I’m writing this while in Edinburgh on our last day of vacation. When Ryan and I decided we wanted to take a week long summer vacation we talked about a lot of places. Mostly, we talked about sunny places and mostly we talked about Italy. But, we went to Italy last year and so we decided it was time to finally visit a place we kept dreaming of, but hadn’t yet made the time for: Scotland. We had visions of old castles and rolling hills, while I also had a desire to visit every part of the UK. So, Scotland it was. And it turns out, we had a lot of sun while we were here too. We chose to visit Edinburgh at the beginning and end of the trip with Inverness in the middle. 

There are lots of things to do in Edinburgh, but at the same time isn’t not a giant overwhelming city. Ryan and I spent a lot of time wandering the streets and closes (tiny alleyways). We laid in the grass at the University or Edinburgh, we sat outside the new Parliament building, we bought a bottle of whisky, and we went on a Mercat ghost tour that made another patron scream and made me hope I’d see a ghost.

On the first day we arrived we saw St. Giles Cathedral. The spire is pretty cool and is a Scottish crown steeple that dates from 1495. I found the interior of the church really beautiful. It feels both big and cavernous and somehow approachable and comforting. Apparently inside near the entrance is a statue of a bag-piping angel, which I missed, but Ryan saw. There’s also a stained glass window (photo below, top right) which celebrates the poet Robert Burns. He wrote a song with the famous line, “my love is like a red, red rose,” and that top of the window is supposed to remind people of those words. I love that song. Years ago Ryan and I went to a concert as part of a road trip and we heard this song. I remember listening to that song and in that moment thinking, maybe… maybe we might get married some day. There are some other cool parts to the interior of the church. There are 4 big pillars that date to 1120. And there’s a bronze statue of John Knox (which they apparently move around). He was a Reformer and he insisted everyone should be able to read the word of God and it’s in part thanks to him that Scotland had an educational systems centuries ahead of other parts of Europe. After the church we did some wandering and ended up by Arthur’s Seat. One of the things I wanted from vacation was the opportunity to walk, or hike, surrounded by beautiful countryside. We weren’t sure we should attempt the climb right away as we weren’t carrying sunscreen, water, food, or any rain gear. But we were there at the foot of it and my Rick Steve’s guidebook said it was a 45 minute walk, to wear comfortable shoes, and that you could just stroll. Needless to say we decided to go for it. By no means did we need special climbing gear, but from that description we thought it was going to be easy. It turns out Arthur’s Seat is the 822 foot remains of an extinct volcano and some of the walk is pretty steep. At times we were huffing and puffing up uneven stairs and were hopping among rocks like a billy goat. 

Although we might be out of shape, this was one of the best things we did during our whole time in Scotland. There’s something about living in London that makes me yearn for wide open spaces and the outdoors, and this experience satisfied that desire immensely. It was great to be surrounded by plants and rocks and feeling the wind and sun on my face. The scraggly cliffs you see behind Ryan in the photo below, are the Salisbury Crags. When we were at the top of Arthur’s Seat they just look like a smooth hill, but I love the way the reddish craggy stone looks from lower down. Best of all, were the views from the top of Arthur’s Seat. We saw the city of Edinburgh, golf courses, the sea, and more green space. It was day 1 and I was getting everything I wanted from Scotland.The next day we went to Edinburgh Castle. The castle looms large over the city and we saw it from the outside a few times while we wandered around. There is a lot to see at the castle. First, there are the crown jewels and some fun lore/history surrounding hiding them and rediscovering them years later. But more than the shiny gems, I liked seeing the Stone of Sconce, which is the coronation stone for kings and queens. It was taken by the English in 1296 and wasn’t returned until 1996. But, for future coronations the stone will be brought back to London.

There’s also the royal palace where you can see where the royalty actually lived. King James VI, who became King James I of England was born there. There’s also St. Margret’s Chapel, which is tiny but has some lovely stained glass windows including one picturing William Wallace. Honestly, beyond William Wallace, I knew so little about Scottish culture before this trip. It was nice to have the opportunity to learn a lot more and to add to what little I knew about William Wallace.

Inside the castle grounds there is also the National War Museum of Scotland. It’s a well done museum that tells not only about wars fought by the Scottish, but also shows the evolution of their fighting and contributions, and the experiences and effects that war had on Scottish soldiers and families. I really love bagpipes, kilts, and tartan and this museum helped me learn more about their practical uses to identify, instill pride, and organize people. It was really so fascinating. Finally, here too the views of the city were incredible. It felt like everywhere we went in Scotland there was something beautiful to see.

In our first few days in Scotland we found people to be really warm and friendly (at the hotel the concierge talked our ear off by London standards!) We tried Scottish breakfast and I even ate haggis (which I was a little nervous about). The verdict on haggis: I thought it was fine, I wasn’t in love, but I would (and did) try it again, and that it gets an unnecessarily bad wrap. We heard bagpipe music and I got a sweet picture of the piper blowing fire. So far, the first few days of vacation were pretty fun and beautiful – and I was excited to travel north to Inverness. Curious about the Highlands? Stay tuned! Next week’s Tourist Tuesday is all about Culloden Battle field in Inverness.

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