In an effort to see more of the British countryside, we boarded a Virgin Train and pumped some more money into successful English businessman Richard Branson’s pocket, enabling us to “arrive awesome” http://youtu.be/1Nak8cpFJsY
After an approximate 4 hour journey, we arrived in historic Edinburgh and were immediately struck by how undulating the topography is. We lugged our bags along the cobbled streets and up steep stairways to our hostel. Certainly not 5 star luxury but also better than many of the places we stayed while on Contiki.
After an approximate 4 hour journey, we arrived in historic Edinburgh and were immediately struck by how undulating the topography is. We lugged our bags along the cobbled streets and up steep stairways to our hostel. Certainly not 5 star luxury but also better than many of the places we stayed while on Contiki.
From there we strolled through the Princes Street Gardens
before heading up the hill to the Edinburgh Castle complex. There we joined a
tour with other tourists, including KFC’s own Colonel Sanders, to wander
through the castle complex’s historic grounds and sighting some of the multiple
buildings and museums. Within Edinburgh Castle complex is the oldest surviving
building in all of Edinburgh, the tiny St Margaret’s Chapel.
We ended the evening with dinner on The Royal Mile, where
Brendan was game enough to try chicken breast stuffed with haggis and surprised
to discover it just tasted like regular minced meat.
On Sunday morning, we boarded a Haggis Adventures bus for a
day tour, making our way into the Scottish Highlands and circumnavigating a
significant amount of the relatively small country. Through the countryside we
spotted many “hairy coos”, or Highland Cows. The huge lochs (Scottish for lake)
and rugged mountain ranges were an incredible sight, and a stark contrast to
the relatively flat London.
We reached the village of Fort Augustus, home to the famous
Loch Ness, just before our 2pm cruise in search of Nessie. The lake spans a
massive surface area of 56 km2 and maximum depth of around 230 m. Due to the
peat moss that runs off the mountain ranges into the lake, the water is
extremely dark and murky. The peat moss
also prevents the sun from penetrating very far into the water, making it
extremely cold year round. Despite the fact that nobody would willingly venture
into said body of water given the conditions, we were told by the guide on
board the boat that if you were underwater you would barely be able to see your
hand right in front of your face. He said if something (or someone) fell
overboard, it would be lost forever.
We returned to Edinburgh at nearly 9pm and were a little
thrown by the time, given that there was still a lot of daylight. On both
nights during our stay, we were baffled by the fact that it didn’t actually
become dark until nearly 11pm.
On Monday morning, we joined a Sandemans free walking tour of the Old
Town, viewing landmarks such as St Marys Cathedral (despite the sign outside,
this building is technically only a big church because of the specific
definition of a cathedral) and many of the sights that inspired JK Rowling’s
Harry Potter fantasies. Along the way we passed the Grassmarket, where
Edinburgh’s oldest pub The White Hart Inn (499 years old) is located, as well
as The Last Drop, where prisoners were historically given their last drink (or
“last drop”) before being hung.
We returned home on Monday afternoon, flying with easyJet
into Gatwick Airport.
Highlights:
- Steep terrain and cobbled streets
- Nights that don't get dark until 11pm
- Princes Street Gardens
- Edinburgh Castle complex
- St Margaret's Cathedral - oldest building in Edinburgh
- The Royal Mile
- Bus day trip to the Scottish Highlands
- Highland cattle - called hairy coo's by the locals
- Loch Ness cruise
- At the village of Pitlochry, Brendan's ice cream fell out of the cone but instead of just dropping to the pavement, he managed to fumble and juggle the ball of ice cream before it eventually landed on the footpath, but he picked it back up and still ate it
- Sandemans walking tour of Old Town
- St Mary's Cathedral, not technically a cathedral
- Grassmarkets, The Last Drop and The White Hart Inn - 499 years old
- Numerous sites of inspiration for Harry Potter
- Ate haggis, and shortbread
- Drank whiskey, and the Scottish soft drink Irn Bru
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