While I was away for my birthday, I managed to make a trip to Edinburgh, the first time I've ever been although it has been on my list for a few years now.
I managed to get some train tickets and because I booked them in advance in only cost £30 for the two of us to get there from Berwick-Upon-Tweed, where we were staying in Northumberland.
(There was a massive icicle at the train station in Berwick)
(The train was massive, and so is Edinburgh Waverley Station)
The train ride up to Edinburgh was great, it was fairly empty in our quiet carriage too, it ran all the way up the coast, some lovely scenery and it was an express too so other than where we got on, it didn't stop any where else only Edinburgh, it was great.
There's a lovely park just opposite the main entrance to the train station, I have to admit, I do love the architecture around Edinburgh, bot in the old town and the new town.
I didn't take my camera to Edinburgh as I just wanted to enjoy myself and not get too into taking photos as I took my girlfriend and she wanted to see the city too lol, so I thought I'd just use my phone for any pictures.
We had a little walk around the new town then decided to walk over to the old town and go up to Edinburgh castle, I had booked some tickets but we couldn't get in there until 12pm, another good thing about booking online is that with being English Heritage members, we got in for free as well, which I was pretty impressed with, another impressive thing about the castle is that it's built on an extinct volcano, so it's the first volcano I've ever been on before.
I love how theres steps all over that cut through buildings etc, it really is like walking back in time, it also cuts out the long way around the roads so helps when walking around the city.
(Royal Mile)
There are some absolutely fantastic views of the city from the castle in all directions.
Looking from the walls of the castle down Royal Mile with Arthurs Seat in the background, I need to get up there one day.
How much? That's the most expensive bottle of Whiskey I've ever seen.
I really enjoyed it around the castle, but it's more like a village when you get inside, it's not just one building, I am so glad we went when we did, we got to see the 1 o'clock cannon, and thankfully it wasn't too busy and thankfully the it wasn't too cold, although it did reach -4 degrees the same night,
I forgot my gimbal, I took it out of the bag to check something and then I forgot to put it back in, I was planning on doing a few panoramic shots etc but I am already planning on a trip back to Edinburgh as there is so much more to see.
After a trip around the castle, we were hungry, so when in Scotland, you need to try the Haggis, I was looking online for recommendations and found a Haggis & Whiskey bar called Arcade, one of the reasons why we chose that one was that it wasn't too far to walk and that it had great reviews.
(Looking down Royal Mile from the castle)
(Dinner Time)
We walked into Arcade, it's only a smallish place, and had a few people in already, thankfully there was a table free, so we sat in the corner, it's got a lovely atmosphere and if memory serves me right over 100 different types of Whiskey, I didn't have any whiskey and wanted a warm drink just to thaw myself out as the temperature had dropped a little bit.
This was absolutely divine, it was the Robert Burns Famous Haggis, which was
layers of mashed potato (tatties), turnip (neeps) and Haggis, with a whiskey sauce, although the whiskey flavour wasn't strong, it was lush.
There was also more on the plate than it actually looks and was quite filling.
After dinner we had a little wonder around, found a massive shopping centre, then we went back the train station to wait for our train.
There is so much more I want to see, for example, Greyfriars Bobby statue, as well as the graveyard with the names of people that JK Rowling put into the Harry Potter books, I think Edinburgh is one of my favourite capital cities, so much friendlier than London, which I tend to avoid going to.
I will be doing another post on the Edinburgh Castle bit soon, but for now I really hope that you have enjoyed reading about my Scottish adventures.
Thanks for reading..
All the best :-)