By: MJ + PJ
A ferry took us across the Irish Sea from Belfast, where we connected with a regional bus in Cairnryan. This took us through Glasgow and on towards Edinburgh, where we had an Airbnb booked for a week. The ferry ride was smooth and luxurious… and there were not many other passengers. MJ appreciated these variables but by the end of this transit day he started to feel rotten (this lasting for the week).
Being even further north yet again, we expected to experience another level of cold. At times we were, but we had a day or two of sun – not enough to call it warm, but enough to brighten the city up and improve the photos we took. The Northern Lights potential of the area caught our attention, but there was not enough solar activity or cloudless nights to see them. There is an app for that, by the way!
There are a lot of things we did in Edinburgh. Take a look at our Bucket List Month Eight and PHOTOS: Scotland posts. We did not set foot outside the city, and were disappointed that we did not get to see Glasgow or the northern regions, but we surely filled our time in the city. We could have spent an extra fortnight in Scotland easily.
The city has a rich and colorful history, as seen and felt around the Royal Mile, and at Edinburgh Castle. It is certainly a city of thinkers and writers, and was ahead of it’s time in it’s heyday.
In the interests of brevity and for a change of style, here are some quotes about experencing Edinburgh from the lass and lads:
PJ’s Quotes:
“I got to celebrate my birthday in Scotland!”
“I enjoyed the World of Illusions. It was a surprising place and was highly entertaining. The mirror maze was a blast, and it was so funny when that other visitor ran face first into the mirror thinking it was the exit. And, I got it all on video.”
“Being a Harry Potter fan, I enjoyed going to where J.K. Rowling worked on writing the Harry Potter books. It’s neat that she lived here, and that she would stay and write a book here.”
“It was interesting to learn one of the origins for the term ‘$***faced’ came from the closes of Edinburgh.”
“I liked seeing the graffiti from the POWs, especially the ones from the Americas in 1776. Since Americans were considered pirates, they only received 1 pound of bread daily when the other prisoners received a lot more!”
AJ’s Quotes:
“Bobby was the dog who sat by his owner’s grave for a long time… But he died and people kept seeing him. They replaced him with a different coloured dog! They said his coat changed in winter.”
“In the World of Illusions, I liked the tunnel that was spinning… It made you think you were going to fall off! The mirror maze was hilarious – you’d bonk into a mirror. You’d run towards someone and hit your head!”
“We passed the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote some of the books. We saw Tom Riddle’s grave. There were murders and people stealing bodies back then and it was dangerous.”
At the National Museum of Scotland: “It was cool how they had the bionic arms and they trained the bionic arms to move stuff!”
MJ’s Quotes:
“We’ve been here like 10 minutes – I’ve already seen a guy walk past in a kilt, and now here is some other guy playing bagpipes on the street corner.”
“I could live here… in a coffee shop… writing about something. Who knows what, but it seems like the place to do so given history of poets and thinkers.”
“Dolly? If only there were more that looked like that. Ha, ha, ha, ha!”
At Greyfriars Graveyard regarding exposed bones from mass graves due to erosion: “You can tell it is bone because it is kind of white, with a slightly rough surface. Probably small, like a rib or a knuckle, but please don’t pick one up.”
While visiting The Scotch Whisky Experience: “We could have financed our trip selling two of these bottles.”
“The only train station (Waverley) named after a piece of literature… that’s cool… and nerdy.”
“No, really, we have to go. The sun is setting and I can’t feel my hands. You’ve played long enough that I am frozen. These kids are crazy – they’re not even wearing gloves.”
As you can see – it’s a pretty interesting place, and one which would be nice to see in the summer months, along with the amazing scenic areas that lie to the north. Unless we get to northern Scandinavia, this may be the most north that we get on this adventure.
Our exit from Edinburgh towards London was via high speed regional train. This train blasted out of Edinburgh, then curved along the coast and through The Northumberland Coast. This part of the country was truly magical to gaze upon as we passed through towards familiar territory. Rolling hills and undulating cliffs and coves drifted in and out of fog banks and radiant sunshine.
*See what we did there… 😉
