Blogs from Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 5

After landing at 6:30 am and before settling into our apartment in Edinburgh, we strike out on the “hop on, hop off” bus for an overview of the city. There are 3 routes available and it’s best to buy a pass that also includes entrance fees to the Royal Yacht Brittania, Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Castle. Edinburgh is a city of appx 500,000 people and there has been a number of festivals in August including the “fringe festival” which is one of the largest gatherings (primarily performing arts, especially comedy) in Europe. So it is estimate another 1/2 million people converge on the city. Needless to say, parts of Edinburgh was “jammed” with people. Walking around made touring Times Square in New York seem like a walk in the country. There are over 5,000 performances spread ... read more

Wie ihr wahrscheinlich mitbekommen habt, gab es gestern keinen Blog. Nach einer kurzen Nacht auf der Fähre, der Fahrt nach Edinburgh und dem Proclaimers Konzert im Edinburgh Castle war ich einfach zu müde. Auf der Fahrt gestern nach Edinburgh sind wir an der Tay Bridge vorbei gekommen. Wahrscheinlich kennt ihr folgendes Gedicht: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Brück’_am_Tay Genau diese Brücke habe ich gesehen. Man sieht sogar noch die alten Brückenpfeilerstümpfe der eingestürzten Brücke. Die Schotten waren ganz verwundert, dass wir vom Einsturz wussten und wir erzählten ihnen vom Gedicht. Heute haben wir Melrose Abbey und Rosslyn Chapel besucht. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melrose_Abbey Melrose ist eine Ruine und der Ort der letzten Ruhestätte des Herzens von Robert the Bruce. Es gab einen wunderbaren gratis Audio Guide, der uns über zwei Stunden in Bann gehalten h... read more

The sun has come out to grace our tour today. First stop Blair castle, a 700 year old Victorian style mansion redesigned in the 1700s into a castle. This is the ancestral home of the Duke of Atholl (or Athole) of the Highlands, a title granted to the first Duke in the 1703 by Queen Ann. The Duke must be from the Murray line and must be directly related in ancestry. When the last Duke died, there were no heirs. So the search began for a replacement. They found a distant cousin now living in South Africa. Bruce Murray was thus named the 12th duke of Atholl A heritage fund was set up in 1936 to manage the castle and it was opened to the public. The site is 11,400 acres and not only includes the ... read more

Note on a question about marrying in a blacksmith shop from yesterday: It was the law in Scotland that anyone could marry you if you stated you wanted to marry. Actually, you could even be “handfasted” by just reciting vows stating your intention. That was not the case in England. Thus the dash to the border by those who, for whatever reason such as parental disagreement, “ran for the border” to get married. The Blacksmith Shop was the first building on the border. Those to get married shared their vows from opposite sides of that anvil if the blacksmith shop was where you exchanged your vows. Another little tidbit we got was the fact that depending on where you said your vows, either outside or in a room in the house...THAT was the place you had ... read more

Edinburgh, a home town A to Z. After great visits to London and Glasgow it was time to try and do the city I have lived in for 30 years justice. This was to be a run round favourite places and well-known landmarks on a fine September day. Post festival, the city’s heatbeat has dropped and it’s muscles have relaxed. A special time of space for residents – so let’s go and enjoy it! After a low key announcement via the club email, Neil Thomas decided to join me and we met in the Swanson Walkers car park ready to climb to the start of the run. Allermuir, as you may well know, is a special place for me and it seemed appropriate to start the run from the summit. I see Allermuir from my bedroom ... read more