Day Nine (On to Edinburgh)

A closer look at the bridge

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The Queensferry Bridge is a railway bridge. While we stood here enjoying the view a continuous flow of trains passed over the bridge.

The other bridge

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Our stop in the parking lot put us between two huge bridges: the aforementioned Queensferry Bridge and this bridge, the Forth Road Bridge, for cars. To the left you can almost make out the revitalized section of town that looked so interesting to me.

Downtown Edinburgh

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It was 6:00 pm when we rolled into the center of Edinburgh. Our hotel, the Cairn Hotel, was on the outskirts of the theater district. It wasn't the most interesting part of town but it was on a rather quiet side street. The hotel itself was rather old and a little worn. But scaffolding outside my bedroom window told me they were at least trying to modernize the place. The bed was comfortable and the bathroom was clean. If only there were some air conditioning. Once again we were back in the hot, hot city.

Climbing up on Calton Hill

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After dinner James led us on a hike up the steep flanks of Calton Hill, just 200 yards from our hotel. At the top we found an eclectic collection of odd buildings. This is the Admiral Nelson Monument which is built in the shape of his naval telescope.

The Athens of the North

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To commemorate those fallen in the Napoleonic Wars, the city of Edinburgh began work on building a reconstruction of the Parthenon in Athens. The city ran out of money soon afterwards and this is as much as they could complete.

Gazing North

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Because of the untypically lovely weather and clear skies we were able to get some great views from the top of Calton Hill. Here we are looking North toward the Firth of Forth with the docks of Leith also visible.

Looking down at the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle

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Walking to the opposite side of the hilltop we got these stunning views of the historic and touristy Royal Mile to the left. In the distance on the right side you can almost make out Edinburgh Castle.

Arthur's Seat

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James the pointed out this imposing area off to the South of Calton Hill. It is a huge public park situated on an old extinct volcano. This section is named "Arthur's Seat" in honor of the legendary King Arthur.

War Monument

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Somehow Gail, her Mom and I got separated from the others when we came down from the hill and headed toward the main drag of town, the Royal Mile. Since it was getting late most of the touristy places were closing while the pub scene was just starting. Because there were so many loud obnoxious skinhead types running around we decided to head back to our hotel. On the way back we spotted this unmarked statue.

Men in kilts

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It was getting dark now that it was after 9:30 but that didn't stop this group of men in skirts from coming out of their wedding reception to enjoy a smoke or two. Gail and I decided to stop at an outdoor pub for a couple of beers before calling it a night. This may have been our busiest day yet.