Great Scot

I took a morning train to Edinburgh today for a long weekend. I had a moment of panic when I arrived at the station and asked the ticket guy about the platform for the 8.15 to Edinburgh. Deadly seriously, he told me there was no 8.15 to Edinburgh . I asked when the next one was. He said “8.14”. Anyway I found the platform and the correct train. Booking at the last minute means that the exorbitantly priced tickets are about the same in standard and first class, so I booked the nice one and enjoyed the wifi and the breakfast. My nose was pressed to the window for most of the trip - very picturesque, with rolling green countryside and oceanfront farms. We stopped briefly in Newcastle but the photo op with the station sign was spoilt by a train going in the other direction. 

I had grand plans to stay in a fancy hotel, but Edinburgh seems to be the destination of choice this weekend and everything was booked out, leaving me to slum it at the Mercure near the train station (albeit with a great view)

This is a gorgeous city with winding streets and picturesque buildings in the Old town, and wide avenues with Georgian edifices in the New town (although not so New anymore since it was built in the 17 hundreds). The highlight of the first day was a fascinating tour “underground” through the original houses and streets from the 17th century. The area was partially demolished and buried when they built the Royal exchange on top of it. Sadly no photos allowed, but I have plenty from the rest of my wanderings on the Royal mile. As you can imagine, it’s bagpipe busking central, creating a constant awareness that it’s Scotland, not England. Other than that, it feels very similar to Northern England although it’s a lot colder, and there are more masks, and less smokers.

There is nothing Royal on the street itself (it’s largely tourist shops) and it’s more than a mile (1.1 miles), but down all the tiny streets surrounding it are treasures- very old architecture, tiny pubs, tea shops  and gardens. I stopped for a scone with strawberries and a pot of tea.

It was 4 degrees and a bit too cold to wander about so I opted for an early night and watched the nightlife from my balcony . I had great plans to try haggis so I could call this post “Scotland the Brave” but just couldn’t bring myself to do it.