On our grand north-european tour, our last stop in the UK was to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. Neither of us had been to Scotland before, so this really kicked off the new locations for us!

We flew from Bristol airport to Edinburgh, and took the Airport Transfer bus (line 100) for only £16 for the return trip in to the city. The bus stopped at Waverly Street train station, so we could have taken the tram instead. We then had to climb what seemed like a hundred steps to get up to The Royal Mile for our hotel.

The Royal Mile to Arthur’s seat

Old Edinburgh is perched high up on the hill, topped off with the Castle, and at the bottom is Holyrood Palace. All along The Royal Mile between the two, there are old and historical buildings.

When we arrived, our rooms were not ready, so we decided to go for a walk up to Arthur’s Seat. It turns out that this is a 5 mile hike, with steep climbs to the 250m summit.

We calmbered to the top, with no real footpath, and were blown around by the strong winds. Eventually, we realised that it was getting dark, and so we recognised that we needed to get off the mountain before we got stranded! Even though we tried, we had to use our phone torches to get back to civilisation!

Edinburgh Castle

The castle dominates all of Edinburgh. Built high on an extinct volcano, the Castle is magnificent. Crossing the large car-park (which is where the famous Edinburgh Tattoo happens), we entered the castle gates.

The castle has a rich history, and the signs and displays really added to our historical undestanding.

The castle has a free-roam approach where you are not constricted to a particular path. We looked through three different museums and then a further five historical displays.

The castle has a variety of buildings and rooms that are either set up to recognise a regiment or time period, or to reflect how the castle was used by the inhabitants. We were able to explore everything from royal chambers and see the Scottich Crown Jewels, to see caverns and dungeons where prisoners were kept.

We were worried we had not seen everything, and many times crossed over our path to ensure that all was taken in. Some displays were more interesting than others, and for some the architecture and construction was more interesting than the displays.

Of all the places we have been so far, we found Edinburgh to be amongst the most beautiful and interesting.