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Edinburgh Castle
Travel Tales: Edinburgh
Edinburgh was one of the first cities I visited while on my own in college. I instantly fell in love with the beautiful old city and the Scottish countryside. Both times I visited Edinburgh I traveled by way of London’s Heathrow airport and the train from King’s Cross station. The four-hour trip gave me an opportunity to see the beautiful British countryside.
Locating Edinburgh
The city is in the southeast of Scotland, in a region known as the Lothians. To its north, a large body of water, the Firth of Forth, borders the city.
Source: Lonely Planet
Edinburgh sits in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat. Bruce Gittings of the University of Edinburgh’s Geography Department says Arthur’s Seat, which is 823 feet above sea level, is an extinct volcano. We climbed to the top of it on my first trip. It was so windy I worried I’d be blown over the side.
Source: University of Edinburgh
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is named because it has a castle on each end. Edinburgh Castle sits at the top of the mile on a hill overlooking the town. King Mynyddog was among the first to call the site home in 600 B.C. At that time, the place was known as Din Eidyn, according to the castle’s site. The Angles took over Din Eidyn around 638, and renamed it Edinburgh.
Source: Edinburgh Castle
On the other end of the Royal Mile is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the British Royal family’s official home in Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots lived there from 1551 to 1567. Holyroodhouse was built in 1128 as a monastery.
Source: The Official Web Site of the British Monarchy
The Scotch Whisky Experience
Next to Edinburgh Castle is an unusual museum a friend of mine had a season pass for: the Scotch Whisky Experience. It’s part museum and part amusement park. Motorized whiskey barrels take visitors through the whiskey-making process and a model distillery. On the ride, visitors learn about blended scotch and Scotland’s whiskey regions.
Source: The Scotch Whisky Experience
Gardens and haggis
We stayed in a newer part of the city, and crossed the beautiful Princes Street Gardens, a public park of nearly 40 acres, to get to the Royal Mile. The park has a number of monuments, a great view of Edinburgh Castle, and was a lovely place to wander around. We also explored the stores on Princes Street, the town’s main shopping area.
Source: RoyalMile.com
To my friends’ horror, I made a point of ordering haggis, a dish of sheep’s stomach stuffed with oats, meat and spices. It’s traditionally served with mashed potatoes and mashed turnips, which are known as tatties and neeps, respectively. Modern haggis is served in a synthetic skin. I thought it tasted pretty good.
Source: Travel Channel
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