Day 28 – Saturday 18 June 2016
A lazy 8.30am start for a guided tour around the streets of Edinburgh with a local guide wearing his kilt & surprisingly, a good sense of humour. He was very knowledgeable & pointed out all sorts of points of interest. There are some that state that Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, we beg to differ. The long lines of dark sooty looking (because with age the stone turns dark colour & cannot be cleaned) building that look remarkably similar, crowded together & jostling for space look depressing, they are apparently UNESCO heritage listed. I can only imagine how miserable it is on a cold, wet & windy overcast day. The number of notable people from Edinburgh in the field as literature such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Robbie Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson & Walter Scott is impressive, then there are others, such as Alexander Graham Bell. The new Scottish Parliament House is something else again, even the Scots call it the ugliest building ever.
Our next visit is to Edinburgh Castle on top of a large rock (an extinct volcano) towering over the city. The castle looks impregnable from a distance, up close the entrance is marred by all of the seating being erected for the next Military Tattoo being held in August, with seating for 8,600 people it is not as large as it looks on TV. The views from the ramparts of the castle over the city are magnificent, looking out over the Firth of Forth as well & the distant shores. The building & the stonework in the castle & grounds is impressive & is all in good condition. The oldest building inside the castle, St Margaret, Queen of Scotland’s Chapel was built around 1130 & is a tiny little chapel with a rounded ceiling inside, built on the highest point of the castle ground. The Chapel is still used for marriages, it costs 1,000 pounds to hire, but there is only room for 20 to sit. The castle is also equipped with a brace of very old naval canons pointed out over the city. Also on display is a very large & old (built 1442) siege cannon, capable of firing 350 pound stone cannon balls up to 2 miles. It was used as a siege cannon to blast walls down with sheer power. This cannon was a wedding gift for King James II (there has been umpteen number of kings in the history of the castle). We lined up to see the display of the Scottish Crown Jewels consisting of a sword, sceptre, belt, a necklace & crown (these jewels were hidden from the attacking English in a big chest, sealed in a room & forgotten. A 100 years later Robbie Burns asked the king if he could search the castle & finally the jewels were found, as well there is this unremarkable sandstone block known as the “Stone of Destiny”. The stone was used for enthroning Scottish monarchs, then when captured by the English in 1296 was kept under the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey for 700 years before being given back to the Scottish people in 1996. When the next coronation will happen in England they will borrow it but only for a few days. We also walked through some refurbished apartment rooms. There is this tiny room where King James the 1st was born to Queen Mary. (I wonder why the small room when there are so many big rooms in the castle).
The Royal Yacht Britannia when it was de-commissioned in 1997 was moored permanently at Edinburgh Harbour & opened to the public. Our visit to see the ship starts in a very large 3 storey shopping centre that was built specifically with the Britannia as an integral part of the centre. The entry to the ship is on the 3rd floor of the shopping centre & we are given audio guides for our self-guided walk around the ship. We get to see all of the rooms, including the Queen’s bedroom & private lounge, plus items of significance showed prominently around the ship. It is all very well done & it is all in very good condition. The engine room is immaculate & clean, with lots of shiny copper, brass plus white & black painted components trimmed with shiny chrome, very impressive.
The ship was manned by 280 sailors & when the Queen came aboard she bought about 40 of her servants with her. Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Princess Ann & Prince Andrew all honey-mooned on the ship. Many dignitaries were also guests on her Majesty’s ship. To set the dining room table took 3 hours.
After we are dropped back at our hotel we have a quick snack then head off for a walk in the sunshine on the streets of Edinburgh. We walk up past the statue of Sherlock Holmes, then cross the road & pass the Conan Doyle Hotel. We do a bit of window shopping, have a look inside a large department store, admiring some of their furniture, before turning back, passing a pair of large giraffe sculptures outside an arts centre. There are lots of locals out enjoying the sunshine (yes the sun is actually shining), sitting outside at cafes & bars, or walking with family. A lot of the locals are in summer clothing, it is only 14C. We are enjoying the sun by walking on the sunny side of the street, it is really cold on the shady side.
After a short rest at our hotel we then head off for dinner at the Royal Over-Seas League in a private room on the 2nd floor. The view from the large picture window looks straight out onto Edinburgh Castle, with the setting sun lighting up the cliff & ramparts, it looks great. We have a nice meal & chat again with our fellow travellers, then after dinner we are led up onto the rooftop for a great view from the very top of the building where a viewing platform has been built. As we wander back to our coach we pass Rose Street, apparently lots of bucks & hen’s parties frequent the hotels along this street & we spot a group of ladies with pink sashes, out to celebrate a hen’s night.
We had another full on, but a good day.
Trekkin 