Our second week in Scotland was spent mainly in Edinburgh, in an adorable flat in a fabulous central location, right in the heart of Old Town. Of course that meant we had to walk up steep stairs to get to the places we wanted to go! (Between all the uphill walking and the old streets and sidewalks, I was so thankful that I choose to wear my hiking shoes every day! Much more stable for this old lady.)
We let ourselves take it easy that weekend. On Saturday, we searched out book stores! (And yes, bought books.) We also happened to be on the Royal Miles when the Armed Forces Day parade was happening! Sunday, we worshipped at Hillsong Edinburgh, walked New Town and Stockbridge, and toured The Georgian House, which had some of the best docents I’ve encountered anywhere. I always appreciate a historic home where I learn new things!
Monday was our 35th anniversary—part of the reason for this trip at this time. We began the day with a tour of Edinburgh Castle. We were there to witness the changing of the guards as well as the 21-gun salute when the Queen landed in Scotland. Besides those things, we spent four hours—four hours!—at the castle. There was so much to see! We opted for the audio tour so we read and listened in all the different places. And besides the history of the place, the views of the city were spectacular.
That evening, we had reservations in the Secret Garden room of The Witchery. We had a lovely meal in every way, including dessert on Happy Anniversary plates! But our dinner was early, so we’d decided to add one more thing to our anniversary celebration: A Literary Pub Tour! How fun is that?
Turns out it was great fun! We went to 3 pubs with our actor guides who told us all about the literary history of Edinburgh in entertaining interactions between the two characters. It was supposed to be about an hour and a half, but it turned into three hours! We walked back to the flat after 10:00 pm that night, getting to view Scotland at the darkest we would see it. (Sunrise averaged 4:30 am, sunset 9:30 pm.)
Tuesday we took a day tour to St. Andrews and Falkland Palace. It was the only day in two weeks that it rained the entire day! But we just pulled up the hoods on our raincoats and kept going! A cathedral ruins, a castle ruins, St. Andrews university and the darling town that houses them all. Falkland was a beautiful place build for Mary Queen of Scots’ mother. It’s in a wee town that just added to the ambiance!
Wednesday we were starting to really wind down, wanting to have some rest in our vacation, too. We walked through St. Giles, toured Mary King’s Close—a fabulously done tour of the old close which is now under a government building led by guides in character. Then we toured Gladstone’s Land, which I believe is the old building still standing in Edinburgh. I loved this museum because it was all hands-on! But in between we shopped and relaxed and read. And Thursday was much the same, with a walk through Greyfriars Kirk and graveyard, where J.K. Rowling found many of her characters’ names!
Friday did not start out well. Jeff woke up to a text that the airline had changed our flight out of Edinburgh to a later one but they also rebooked us on a flight out of London which we had no chance of making. After learning there were no seats on any plane, any airline back to the states (anywhere major!) that day, we were scrambling for a hotel room! There was almost nothing still close to the airport. And we wanted to be close since we were booked on an 8:30 am flight! Finally, on Saturday morning, we caught a flight home. But even with that glitch it was a fabulous trip and one that we will relive in memory and pictures for a very long time. And who knows? Maybe we’ll even get back at some point to see the things we didn’t get to see.
What’s the best trip you’ve taken this summer?
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Thanks for sharing your trip recap and pictures. I stayed in Old Town and was so thankful I wore comfortable shoes as those cobblestone streets and STEEP stairs were killer! Were you able to go to the Elephant House while there?
Good shoes are a must, especially when you tend toward falls, as I do! We didn’t get to go to the Elephant House. They had a fire there last year and have not reopened yet. We were so sad because besides being a place where JK Rowling did a lot of writing, it was also a favorite spot of one of our favorite authors, Alexander McCall Smith.
I’ve loved seeing all your photos and hearing about your adventures, D’Ann! The literary pub tour with actor guides sounds like so much fun! And I’m a sucker for castles, historic homes, and ruins of any kind. It sounds like a wonderful trip!
It was! And yes, filled with all those wonderful historic things. The literary pub tour was great, although I suspect we were of the few who went for the literary part rather than the pub part, but it was fun to have a reason to go into some pubs. 🙂
What a phenomenal trip! Thanks for taking us there with you through photos!
You are very welcome!
D’Ann,
Thank you so much for sharing your journey! I love seeing all the places you went! As a history lover myself, I practically drooled!
It was such a great trip that it makes me happy to share it with other history lovers!
Wonderful photos you took! I’m loving re-living Scotland through you. Summer’s not over yet here. End of August through mid September my daughter and I are walking the last hundred miles of the pilgrimage route of El Camino de Santiago de Compostella in Spain. It was postponed two years due to Covid.
Wow! That will be quite a trip!
Dear D’Ann,
My last vacation was 13 years ago.
I flew into Hong Kong International Airport.
Thank goodness, I knew where to find my friend.
There are only 150 Gates to choose from.
I spent 2 weeks in China and made memories that will last forever.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been to Edinburgh twice, August 2016 and May 2019. It’s among my favorite cities.
My hotels were in the New Town so I remember those steep climbs!I had good walking shoes for the trip.
I enjoyed afternoon tea with champagne at the Waldorf Astoria Caledonia on the lower end of Prince’s Street.
For church, I attended weekend evening Mass at historic St. Patrick’s Church off the Royal Mile and St. Mary’s Cathedral not far from St. Andrew’s Square.
Side note: It’s about an approx. 4 hr and 20 min. train ride from London, if you go off peak with fewer stops along the way.
Thanks for sharing your Scotland experience. All good information for possible trip one day. I assume you were not there for the Open Golf Tournament last weekend. I did not realize it really doesn’t get dark there. Bookstore visits must have been fun.
What amazing views! I loved “tagging along” on your trip!
Thanks for sharing photos of your Scotland anniversary trip! We returned a month ago from a week in Madrid, Spain, with our son, and then another week touring Switzerland, France, and Germany with our daughter, who attends grad school in Stuggart, Germany. We also celebrated our anniversary (and our son’s engagement with his fiancée) with a lovely dinner at the second oldest taverna in Madrid. Memories for a lifetime, certainly!