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Published: September 16th 2009
Royal Mile
Embarking up the Royal Mile.We ended up in Edinburgh after my last blog. When we arrived we went to our hotel and rested for a bit. We then made our way up to the Royal Mile, which is the road that connects Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood House, the palace currently used by the Queen on visits to Edinburgh. Both attractions are available for tours and I would highly recommend them. In between both attractions are many pubs, restaurants and other stores, generally guided for tourists, although you can find some locals. We walked up and down both ends of the Mile before my parents were tired and decided to go to bed around six.
I, however, was not yet tired, so I decided to watch some local TV. The shows that I found myself gravitating towards were comedy shows on the channel “Dave” that were geared around news. The host would bring on different comedians for each show and then they would talk about recent news with jokes, etc. You would have to watch it to really understand. I’m not good at explaining it. Think of the “Daily Show” or “Colbert Report” mixed with “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
The next morning we
hired a tour on a coach with a company called Scotline Tours. These tours are not for everyone, however. They are super touristy and the guide makes extremely corny jokes for the supposed entertainment of the foreigners. However, the scenery is wonderful and it is a great way to make a small dent in the areas around your hotel in Scotland that might be very difficult to reach without a car. There are some trains that lead to the Scottish Highlands, but many areas are difficult to reach without a tour unless you are willing to rent a car. The tours are a nice taste of the country, but all you get of the area is a taste. Our tour was comprised of The Trossachs, the Scottish Highlands that are particularly rocky, Loch Lommond, on the border of the Highlands and Lowlands, and the town of Stirling and Stirling Castle, home of William Wallace, or Braveheart. These are all wonderful stops, but on a tour you are only allowed to stay for an hour and a half at most at each stop. Also, if you are considering a tour, make sure to check that it is all-inclusive or see if
Royal Mile
My Dad and I pose in front of the Mercat Cross, where there were many public executions, etc. you will have to pay for each attraction as you go when figuring out your budget. We had many unexpected expenses of lunch, tours, etc.
The scenery itself was beautiful and the history was fascinating. I, however, would rather stay and spend some time in each area, see more of one place, and really get to know it. Tours like these really depend on what you expect to get out of the area. If you have a lot of time to devote to each area, I would recommend going off on your own, perhaps hiking, biking, etc. If you are limited for time and money guided tours are a great way to see what you need to see.
When we returned to Edinburgh we went to dinner at a pub on the Royal Mile. We then commenced on a haunted tour of the underground vaults under the city. These tours are really wonderful. For the skeptics, they are full of wonderful history and anecdotes of the area, in order to get an idea of what things were really like at one time. For those who are interested in the paranormal, they are fun and you get to see
some of the most supposedly haunted places on earth. There are reports of actual things happening, but don’t expect anything to happen, as most tours consist of 15 or more people and you feel quite safe in numbers. Either way, the tours are quite fun and a good way to spend some money and see the city.
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