Edinburgh was the other half of mine and Tayla’s trip to Scotland, and was a far cry from the rugged beauty of the Cairngorms. Most of our time was spent in the rustic and medieval Old Town, which enchanted me with its cobbled roads and stone buildings.
General Impressions
Scots are incredibly friendly. From being greeted warmly at nearly every place we eat, all through to a bus driver waiting for us as we ran to catch up with it, Scottish hospitality was a very welcome break from the grey and cold behaviour of people in our native South England.
Food
We did not eat out much during our time in Edinburgh, but naturally we had to try some of the local dishes and foods, and perhaps rather unsurprisingly, not much differed from typical English fare. We tried local bread and cheese, and it tasted much the same as the English equivalents down south.
Of course, we had to try a full Scottish breakfast, which, going along with the theme, was not much different to the English one. One notable difference was the Lorne sausage – a flat rectangular casing-less beef sausage. I found it very nice, and somewhat preferable to the English kind, though Tayla disagreed. The other was the absence of hash browns: these were replaced with potato scones, sort of a fried mashed potato biscuit, which was a heavy downgrade from the crispy and delicious hash browns we were used to.
We also has the opportunity to try Haggis at a local’s house. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity; it was strange to say the least. Not disgusting by any means, but sort of gritty and with a funny texture. The taste, on the other hand, was meaty and salty. For me, it was a passable dish, but not really one I’d pick over anything else. Tayla, on the other hand, refused to eat the meat version (save for one tiny bite) and stuck to the vegetarian one. It might be relieving to know that sheep’s stomach are very rarely used nowadays, and a plastic casing is generally preferred. Another note about Haggis is that nearly every restaurant offers it in some form, and I would pass on the advice of locals to avoid this in most cases, as it is usually poorly made, and simply a money grab from ignorant tourists.
Drink
Thanks to a close encounter between myself, a toilet bowl, and a bottle of cheap Scotch, I cannot stand the stuff, which is unfortunate as I didn’t sample the drink that Scotland is most famous for (save for a few sips of a single malt that I struggled through during our Scottish dinner). I did, however, try a large number of Scottish ales, which ranged from tasty to delicious.
My Favourite Parts
The Royal Mile
Stretching from the Royal residence of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, up the Castle Rock, and through the Old Town, all the way up to Edinburgh Castle stands the Royal Mile. This is a walk that is exactly one Scottish Mile long (about 1807m), that shows some of the best sights in Scotland’s capital. This walk is great, as it takes you right past numerous attractions and places to eat. I recommend taking the walk, and exploring any place you find interesting.
The Camera Obscura and the Museum of Illusions
This is a very fun museum. Many floors filled with all sorts of optical illusions. Unfortunately, as we were visiting during Covid times, the titular Camera Obscura (a Victorian era tourist attraction which showed you a panorama of the city) was closed. I recommend visiting when in Edinburgh, unless you have already been to some sort of Museum of Illusions elsewhere, as the experience is likely to be the same (the human eye can be confused in only so many ways after all).
Edinburgh Castle
The Medieval fortress of the Scottish capital is huge, and the entry ticket gets you into various buildings in the Castle itself, such as a war museum, a remembrance monument to fallen soldiers, a model dungeon filled with wax statues of American Revolutionary War prisoners, and even a small dog cemetery for a local regiments pets. There’s a lot to do here, though only if you are, like me, a history buff.
Arthur’s Seat
Arthur’s Seat is a hill located just outside of central Edinburgh, and presents a nice hike with highly rewarding views at the top. So nice, in fact, that our experience wasn’t soured by the few mishaps we experienced. Firstly, it was windy. The wind was so strong at the top, I genuinely felt like I might fly away. The other issue was made by ourselves, as we took a wrong turn, and in our boundless stubbornness we kept pushing down through thick bramble and foliage to make our way down from a neighbouring hill. At the end, we simply just had to trample the bushes down, so I was glad I was wearing my boots.
National Museum of Scotland
A high grade museum featuring exhibits ranging from history to natural science to mechanical engineering. It’s a very large museum with many interesting exhibits. We were lucky enough to also visit a temporary exhibit displaying recently excavated Viking treasures (which were expertly photographed by Tayla). My only complaint is the strange organisation of the museum, with each section (ie history) spanning numerous floors, rather than each section having a floor dedicated to it. It makes it rather difficult to explore the parts of the museum you really want to see.
City of the Dead Tour
Probably the highlight of the trip for me, we went on a tour of Edinburgh’s underground vaults and graveyards, accompanied by a knowledgeable and charismatic guide, who told us about Edinburgh’s darker past, and it’s less savoury characters, who now supposedly haunt its darkened hollows. We did the Double Dead tour, which I recommend, thanks to it’s extra length, and access to restricted parts of Edinburgh. If however, you can only spare the money for one part of the tour, definitely take the Underground City of the Dead one, as it is much better (and scarier) than the graveyard one.
We May Roam 