Scotland I

We sadly packed up our things and had to head away from the wonderful flat we had been in and the fun we have had in York and head to the train station. We were early so grabbed some breakfast in the cafe.

We made our way over to the train platform and the train pulled up. We were to be in two separate train cars and so we each moved over. The train was just making a quick stop. I was getting settled into my seat when Becky came running up and said we were on the wrong train, and we had only 2 minutes to get to the correct train. Problem was we had all our stuff, and the other train was up stair, over a platform, and down a set of stairs. We took off flying. Becky of course was much slower due to her bad ankle. Only by the grace of God did we make it on to the train. The doors closed as soon as we had boarded and then the train pulled out. We still cannot believe we made it. It was only a train employee who took a look at Becky’s ticket who pointed it out and thank goodness they did.

The train ride to Edinburgh was gorgeous. Sheep, fields, streams and eventually the North Sea came into sight. Our train ran up the east coast of the country and it was a wonderful 2.5-hour train trip. We arrived mid-afternoon and walked over to our rental. It is in an old brewery building and again was very, very nice. Two bedrooms and two baths and right off the Royal Mile. Becky was dealing with sinus issues all day and when we got to the flat all she wanted to do was sit. I on the other hand decided to go for a walk.

There is the main road through Edinburgh called the Royal Mile. It is not exactly a mile but is the main street that goes from one end, where the Edinburgh castle is built high above the city on top of an extinct volcano, and at the other end of the mile is the Holyrood Palace which is the current royal residence in Scotland. In between both of these is a street lined with many, many buildings from hundreds of years, each building from a different time period. There was even a wonderful Scotsman playing the bagpipes. It was a nice walk with some amazing views as the sunset. I then picked up some food and we ate in and watched more “Wolf Hall”.

Our first full day in Scotland was gorgeous. It was a bit cold, but not icy. We got our morning hot drinks and together we went up the Royal Mile. We did some browsing in sweater and scarf shops. We eventually made it to St. Giles church and decided to go in and check it out. Just as we walked in and was going to ask what it would cost to come in, a woman volunteer pulled us into a 1-hour tour she was starting and said it was free. We joined. Turns out this church building has a ton of Scottish history surrounding it. It was the central point of the protestant reformation and is the church that John Knox ministered at. The building has held the Scottish Parliament, been a prison, and has seen executions just outside its doors. It has had all of its religious icons removed and now slowly many have been restored. It also had a special chapel added to it in 1911 to house the Order of the Thistle, that seems to date back to the 1600’s. It was a great tour and added so much Scottish history to our knowledge base.

We then walked to the castle and then worked our way back down the mile to the Palace. Along the way we stopped to have some BBQ pork, and it was not bad at all. The other significant place by the Holyrood Palace is the Holyrood Park that has at the top of its mountain King Arthurs seat. It is the site of an ancient volcano and currently has nothing built on it. Through the ages there are many stories of building and how it was used as defense in battles. Now it just provides glorious views of the Edinburgh landscape all the way out to the North Sea Bay. Becky was not able to climb all the way to the top, again due to her ankle, but she was able to make very high up and enjoy many views. I was able to get to the top. Just by chance I looked way down from the top along a path and thought I saw this little green jacketed spot and so I called her. Amazingly it was her and we each got a picture of the other again.

We each made our way back to the flat and were resting up from our day’s adventures when Becky showed me a video Abigail sent her of a scene from the play “The Importance of Being Ernest”. The show was done by the National Theatre company, and one performance was filmed late in 2024 and is now a National Theatre Live show. Turned out there was a showing that night in Edinburgh. We went. We should not have walked to the theatre as we were guided up a very high hill called Calton Hill. The film was so much fun, and we are so glad we did it last second. By the time we got back to the flat our step count was each over 20,000 steps for the day. We very much packed it in for the day.