Edinburgh

We did a three day weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland this past weekend. We left on the train early Friday AM. It was about 5 hours on the train through some beautiful English countryside. We arrived in Edinburgh a little after noon on Friday and walked to our hostel to check in.

Our first Scottish bank note and our hostel keys.

It was a little rainy and very windy, but we probably should have expected that when going sightseeing in Scotland in February. The Edinburgh castle was right outside the door of our hostel, so we made our way there first. A statue of William Wallace greeted us at one of the outside gates to the castle. We took a guided tour of part of the castle and then wandered around it and saw the crown jewels and a lot of old weapons.

Kelly being blown away right outside of the hostel. Castle in the distance

Sir William Wallace himself

View out the canon portal at the castle

It rained hard on and off all afternoon, but it made for great sky views.

A quick storm at the castle

Saturday we went on a bus tour of the highlands and Loch Ness. It was about 400 miles total, a 12 hour trip. It was really interesting to see so much more of Scotland then just Edinburgh though. We didn't see Nessie, but we did see the ruins of Ulquhart castle on the banks of Loch Ness.

Ulquhart castle ruins and Loch Ness in the background

Sunday we got up and went hiking. There is a peak over Edinburgh called Arthur's Seat that is about 250m up. It was not such a long hike, but pretty much straight up. The views at the top were well worth the effort but the wind was so strong we were hanging onto the rocks at the top so as not to be blown off of the peak. But at least it was sunny!

Arthur's seat from ground level

Kelly at the top of Arthur's seat (hanging on tight!)

amazing view from Arthur's seat

We went to church later in the morning at St. Giles cathedral. This is where John Knox, the reformer, preached his sermons during the reformation.

St. Giles cathedral

We had lunch at a pub and finally had our traditional haggis, tatties (mashed potatoes), and neeps (turnips). Kelly even had vegetarian haggis. We got a couple of souvenirs and headed back to the bus station for our long ride home.

haggis, neeps, and tatties (clockwise from left)