Edinburgh, Scotland

Today we head back into central England, stopping first in York. Means it's time to do my blog post on our visit to Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. I'll leave most of it to pictures - we had a wonderful stay (3-days, 4 nights). The public transport is brilliant - buses are £2.50pp for a day pass and a bus runs every 15-20 minutes right outside the campground.


Crossing the Firth of Forth into Edinburgh

We didn't intent to spend all 3 days in the old district (Royal Mile area) but that's kind of how it worked out. At its peak, Edinburgh had the highest population density in Europe.


City blick from Edinburgh Castle

We had a remarkable day at Edinburgh Castle - though were glad for the half price discount from our English Heritage membership (£15 for the family vs. £30). The weather held - clouds but nice, warm sunny breaks greated us and kept us dry and warm. We started out in the park below the castle, which has a small ampitheater and hiked around the hill and up to the castle (the thoroughfare via the park was closed). After touring, we descended via the "Royal Mile" - a fantastic walk though we didn't quite make it the whole mile.



Looking up at Edinburgh Castle, from the park below


Saint Margaret's Chapel - Oldest building at Edinburgh Castle, dating back to the 12th century


Viewing the canon range


Mons Meg - presented to King James II in 1457


Dan & girls - Edinburgh Castle

For those who are not opposed to the "big bang" theory, a visit to "Our Dynamic Earth" is a good rainy day alternative. The building is next to the Scottish Parliment, at the bottom of the Royal Mile. It's very cool to see the contrast of the historical old city, glimpses of Holyrood Palace, the contemporary Scottish Parliment building all sharing Holyrood Park as the back drop.



Side view of Scottish Parliment building


Scottish Parliment building from the front

Visitors to Dynamic Earth experience an interactive "trip through time" exploring how our earth was created - learning about volanos, earthquakes, glaciers, etc. Again, we were thrilled to have the Caravan Club 2:1 discount - £17 vs. £30 (they charge for kids 3+ which is a shame - the exhibit is better geared to kids 7+). Cool factors include the "glacier" (yes, a huge piece of ice in a cooled room), the "rainforest" (where it actually rains every12 minutes) and the interactivity at the end, helping show how no decision on energy use or conservation is easy. Granted they take each aspect to the extreme, still drives the point home that the decisions we make impact us in ways we don't necessarily anticipate.


Dynamic Earth building with Holyrood Park in the background


Dinosauer evolution?

Had it been a nicer day, we would have ventured to take the hike to Arthur's Seat - but it was quite windy with rain squalls. We slipped into the Museum of Edinburgh (free) for a bit and were surprised at the silver collection - we hadn't known Scotland was famous for silverwork until then. Lovely exhibit including a sample sitting room from days gone by.


View of Holyrood Park with Scottish Parliment on the right

On our way to York now.



Ciao!