Edinburgh Day 4

 May 30th. Woke to blue sky and a fine day.

After drawing a thick black line on the Visit Scotland paper map (I don’t like Mrs Google Maps much) we set off up Princes Street for Waverley Station and managed not to get lost. 

Here I had yet another strange encounter, this time with a lady from an Eastern European country.   I was lined up to order a pot of tea in Costa when I felt pressure on my arm from behind.  I leaned  back to dissuade this invasion of my personal space but twice that proved ineffectual.  So I turned around and asked her, “are you with this gentleman” indicating the man in front.  “I was but I’m not” she told me so I motioned her forward.  She refused.  “No you go ahead,” she said. “I respect you.  You are older than me”.  Huh!  If so why was she in such close contact?   A flashback to many years ago when squashed in the Tokyo Subway!!  Skinship, a friend told me at that time.  

Then out and across NorthBridge where we found this pretty arcade.

Did you know that Princess Diana had her own tartan?  This pale tartan was apparently designed for her.

We walked up North Bridge to The Royal Mile and turned toward Holyrood House. 

Buses, cars and hundreds of tourists seemed to jostle reasonably amicably on this busy road.  Cobblestones, flagstones, some parts paved and dangerous little low steps as curbs made watching one’s feet as important as viewing the magnificent buildings on both sides.

Part way along we gatecrashed a tour guide explaining the architecture of John Knox’s house.   I was rather taken with the carving above the window of The Golden Rule.

We continued walking along intrigued by the little entrances off to each side.   Called Closes they were entrances to areas of apartments, others shops and cafes and some merely provided scenic views ie photo spots

All were narrow and named individually.

Today I found plenty of red telephone boxes, one was indeed still housing a telephone and another was a book swap/library but it was locked.   Some were painted blue and were used as Coffee Kiosks.

After finding Scottish Widows near our apartment , today I found Scottish Veterans!   This accommodation looked inviting, well kept and in an interesting part of the city, but I don’t fit this category either.   

At Holyrood House we climbed up the hill and under a railway bridge to Montrose Terrace where lo and behold there was one of Little Sister’s favourite shops.  This one, Ginger Twist, had plenty of temptations so she needed a bag to hold them.

Back down the hill without getting lost we began the great Royal Mile exploration.   Note, the Royal Mile is actually a Scottish Mile and is 1.8 of the normal English ones.   As I write this my feet are saying “Amen sister!”

Both of us decided we didn’t care much for the Scottish Parliament buildings.   Construction began in 1999 and it was opened in 2004 by the late Queen.  What with cost overruns, completion delays, ultra modern architecture, and even choice of architect, this project has been controversial from its inception.  Along the wall on The Royal Mile side are inset plaques of poetry  I suppose a nod to the fact that this building is supposed to achieve a poetic union between the landscape, culture, people of Scotland and the city of Edinburgh itself.  I prefer the old stone buildings with their carved facades, crenellated rooflines, turrets and spires.

By this stage it was nearing lunchtime and search as we might there seemed to be only Italian, Indian or pub food.  Nothing appealed but we needed a break so The Angels With Bagpipes sang to us.  And a superb choice it turned out to be.  

No burgers, chips and beer here.   The chef knew how to showcase good Scottish food and we enjoyed a delectable lunch waited on by a friendly young woman with no accent.  She was from Auckland.   Sourdough bread baked in-house, haggis balls with whisky sauce, broccolini with ricotta and Scottish honey,  Scottish crab and crumpet, Scottish salmon and then cheddar and Scottish oatcakes with coffee.  We were both well pleased.  

Revived and rested we continued on up the Royal Mile to the George IV Bridge and found Victoria Street.  It is said that J K Rowling found her inspiration for Diagon Alley here and although none of the Harry Potter movies was filmed in Edinburgh many fans were crowded around some ‘magic shops’ shamelessly cashing in on the famous connection.   The Elephant Cafe where she is said to have begun writing the novels on the back of serviettes had been damaged by fire and was closed.

Further down and around the corner was Greyfriars Kirk and we climbed the steps to see the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, the famous dog who in the 19th century is said to have spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, until the dog himself died in 1872.   Along with many others we took photos of the statue and stone which was erected in 2022 to commemorate 150 years.  And then walked the few yards to the original statue located just outside Greyfriars Bobby Pub.  Here we had to wait our turn for a photo with the statue of the little dog.  The statue now has a shiny nose as tourists pat his nose as they have their photo taken.  

Back across the George IV bridge we joined the throng climbing up to Edinburgh Castle.   There they have begun the building of the stands for the 2024 Edinburgh Tattoo which will be held in August.

An about turn and we retraced our steps down the street, this time venturing into some of the hundreds of stores selling tartan, tweed, cashmere, shortbread, oatcakes, Edinburgh Rock, whisky, Celtic jewellery and every other sort of souvenir you can think of.   Little Sister found a teeny wee bottle of dried Heather which of course had to come home with her as she shares the name.

There were any number of buskers of varying skill along the Royal Mile.  One woman insisted that anyone who took a photo paid a donation. Scary looking she was too especially when she raised her hand and voice at Little Sister!  We stood watching The Hobo for a while and when we moved off he, ventriloquist type doll and all stood and made as if he’d chase after me.  We had seen him scare the daylights out of a small Indian boy who dropped money in his hat and then refused his offer of a sweetie.  The door opened and his own head appeared as well as the doll head and the little boy cowered in fright at the sight.  All the adults laughed including me.

My farewell to a splendid day in the Royal Mile was this little tartan man.   

Once more we dodged tour groups, buses, taxis, cars, and the general mayhem of Edinburgh City Centre walking alongside the tramlines on Princes Street back to our apartment.  Today we did not get lost even though we walked just over 18000 steps.