Edinburgh, Scotland

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April 23, 2012 - Edinburgh, Scotland!

Wow! What a fabulous day today has been. After a quick breakfast at Starbucks (literally next door to our hotel) we explored the shops of Royal Mile. Shops selling kilts, cashmere, tartans, scarves etc abound, and I guess the locals find it all a bit twee (like we do at home about those shops selling Australiana stuff) but we thought it was good fun and bought a few momentos to take home with us.

We then made our way up to Edinburgh Castle – it is about 5 minutes walk up the hill from our hotel. Everywhere in Edinburgh seems like it's “up the hill” LOL Jokes aside, Edinburgh is a very hilly place … We joked that Edinburgh locals must have thighs that can crack walnuts – the exercise you get just walking around is fantastic!

Edinburgh Castle is a must to see, if you're planning to come to Edinburgh. It has been perfectly maintained over the centuries, and once you pay the entry fee (which is less than it costs to get into Underwater World at Mooloolaba!) you have free rein to explore the castle. We climbed to the top and worked our way down – the view from the top is breathtaking. We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, and explored the apartments of Scottish Royalty from times gone by. We watched a cannon being fired at 1pm and spent some time gazing out at the Forth of Firth, and over to Arthur's Seat. We're so glad we spent some time there – it was so beautiful.

Afterwards, we joined a Historic Tour of Edinburgh's Underground. The Underground is actually a bridge, constructed of 19 archways which were built up around and over, over time. Legitimate businesses originally were run in the dark rooms (jewellers, bootmakers etc), but ongoing damp and ventilation issues saw those businesses moving out, and more illegitimate businesses moved in – which earned the Underground chambers a fairly dark history. The Underground Chambers are said to be the site where the Bodysnatchers (or Resurrectionists) kept their victims so ghost stories abound! It was well worth the visit.

Next we took a Whiskey Appreciation Tour with The Whiskey Experience near the Castle. We learned about how whiskey is made, how to tell what a whiskey will taste like by it's colour, aroma and depth, and where it was made. We tried whiskeys from a few different areas of Scotland, and it's amazing to be able actually taste the difference between whiskeys – when you know what you're looking for! We were also privileged to see the largest collection of scotch whiskey in the world – there are rooms and rooms of bottles, and no two bottles are the same. Talk about impressive! We thoroughly enjoyed this tour, and came away with a goodie-bag of things to bring home with us.

We wandered back down the hill, browsing the shops and stalls which line the Royal Mile, and after a bite of dinner and a shower, we were back out to do the Ghost Tour of the Underground. The Ghost Tour took us to sites around the Royal Mile and down some of the Closes where evil deeds took place, and it amazed us how brutal life was in early Edinburgh. Torture, hangings, murders – it all happened here. Makes for good stories, and our guide was very theatrical. Whilst we didn't buy into the “scare” factor, the stories were great and our guide was very entertaining! The tour then took us back to the Underground, where we heard more stories about some of the characters who inhabited the chambers. The tour finished off with a glass of wine in a tavern and some more stories. Good fun!!

After a big day (and lots of exercise!) we collapsed … tomorrow we are heading for St Andrews! Cambo Estate, here we come!

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Comments

[Jules]

See if you can visit Holyrood Castle too
It was fantastic. Looking fwd to hearing about St. Andrews!