Sunday 24th July
We woke up sun burnt, very sunburnt. Hamish's nose especially as who would have thought to bring sunscreen to Scotland. It was another blinder of a day and Lou struggled with what to wear as she had only brought winter clothes! Anyway we checked out of the hotel leaving our bags there and tried to find breakfast (this was yet another struggle!).
On the way we came across the Church of St.Cuthbert so we stopped for some obligatory photos. It would have made a great story to say that it was a beautiful old church but to be honest it was a bit funny looking.
Eventually we found a half way decent place and Hamish couldn’t get enough of the full Scottish breakfast, with another round of haggis. Lou got the vege option and had the pleasure of sampling a potato scone which were frankly amazing. We were ready to attack the castle.
Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, and there has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century. As one of the most important fortresses in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts, from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century, up to the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.
We knew that the Castle would be rammed so we tried to get there as soon after opening as possible, but we were still met with a massive queue. But we got in and were blown away with the view. We did a quick guided tour that basically showed us where everything was. The best parts were the St. Margaret's Chapel which is the oldest building in Edinburgh, a tiny wee church that can only fit 20 odd people. We were amazed to hear that people can still get married in there and there was a wedding taking place that afternoon! Our guide let us in on the secret of while people still decide to get married there...as it only fits 20 people it helps keep costs down. Tight Scots ay!!
Just outside the chapel is Mons Meg, a 15th-century siege cannon. Mons Meg has been defunct since her barrel burst on 30 October 1681 when firing a salute for the arrival of the Duke of Albany, the future King James VII and II. It was a mighty big cannon.
Our favourite building in the castle was the Scottish National War Memorial. Its original aims were to commemorate Scots and those serving with Scottish regiments who had died in the First World War, but then this was expanded to include all wars that any Scottish people had ever fought in. The exterior is decorated with gargoyles and sculpture, while the interior contains monuments to the individual regiments. Upon the altar within the Shrine there was a sealed casket containing Rolls of Honour which listed over 147,000 names of those soldiers killed in the First World War together with open lists within the Hall. We found some Bennie's and Hay's as well as Lou's great uncle who died in France in WW1.
We felt like we had seen enough history so we wandered down Castle Hill to the next stop. Whiskey. Almost every bar and restaurant we had been into boasted about how many different types of whiskey they sold, and we didn't really appreciate the differences in the tastes, until we completed the Scottish Whiskey Tasting Experience. They went hard out with this, we started off on a tame barrel ride which took us through the process of making whiskey and then we got a bit of a presentation on the 4 main whiskey producing regions in Scotland and how they taste differently depending on where they were made. So Dave, based on your whiskey preferences you like whiskey produced in the Islay region….We then got to taste some. Yuck.
We tried to like it, we really did but it is just awful. Next on the tour was the Diageo Claive Vidiz Collection, which is the largest collection of whiskey in the world featuring 3,384 bottles. It was built up over 35 years by Brazilian whiskey enthusiast Claive Vidiz.
From there we were feeling a little peckish so we checked out the restaurant in the basement area of the whiskey shop. It seemed cheap and cheerful so we grabbed a table. Lou being adventurous decided on two Scottish influenced starters – Cullen Skink soup, which is basically smoked haddock and potato soup, and Scottish smoked salmon on rye bread. Very nice. Hamish went for another soup and a pork chop, typical.
Next door was a tartan making factory that was worth a look so we went in and were confronted by so much tartan it was enough to make you dizzy. And judging by the price Lou felt like she could cut up her old school uniform to sell and make a killing. The best part was the area where you can dress up in traditional Highland gears and get your photo taken. They had examples of the photos on display and seeing a family of Chinese people dressed in tartan with the dad holding a sword and the mum holding some bagpipes is up there with the funniest things we have seen.
By mid afternoon we were keen for a rest so we got in touch with Hamish's mates again and met up with them at a pub, had a quick drink and a catch up in the sun. By this stage Hamish's sunburn had gotten so bad he had a whopping big blister on the end of his nose, we did not expect to go to Scotland and get sun blisters! Before we knew it we were on the bus back to the airport where we had a quick dinner and hopped on the plane and we were at home before midnight, result! Also have to mention that we bought some shortbread (you have to in Scotland!)
