Edinburgh

Beth and I had an excellent time over the Easter weekend in Edinburgh. It's easily an equal favourite city next to Paris. Amazing preservation of history, architecture and spirit. The bars and whiskey were brilliant, all the food we ate was well made and reasonable value and the people were friendly.

Our first stop on the way up was Bowness-on-Windermere:










Beatrix Potter wrote the Peter Rabbit series of books in Bowness. There's a local shop selling all sorts of goodies:



We had a top dinner at Maxie's Bistro. My first dish of Haggis. Not bad, a bit like casserole in flavour.



A view of Edinburgh from Carlton Hill:




This is Arthur's Seat:

















Edinburgh Castle:





(Cheeky bum stuck her tongue out)








Views from Edinburgh Castle:



(note Arthur's Seat on the right of frame)


Around the streets of Edinburgh:



The Royal Mile.









Having already paid homage to Gerry Rafferty by going here I of course had to have my photo taken on the Royal Mile:

"I remember the sound of the passing train
As it rolled through the night in the pouring rain
And the touch of a hand and the way she said 'Goodbye'.

And we walked in the sun down the royal mile
Saw the light in her eye and the way she smiled
And she cried in the night and I heard her say 'Don't go'.

What can I do, sweet darlin', I don't want to go away
Looking at you sweet darlin', I know I want to stay
What can I do, sweet darlin'?"









The Last Drop is a pub on the Grassmarket. It's the pub where those who were to be executed (right outside the pub mind you) could have, literally, their last drop:



And speaking of pubs, we visited just one or two ;)















Too many whiskies to try them all.



A visit to Stirling Castle, used in the films Highlander and Braveheart:















View of the William Wallace memorial:



Bethie being the paranormal investigator that she is, we just *had* to do some ghost tours! This shot was on the way to the Edinburgh Vaults, a system of vaults underneath South Bridge which was home to the destitute, unemployed, starving and dying around the 1600's. Dozens to hundreds of people would have to lived in pitch black or under hopeless candle light in these vaults, risking being murdered or simply dying of not having.



And our guide Ian:



Another ghost tour was of the Covenanters Prison in the Edinburgh graveyard. Our tour guide Rosie was entertaining with the lore of the prison and of MacKenzie's Poltergeist.







Stopping at the border between Scotland and England:





The church in Jedburgh. In ruins but one of few that were spared by Henry VIII.



Taken through the window of our mini-bus on our way home:



I certainly hope to get back to Edinburgh in my lifetime, a city well worth visiting again.