So, after too short a time in York, we were on another train to Edinburgh!
Our train trip from York to Edinburgh was stunning. The trainline followed up the east coast, sometime running along and coast line so we could see the cliffs, beaches and ocean.
We *loved* Edinburgh. What an amazing city! That castle was spectacular. Like the skytower of the city, you could see it from almost anywhere. So awesome.
We were reading the tour book, which was telling us that the English took over this castle at one point in history, and the Scots climbed up the cliffs and ambushed the English, taking back the castle. Neat.
But the castle itself is pretty awesome and really well maintained. Cobbled ways, cannons, statues and stone walls everywhere. It’s a small village up on a hill where all the soldiers and officials, as well as some royals, would’ve lived. Fantastic.
Loved the view form up here! We’re looking out to the east here where, toward the coast and where the fancy suburbs are. J.K. Rowling lives somewhere over there!
There was a beautiful tiny chapel up in the castle which is the oldest building in Edinburgh built in 1130. It could sit, perhaps, 12 people. These photos are of two of the stained glass windows in it. The red one is of William Wallace and the blue is of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Rob liked all the canons. Heh.
Edinburgh castle also holds the Scottish crown jewels. Since the Queen (or King) of England is also the Queen or King of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels get taken down to London for any coronation. You weren’t allowed to take photos of the actual crown jewels, but these recreations were out on display. There’s a crown, a septre and a broad sword.
Some of these buildings were pretty stunning in terms of their stonework. Loved it! The castle was really impressive and a highlight of the trip!
After being overwhelmed by castle sights, we wandered around the streets. Highland Dancing and windy walkways.
That evening, we tried our first haggis with dinner. It was well flavoured and delicious!
Because we were so far north, the sun wasn’t setting until 10.30pm. Bizarre but true. So, we did go out drinking that night and it was still light outside!
We went to a couple of bars but couldn’t resist the Oz Bar. Loved the signs – ‘Unfortunately, there’s no women’s curling inside…’ Hehe.
The bar was also great because it had maps of the different states in Australia and one of New Zealand where people would pin where they lived. Auckland was pretty choc full, so we put a pin on Rawhiti. Yay!
A fanstastic first day in Edinburgh! We’ve got one more day to post about next.