Edinburgh, Scotland

The Invasion

Last week, our home was invaded by our parents coming to visit! We were, of course, ecstatic about them coming to visit; however, it meant 7 people, 1.5 baths, and 1 bed. Yet, we made it work with the use of air mattresses and the couch. With a little over a week, we set out to fill our days with many fun adventures! 

By the time we picked up our parents from the train station, they had been in just about every transportation available- car, plane, train, tubes, but it gave them the opportunity to experience traveling London like the locals. I'm pretty sure the car ride from the train station to our home was probably the scariest leg of their journey.

We didn't stay the whole journey in England, but decided to venture further north to Scotland, in particular, Edinburgh.

Edinburgh

We took the train then to Edinburgh. Despite the rainy, windy weather, Edinburgh was breathtaking. There were many buildings and such still reminiscent of the Gothic, medieval style. There were hills and mountains. The Edinburgh Castle, itself, was situated on a hill overlooking the city. From where we stayed overnight at the Castle View B&B. I could literally walk outside the B&B and see the castle from the street. That night we ate at the Amber Rose pub (excellent food) close by and afterwards checked out a couple of other pubs and got to see some of the nightlife of Edinburgh. 

The next morning, we woke bright and early, had breakfast and planned our day. First up, hiking Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano. Our trek up the mountain began easy enough, but the ground was pretty muddy and slippery and some areas the pathway was steep. To add to the muddy path, the wind was brutal. There were several times I felt the wind was about to push me over and I'd go rolling down the mountain! The views from so high were just spectacular! You could even see snow tipped mountains in the distance (so glad Arthur's Seat wasn't covered in snow). Some of the group decided to turn around a short ways from the top and head back to explore the castle.

Edinburgh Castle was pretty neat. We didn't explore a lengthy amount of time, but we did get to witness the gunfire that happens every day at 1:00. Someone in uniform comes out, loads the cannon, fires, and shows off the casing. It happened in a matter of a few minutes! We also saw the Scotland Crown Jewels. 

After the castle, we ducked into the Scotch Whisky Experience which is known for housing the largest whiskey collection. The most expensive bottle I saw was retailing at £27,000 (which is approximately $41,400)!!!

My watch/pedometer reading for the day was ~21,001 steps or about 8.5 miles! 

We also toured Nottingham Ducal Mansion, London, and Cambridge!

UPDATE!! Return trip to Scotland