We were headed north, along the East coast. I was amazed that the tracks were almost right by the sea for part of the way. Again, I apologize for the poor picture quality. We reached Edinburgh at around 12.30 pm, and our first order of business, having had no breakfast, was lunch. We ate at The World's End, a pub right next to our hostel.
Our hostel was called Brodie's Backpackers Hostel after Deacon Brodie, who apparently led a double life- Deacon by day and burglar by night. Supposedly Robert Louis Stephenson based Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on him. We then checked into our hostel, which was really spectacular for the low price we were paying. The 5 of us were sharing a room with 11 other people, and there were 8 bunk beds set up in the room for this purpose. After checking in, my friend and I went to see the Edinburgh Castle, while the other 3 went on a walking tour. The hostel is very centrally located on the Royal Mile, which is just a mile long road with many attractions and even more shops.
It was cold and rainy, and while the views from the castle were fantastic, they couldn't quite be captured by my camera.
Top and below are outside the castle. Right above is view from the top.
After the castle, we walked down the Royal Mile looking for souvenirs, wasting time until we were supposed to meet the other 3 at The Elephant House.
The Elephant House is where JK Rowling began writing Harry Potter. It was completely packed during the time we were there, but I can understand the appeal of the place when it is quiet. There are elephants everywhere, and that's where it gets its name. Elephant statues, painting, pictures, tiny models and the like. We waited there for them for about 30 minutes, and headed out to go back to the hostel. Our feet and jeans were wet and we were exhausted from the day. The next day, which is today, we were up by 7.30 and checked out because we planned on taking the 2 pm train back to London and still had things to accomplish. It was the most trying day. It involved tremendous amounts of physical work and patience. First, we climbed up Calton Hill to see some of the monuments to War veterans and also get views of the city.
Top left is the view of Edinburgh Castle from Calton Hill. Middle two are random views. Bottom is what we went to next. We climbed up the side of the mountain in front and then to the peak of the mountain at the back all to see Arthur's Seat. There is a tiny monument at the top of the taller monument and it is called Arthur's seat after the legendary King Arthur.
It was the most challenging thing I have ever done. The path was very rocky and incredibly steep at places. I had my backpack with me and although it only had clothes and a book or two, it managed to weigh a lot more during the climb. I'm still trying to figure out if the views from the top were worth the effort that went into getting there.
The top two pictures are relatively early during the climb. The bottom two are from the very tippy top. That's my friend Miranda contemplating the climb up the next mountain. An equally challenging climb down later (because it was starting to rain and the ground was slippery), we were back on level ground, incredibly sore and hungry. We ate at an Italian cafe, souvenir-shopped and then ran to catch the 1.30 train back to King's Cross. When we finally got back to campus, we took overdue showers, glad to be done for the day. So here's something to end the Scotland journal with. He was just playing on the street.
Post some pictures of yours too as you click and post pictures of these places! I am sure you have clicked some with you in them.
ReplyDeleteThe video of the mountain climb and the path up was scary, especially for acrophobics like me. The climb itself would be fun!