The Historic Genius of Edinburgh

The next part of our journey took us to the beautiful country of Scotland. Upon landing in Edinburgh, I felt an overwhelming sense of coming home; of being home. I felt happy and safe to be there even when we somehow managed to get from exiting the airplane to walking right out of the airport without going through any type of security (Ashley and I kept looking around to see if immigration officers were running us down, but they never materialized). Before we exited the airport, I told an employee that we hadn't gone through any security checkpoints and wondered if we needed to go back just to be safe. With a wonderful Scottish burr, the gentleman we inquired said, "No need to worry bou' tha. Welcome to Scottland lads." What a wonderful welcome to a wonderful stay in Scotland. Our time there was nothing short of amazing.

View from Edinburgh Castle overlooking the town and the North Sea

HOW TO GET AROUND IN SCOTLAND

We continued our campaign for using public transit in Scotland and was once again transported all over the country with ease. Edinburgh primarily uses buses, and they are fairly easy to navigate. Once we arrived in the city proper, we hailed a cab and was once again welcomed by a warm Scottish accent: "Where ah tuh laddies." Using cabs in Edinburgh, just like in Dublin, can give you access to cool information that you probably wouldn't find in travel brochures. Our cabbie told us all of the things we needed to see and how to go about it without getting into large crowds of tourists. He also told us great places to eat where we would find locals hanging out and singing sea stories. It may not seem like a big deal, but if you can avoid overwhelming crowds and mingle with the locals, it can make your experience much more rewarding.


THE ROYAL MILE

After checking into our bed and breakfast (The Allison House ), we caught the bus back into the town center. You will see a small park in the town square dedicated to Sir Walter Scott. Walk over and check it out for some great information about the historical novelist. From there we headed for the Royal Mile. "Wow.. just, wow..," was my first comment as we made our way through beautiful stone skyscrapers dating back to the Medieval time period. The first statue we encountered was an homage to Adam Smith (considered the Father of free-market economics) who lived and worked in Edinburgh.

Statue of Adam Smith on the Royal Mile

Besides being at the epicenter of an explosion of genius during the eighteenth century, Edinburgh has a long history dating back to when the Romans tried to conquer her in the first century AD. The Royal Mile (named so due to Edinburgh Castle, the home of many royal families including James I, being the terminal) documents centuries of history as you make your way up to the castle. Just to give you a heads-up here, this is a steep climb. Somehow, you will find yourself always walking up a hill in Edinburgh!

EDINBURGH CASTLE
At the end of the Royal Mile, you will find yourself at Edinburgh Castle looking at a gateway that is flanked by statues of William the Bruce on the left and William Wallace on the right. There is a small fee to get access to the castle, DO IT! You will get to see the Crown Jewels of the Scottish Royal families, see the room James I was born in, imagine William the Bruce and William Wallace planning together, and the Gospel of Saint Margaret. You will also get an amazing view of Edinburgh backdropped by the North Sea from the top terrace. It is rumored that JK Rowling (The author of the Harry Potter Series) visited here when the temporary scaffolding bleachers were in use and that inspired the idea of Hogwarts and quidditch!

William the Bruce (left)  William Wallace (right) 

Edinburgh Castle

WHAT ABOUT MONEY?
Of course, you will need money to do anything. Scotland is on the English pound system. A quick tip here is to have "Scottish or Northern Ireland" pounds in Scotland. Each country that is a part of the UK has their own poundage. Sure, most, if not all, vendors will take English pounds, but retailers love to see Scottish pounds in Scotland. Also, if you take your Northern Ireland or Scottish pounds back into England, you will have a hard time buying anything. My recommendation is to always get money from an ATM upon arriving in a new country, and do not try to get it ahead of time unless you know what type of currency you need. Estimate how much money you will need for the time that you are there and refrain from getting too much money out. Now, back to the fun stuff!

PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE, HOLYROOD PARK,  AND ARTHUR'S SEAT

Holyroodhouse Palace 

Not too far from the Royal Mile is Holyrood Park. Here you will find the Scottish residence of Queen Elizabeth II, Holyroodhouse Palace. You can buy tours that will allow you access to Her Majesty's residence but book way in advance because she visits frequently. You will not get in to have tea and crumpets if she is there. The open park that is adjacent to the palace is magnificent. You can take a long hike up to Arthur's Seat or visit the Dynamic Earth Museum. There are places to grab a bite to eat close by and it is just a good respite from the city if you need to recharge.

Arthur's Seat (Courtesy  of  Walking the Highlands)

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCOTLAND

Dolly the Sheep 

James Watt's Steam Engine!!! 

You HAVE TO visit this museum while you are in Edinburgh. If I had it to do over again, I would have given myself a whole day to explore its many exhibits. The museum is laid out very well and is easy to navigate so that you can find the exhibits that you want to see. Upon our visit, we found our way to the steam engine by James Watt (another genius from Scotland), which was an original prototype. Each exhibit had detailed information and videos to watch. We then made our way over to the actual "Dolly the Sheep," which was the first animal to successfully be cloned. The main exhibits change from month to month, and the one on display when we were there in September of 2017, was "Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites." This was a great way to learn about the struggles (the Irish call it "The Troubles") over the battle for dominance between Catholic and Protestant rulers. The exhibit also displayed how Scotland used other nations to her advantage to keep English aggression at bay. The main exhibit costs a little money, but it is worth it. Hey, it's just money, you may not get the opportunity to go back again, and you are funding the maintenance of history. 

The National Museum of Scotland entrance 

THE ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS

Ashley at the Royal Gardens

If you are a plant freak like I am, then you will love the Royal Gardens. The Royal Botanical Gardens has every species of plant that you can imagine and it gives a history of how the British Empire wanted to collect plants from all over the world that would benefit their posterity. The grounds are immaculate with a cafe and terrace at its center. This is a great place to rest and take in a rare view of Edinburgh Castle that indeed reminds you of Hogwarts! You may have to take a bus to get there, and I suggest that you not take it back to town. Catch the next bus that dropped you off and it will take you the Leith Docks and the Firth of Forth. Once there you can walk the coastline and eat in the best spots Edinburgh has to offer.

The Firth of Forth in Leith 

The Leith Docks 

OUTSIDE OF EDINBURGH

If you have the time and money, there are many things to do and places to see outside of Edinburgh. Give yourself at least four to five days in Edinburgh because it is just an awesome city, with awesome people, and awesome sights to behold. Ashley and I went to a couple of places outside the capital city and we strongly recommend going if you want to see the countryside of Scotland. We hopped on board one of the fine trains that take passengers west and made our way toward the Highlands. What a beautiful train ride! We saw one lake (loch) after another and when we started to get into the Highlands, we were amazed. We trained all the way over to the Irish Sea and camped at the foot of Ben Nevis, which is the tallest mountain in the UK!

Scotland is an enchanted land filled with wonderful people that will help you. We learned so much upon our stay and we left a huge piece of our heart with the Scotts. I hope that you visit if you haven't already, and when you do, you'll understand Scottish charm.