Castles and crowds

Saturday 4th August

Seems like we've done well with our hotel pick. We are about half way between Stirling and Edinburgh, perfectly placed to visit both. Today was Edinburgh - a 5 minute drive to the station, 30 minutes on the train and we found ourselves in the centre of town. Must add that the Scottish trains are so quiet and smooth - a very pleasant trip.

We didn't realise when we got to booking the Edinburgh section of the trip that it was Military Tattoo time, and fringe festival time. There were literally thousands of people in the streets - walking anywhere was like playing dodgem cars. So many different nationalities and languages.

Sir Walter Scott monument.

This was around 10 in the morning in the street blocked off for the fringe festival
- by 5pm you could not see the ground for people.
There were so many shows advertised and quite a few we would have enjoyed
had we planned it better.

This is the forecourt of Edinburgh Castle with the stands set up for the tattoo.
They erect this and take it down every year.

Late afternoon - near the castle.

Wellies to match your kilt.

We planned to visit Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse and that was about all we could fit in. These 2 attractions are at opposite ends of the city and we used the hop on, hop off bus to get around. I enjoyed our time on the buses here as they had live guides so again we didn't just get the dry facts and history, but also got some of the amusing tales.

Edinburgh Castle - it looks pretty impreseive perched on the hill,
but what we saw inside did not really impress.
One room I might have enjoyed showing the family tree of Mary Queen of Scots
was being refurbished and all the paintings were covered. 

The one o'clock gun - and yes, they fired it at 1pm

Some of the armour and weapons in the great hall.

Palace of Holyroodhouse - this is the Queen's residence in Edinburgh.
We were able to do a tour through some of the rooms in the palace
and particularly noted the room where she knighted Sir Sean Connery.
And for Outlander fans, some of the scenes were set here. 
No photos allowed inside. 

The remains of the Abbey attached to the palace.

Squirrel in the gardens. Rob said he could imagine the royal children
playing in the gardens.

This is the Queen's local church when in Edinburgh. 

There were at least 4 Harry Potter shops in Edinburgh.
J.K.Rowling lives in Edinburgh and some of the locations in the city
feature in her books. The George Heriot school for example
is the inspiration for Hogwarts.

It was a tiring day and we did a quick stop at Aldi on the way home for microwave dinners.