Blogs from Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 5

Day 39-43: Really great to be back - that's both genuine and satire. Offered 'gear' within 60 seconds of getting off the bus in london - seems to be an international pattern emerging. 15 person dorms provided a real lack of sleep mind. Higher proportion of old men also. Using trains and buses further cementing my intentions to work here in the short/mid-term future. British country side does have a distinctive aesthetic. Eye gouging costs mind you. Some great stories from my time at the grandparents. A notable stand out being one about a Ram shagging himself tired and requiring a lift back to the farm. Learning about grandads endeavours around Europe in a Fiat 500 also amused me. 5 hour discussion around the table on Christmas day. Very grateful for the progresses in heart surgery. Return ... read more

We pulled out at 8:00 as per usual on a transfer/travel day. The start of our day was with 50ish degrees temperature, cloudy and a misty rain which changed to sun about the time we crossed the Scottish border! We have been very lucky in our weather so far...perfect in fact. We passed a much more industrial area on our drive on first part of day on our way through the Liverpool /Manchester area on M6 going north. We saw part of a 30 mile canal built from the Irish Sea from Liverpool to Manchester, England. We saw Manchester in the distance. We stopped at Grasmere in the Lake District National Park for a coffee/bathroom break. We bought some gifts at The Grasmere National Park Heritage Trust Store. The tallest mountain in England is in this ... read more

Tom went out and got our standard Scottish fare from around the corner (bacon & egg McMuffin and a latte) while I got myself organised then we crossed the road to the major bus stop across the road for our Rabbies Outlander Adventure (and our tour guide is wearing a kilt). Outlander is a TV series based on a series of books by Diana Gabaldon. I’ve owned the books (and obtained their author’s autograph) for years. Love them and love the Tv series. Tom watches it with me, for the action, adventure and Scottish history. I watch it for the love and romance between Jamie and Claire, and the touch of family history. Leaving Edinburgh we went across the new Queensferry Bridge, the third bridge across the firth of the Forth (across the mouth of the ... read more

A good night’s sleep was the benefice of being in a private home. Kay brought a generous continental breakfast of sliced sausage and ham, a warm baguette, a croissant, a choice of cereals, a bowl of fruit, and home-made jams. Blueberries made a novel and refreshing layer on my meat sandwich, and the raspberry jam on the croissant was particularly delicious. More confident of the bus now, I sat up top and took photos out the window as we wended our way to Princes Street. After yesterday, I know that taking North/South Bridge Street is the simplest method of getting to many destinations, avoiding the twists of streets in the medieval city. Also, although crowded, the sidewalks were wider, and walking with some speed was possible. One Giant Leap for June/url... read more

Since Edinburgh was a fairly short drive, we were allowed a slow morning. Ironically, we were so well drilled that everyone was assembled on the street before the buses arrived! As we drove through the rolling landscape filled with sheep and grain farms (hay and barley), our new guide informed us that we were looking at relatively poor agricultural land. As we entered the outskirts of Edinburgh, light industrial land uses took over and then residential areas appeared. We drove all the way into the city, which was heaving with the Fringe Festival. St Giles Cathedral, our distinguished performance venue, was in the heart of the Fringe; our bus could drive only so far, and our guide walked us the rest of the distance, not more than five minutes. Entering the magnificent historic url=https://stgilescathedral.org.uk... read more