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Monday 17th December Outa bed, went to work, worked (a little), went home, watched tv, inta bed. Repeat x 4.
Saturday 22nd December Scotland here I come! As Emma had lined up a nice job over the Christmas break I decided to make the most of mine and follow in her highland footsteps. Off to a later start than I would have hoped due to a non-existent alarm, I hit the road, tubing it down to Marble Arch to pick up my Renault Clio which would be my wheels for the four day expedition. The motorway traffic was surprisingly good and I only came to a stop in a couple of spots, sitting on 80mph most of the way. I didn't muck about, heading straight up the middle of the UK on the A1, M1 and M6 passing towns such as Northampton, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester and Carlisle on the way to Edinburgh. Only one 15min pisstop as well!
Once I crossed the border into Scotland it started getting very foggy with only about 100m visibility. That combined with the dark and rain didn't really make for a pleasant driving experience but it was different. I finally
arrived at Edinburgh about 8 hours later and found my B&B, which was a km or two out of the town centre. It wasn't the Taj Mahal and the TV didn't work but it was comfortable enough and not bad value for £30 per night. After all the driving I was pretty smashed so I hit the sack fairly early to be ready for a big days sightseeing.
Sunday 23rd December Breakfast at the B&B included a small portion of Haggis, which despite the ingredients, didn't taste too bad. It didn't taste that good, but it wasn't bad either and looked a bit like the love child of chicken stuffing and mince. After leaving the car in the new part of town I walked around some of the main streets before being drawn to the majestic Edinburgh castle which overlooks the town. At the base of the hill were Christmas markets selling food, drinks and gifts, an ice skating rink and a pen full of reindeer (not ball point you idiot!).
I made my way around to the castle entrance, grabbed an audio guide and went on in. First thing I noticed was the famous One
O'Clock Gun which rings out every day (except Sundays...Doh!) and was used as an accurate time check to the ships in Leith Harbour - two miles away. Apparently it still frightens the crap out of shoppers down on Princes Street. A little pet cemetery for soldiers dogs was found over the main wall a bit further up. Probably a few Corgi's in there I'd wager. Mons Meg, a giant beast of a cannon with plenty of history, sat on the cobblestones ready to re-awaken and whoop ass. Ducking inside I was treated to the Scottish crown jewels (major bling to be found) and the mysterious Stone Of Destiny (is it the Excalibur stone, the pillow stone for Jacob or a traveling altar stone??) which is still used to crown British monarchs. After a bit of a wander through the rest of the castle (after Windsor, it's hard to be too impressed) I headed off back through the front gate and out onto the large open space that you might know from the Edinburgh tattoo.
Strolling down Castlehill, I had to go inside and check out the tartan and tweed exhibition centre. Just as I thought, a lot of tartan
and tweed related products, equipment used to make it and heaps of tacky souvenirs. Worth a glance anyway as it was free. After that I just walked around town, dropping in at the Abbottsford pub for a cheeky pint while marveling at it's intricate ceiling. A Christmas market was set up next to the Scott Monument (the big Gothic building), with some rides, stalls and an outdoor ice rink a bit further down. I couldn't resist grabbing a block of "Stollen", a traditional German Christmas bread like cake - very rich and sweet and not cheap at £10 a hit. Taste good but! That was followed by a quick jaunt out to a quirky little pub by the name of "The Canny Man" which was a friend "must see" while in Edinburgh. No cameras allowed was one of many rules plastered on the wall, which was a pity because there was so much stuff inside to gawk at. The random clutter of items meant your eye was constantly wandering trying to take it all in. Definitely a good place to down a pint with some mates but as I was alone and had to drive I could only afford to
have one before departing. I took a photo of the outside before I left though, that'll teach 'em.
Last on the agenda today was the City of the Dead Haunted Graveyard Tour - reputed to be the scariest ghost tour in the world. The reason for this was that the final destination was the Covenanters Prison in Greyfriars Graveyard, home to the infamous MacKenzie ghost. Apparently he was responsible for more than 350 reported attacks since 1990. I must admit it was a lot freakier knowing a bit of the history of this ghost before entering the graveyard, and when we were locked inside the small, pitch black Mausoleum outside the main prison where most of the attacks were said to have taken place, I may have felt a tad scared shitless. And when the silence was interrupted by a dark figure that jumped out in front of everyone, I may have almost had a heart attack. Bastards! Nothing like fearing for your life to get the blood pumping though. After grabbing some grub I headed back to the room after a big day.
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