the whisky flowed strongly all night! The fireworks display was huge, lighting up Edinburgh castle to bring the new year in and cue the mass exodus of the streets into the bars and pubs surrounding it. We had deliberately not made any plans for new years day which was a blessing as it gave us time to think about that news years resolution to never drink again!
We left Edinburgh on the 2nd January after several little hiccups: Clancy decided she really liked Edinburgh and once again had us needing jumper leads to get her going. This time purely our fault as we had left lights on and she was flat as flat. We couldn't even push start her but thanks to a kind Scotsman we were on our way...until we got stuck on a one-way street trying to turn around as we wouldn't fit under the 2m bar! Jas did a very good job of keeping things lighthearted and we made our way south to the English coastal town of Whitby. We had a brief visit to Newcastle on the way, Mick and Karen enjoying the traffic and
Dram you whisky!
The expert nose at work.... a no entry zone from the front two seats whilst we sat blissfully unaware in the back. We managed to find a park eventually and have a late lunch, a look at the many bridges and continue on...speed tourism at it's best!
Had planned to sleep in the van but threats of temperatures well below zero and snow forecast for the region made us a little scared and we checked into a pub in town instead. Very glad we did as it was very cold that night and the next morning the snow began to fall....and fall....and fall! We made a rushed visit to the Abbey and walked the stairs made famous by Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' before jumping in the van to get out before we got snowed in. We missed the Captain Cook museum and memorial so will have to put that on the never-ending list of places we need to come back to!
It soon became evident that the snow wasn't going to let up and we spent the next three and a bit hours (thanks to Jas's fantastic snow driving expertise) negotiating slippery roads to drive the sixty or so miles to the A1 motorway.
Hangover cure
Nothing like a walk up a mountain to get the kidneys/liver working again! Nearly lost our dear Clancy (and us) on one particularly slippery corner going down a 25% gradient but Jas did a very good job of taking Clancy down the hill sideways and we got back on track again (not as lucky as the couple whose car ended up in the trees just around the corner!). Once we made it to the A1 the snow cleared and we spent the next five hours on motorways before arriving home to Caerphilly.
We had a great time over Christmas and New Years and have absolutely fallen in love with Scotland....such a rugged country with lots of fantastic culture and history. Even though we didn't really get out and see lots of sights we felt we had deserved a restful time and enjoyed the opportunity to not do much but eat and drink! Next adventure will be a snowboarding trip to Andorra....hoping to burn off some of the christmas cheer on the slopes!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.294s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 23; qc: 101; dbt: 0.1097s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
