Blogs from Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 134

With the arrival in the UK of “Crazy A”, Sal’s mum Ann, the new trio of “the A”, Sal and Mick decided that it was an apt time to visit and explore Scotland, where Sal’s dad Ian was born and raised. We woke on the morning of July the 7th to some horrible news: London had been the target of four coordinated terrorist bombings. As the day unfolded, the full extent of the horror that had taken place became apparent to us. However, being the intrepid travellers that we are, we decided that not even terrorists nor anarchists/anti-globalists/people who don’t wash very often (the Gleneagles summit was on in Scotland at the same moment) would prevent us from experiencing the world. We headed up the M1 and crossed the border at the famous Gretna Green, synonymous ... read more

Today Edinburgh saw the Make Poverty History march that has been organised to draw attention to the leaders of the worlds weathiest nations that poverty around the world and particularly in Africa is something that the majority find unacceptable. The so-called Group of 8 (G8 for short) are meeting near Edinburgh over the next few days and so a number of events have been organised to co-incide. Over the years the G8 summits have drawn large crowds of protesters and sometimes rioting has taken place. These guys just seem to attract trouble wherever they go! Who knows why. Anyways - we thought we'd go along to the MPH march since that's something we both definitely support. There was a crowd of around 200,000 people on the march which took some hours to complete due to the ... read more

"Why on earth are you going to do a marathon in Edinburgh? It is cold and wet there and you hate the cold and wet." This was the common reaction Andrew got time and time again when he told people of his latest fitness plans. As we pulled the curtains aside in our third floor room in the Ardenlee Guest House on the morning of the Edinburgh marathon we were greeted by some nasty looking grey clouds and perpetual drizzle. As we made our way out the front door to await our taxi we were hit by the wind and biting cold. Hmmmm, you would have to decide to come to Scotland to run a marathon wouldn't you! We arrived in Holyrood Park at about 8.30am (a very civilised time to start a race I must ... read more

Hello all I have had a busy couple of days but very enjoyable. On the first day in Bude I hopped on the bus to Boscastle and hiked to Tintangle castle and the scenery was absolutley breathtaking. The path cuts along the coast, which consists of many large hills. It was a beautiful day and a easy hike, only taking 3 hours to compete, but with much of that time taken up just staring at the numerous waterfalls and the coast. It was very relaxing to do the hike becasue the entire time you hear the surf crashing against the rocks on the coast below. Walking along this path I really felt the age of the land. Seening cathedrals that have existed for a thousand year is impressive, but it pales in comparison when you consider ... read more

Heres photos from my trip to Scotland.... read more