Edinburgh

-- Pictures from Edinburgh --

Continuing the pattern of running around on the weekends... from wednesday (15 Oct) to sunday (19 Oct) I was in Edinburgh with Beth.

We arrived after 5 and a half hours on the train and found our hostel pretty easily. It's right on the Royal Mile, which is pretty much Edinburgh's main street. We found dinner at a nearby pub, had bangers and mash, and got to listen to a silly Scottish man sing American folk songs.

The second day, we climbed Arthur's Seat, which is a large hill just outside the main bit of town. It took a good part of the day to get up it and wander around... but we made it and put our names up on the top, along with lots of other hikers. Other bits of the day included visiting St Giles' cathedral, having delicious Mediterranean food, and generally wandering around town

We spent the morning of the third day at Edinburgh castle, which is generally old and interesting (it's even built on top of an inactive volcano!). There we heard lots of stories from a friendly employee, who eventually recommended some areas for lunch and whatnot. At dinner we tried cullen skink -- a traditional Scottish dish that is delicious.

The fourth day, Saturday, was partially spent wandering the lower parts of Arthur's Seat, despite the occasional rain. We had lunch at the adorable Elephant House, which is coincidentally where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter. We ended with a ghost tour that evening, where we heard stories from a Canadian guy who came to Scotland and decided to stay

Finally, we had to reluctantly return to Nottingham on Sunday by walking to the station, taking a 3 hour bus, a 1.5 hour train, a .5 hour train, another .5 hour train, a walk to the bus station in Nottingham, waiting half an hour for a bus to show up, a 15 minute bus ride to school, and a 15 minute walk back to the dorm. Whew.