We had such a great time in Scotland, better than we anticipated (definitely helped by the weather) and we have already made plans to go back there again and do some train journeys. Brilliant weekend.
Hightlight #1: The castle is amazing, you can see it from everywhere in the city and contains so much history
Highlight #2: The continuing weather! (even gets its own highlight this time)
Lowlight: Leaving! We had some serious discussions about the pro's and cons of moving to Edinburgh…watch this space…
Interesting Fact: Approximately 2% of the volume of whiskey evaporates each year per barrel. The Scottish call this the "angel's share", how sweet is that!
We woke up sun burnt, very sunburnt. Hamish's nose especially as who would have thought to bring sunscreen to Scotland. It was another blinder of a day and Lou struggled with what to wear as she had only brought winter clothes! Anyway we checked out of the hotel leaving our bags there and tried to find breakfast (this was yet another struggle!).
On the way we came across the Church of St.Cuthbert so we stopped for some obligatory photos. It would have made a great story to say that it was a beautiful old church but to be honest it was a bit funny looking.
Eventually we found a half way decent place and Hamish couldn’t get enough of the full Scottish breakfast, with another round of haggis. Lou got the vege option and had the pleasure of sampling a potato scone which were frankly amazing. We were ready to attack the castle.
 |
| Outside St.Cuth's church |
 |
| Meant to be good luck to rub his right toe |
Just outside the chapel is Mons Meg, a 15th-century siege cannon. Mons Meg has been defunct since her barrel burst on 30 October 1681 when firing a salute for the arrival of the Duke of Albany, the future King James VII and II. It was a mighty big cannon.
 |
| Inside St.Margaret's Chapel |
We tried to like it, we really did but it is just awful. Next on the tour was the Diageo Claive Vidiz Collection, which is the largest collection of whiskey in the world featuring 3,384 bottles. It was built up over 35 years by Brazilian whiskey enthusiast Claive Vidiz.
 |
| Sweet barrel ride |
From there we were feeling a little peckish so we checked out the restaurant in the basement area of the whiskey shop. It seemed cheap and cheerful so we grabbed a table. Lou being adventurous decided on two Scottish influenced starters – Cullen Skink soup, which is basically smoked haddock and potato soup, and Scottish smoked salmon on rye bread. Very nice. Hamish went for another soup and a pork chop, typical.
Next door was a tartan making factory that was worth a look so we went in and were confronted by so much tartan it was enough to make you dizzy. And judging by the price Lou felt like she could cut up her old school uniform to sell and make a killing. The best part was the area where you can dress up in traditional Highland gears and get your photo taken. They had examples of the photos on display and seeing a family of Chinese people dressed in tartan with the dad holding a sword and the mum holding some bagpipes is up there with the funniest things we have seen.
By mid afternoon we were keen for a rest so we got in touch with Hamish's mates again and met up with them at a pub, had a quick drink and a catch up in the sun. By this stage Hamish's sunburn had gotten so bad he had a whopping big blister on the end of his nose, we did not expect to go to Scotland and get sun blisters! Before we knew it we were on the bus back to the airport where we had a quick dinner and hopped on the plane and we were at home before midnight, result! Also have to mention that we bought some shortbread (you have to in Scotland!)
We had such a great time in Scotland, better than we anticipated (definitely helped by the weather) and we have already made plans to go back there again and do some train journeys. Brilliant weekend.
Hightlight #1: The castle is amazing, you can see it from everywhere in the city and contains so much history
Highlight #2: The continuing weather! (even gets its own highlight this time)
Lowlight: Leaving! We had some serious discussions about the pro's and cons of moving to Edinburgh…watch this space…
Interesting Fact: Approximately 2% of the volume of whiskey evaporates each year per barrel. The Scottish call this the "angel's share", how sweet is that!
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