Edinburgh, Scotland

I love Scotland and I love it's capital city Edinburgh! I still remember the sense of awe I experienced pulling into Edinburgh's' Waverly Train Station for the first time and seeing the gothic soot covered Scott Monument. Wow! This is  my kind of place!

Edinburgh is just a very cool city. There's the old medieval part with the castle, New Town, and places to explore underground like the vaults, and Mary Queen's Close.

Edinburgh Castle looms high above the city on Castle Rock. It sits at one end of the historic Royal Mile in Old Town and Holyrood Palace at the other. In between the two royal residences are a cathedral, churches, graveyards, shops & pubs, as well as numerous little passage ways called closes, that are fun to explore. 

If you're a Harry Potter fan, it's easy to see how this city influenced the story's setting and even it's famous villain. You'll find Tom Riddle's headstone in Greyfriar's Kirkyard as well as the Potters, McGonagall, Moodie, and Charles Black. Victoria Street is though to be the inspiration for the design of Diagon Alley.

Down below the Royal Mile on one side is Princes Street, full of shops, restaurants, hotels, and garden. Enjoy the view of the castle from Princes Street Gardens.

Similarly, on the other side of the Royal Mile is the Grassmarket, a lively area with numerous shops, vendors, and restaurants. It was once a medieval market place and site for public executions! There's a pub called The Last Drop.

August is the busiest time in Edinburgh with the Fringe Festival and the Royal Military Tattoo going on. The Fringe Festival attracts thousands of tourists and performers. The streets are packed with hoards of people. There are street performances. There are people everywhere handing out flyers trying to convince you to come see their show. Pubs, courtyards, restaurants, and parks all become fringe venues for comedians and other performers. It's madness! 

The Royal Military Tattoo takes place in the evenings at Edinburgh Castle. Military bands from around the world are invited to preform each year. There are so many bagpipers! It's one of my favorite events and worth planning your trip around.

The best way to see the city is to just start wandering around. Your best bet is to head up towards the Royal Mile first then expand out wherever you're drawn.

---

Scott Monument it's a 287-step climb to the top for a small fee.

Scott Monument from Princes Street Gardens. Balmoral clock tower in the background. The hotel where the Harry Potter series was wrapped up. 

Sir Walter Scott

Edinburgh Castle

Make your way up the volcanic rock to visit Edinburgh Castle. Get your admission tickets in advance as they have timed entry and they sell out.

Don't miss the One o'clock gun. Get in line into the tiny St. Margaret's chapel, which is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh. While you're at it, wait in line to see The Honours of Scotland, the oldest crown jewels in Britain. Peek over the ledge of the castle walls to see the old pet cemetery. 

If it's August, come back at night for the magnificent Royal Military Tattoo! It's usually the highlight of my trip. Bagpipers and fireworks!

The Ross Fountain in Princes Street Gardens beneath Edinburgh Castle.

St Cuthbert's Cemetery, next to Princes Street Gardens also has great views of the castle.

Edinburgh Castle entrance by day.

Castle entrance at night during the Tattoo performance in August.

The line to see the crown jewels.

The little pet cemetery at the castle and a view of Princes Street.

The Royal Mile

The Hub, located at the top of the Royal Mile, in front of the castle.

Iconic British Phone Booths

Once a church, now a marketplace.

This medieval building was used to collect tolls in the 1500's. The ground floor became The Tolbooth Tavern in 1820, and it still operates as a pub. It's pretty small inside.

Writer's Museum featuring:

Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson

Closes

These narrow passageways called closes are everywhere off the Royal Mile. Some of them go all the way through. Some of them are dead ends. Some have a garden. Some have a steep stair case. Each one is unique.

Fleshmarket Close. Halfway House, is the smallest pub in Edinburgh, on the right. 

St. Giles' Cathedral

On the Royal Mile, in between the castle and Holyrood Palace is St. Giles' Cathedral. You must go inside and see the stained glass, the organ, and the architecture. It's beautiful.

After the Queen's passing. She laid in rest here for a day. Mourners lined up all night to get a chance to pay their respects. She attended services here whenever she was in town.

The unicorn is the official animal of Scotland!

St. Giles Cathedral

The organ in St. Giles behind that eagle lectern. Dumbledore had one with an owl. 

Palace Holyroodhouse

Holyrood Palace sits at the end of the Royal Mile, with Arthur's Seat in the background.

See the Queen's Gallery.

Walk through Mary Queen of Scots apartment and other royals.

No photos were allowed inside at the time I visited.

Take a stroll outside to see the gardens and the Abbey, now a ruin. The abbey was used for coronations and royal weddings, until the roof collapsed hundreds of years ago.

Edinburgh's Underground

Among the many closes, wynds, and courts of Old Town is a bridge with 19 arches, only one of which is visible - the Cowgate arch. The bridge was built to connect Old Town’s High Street to the newly developed areas to the South.  Tenement houses were built along both sides of 18 of the original 19 arches.

Between the rest of the arches is a series of damp, dank vaults which were first used as storage space by businesses but due to their constant flooding they were abandoned and eventually became home to the very poor and become overrun with criminal activity. Due to poor sanitation and murder, a lot of people died down here.

The vaults were eventually filled in with rubble only to be rediscovered hundreds of years later by a rugby player and now they're mostly a tourist attraction.

They are considered one of the most haunted places in Britain. 

In the 1990s, George Cameron, the late Wiccan High Priest of The Source Coven Of The Blue Dragon, set up a temple in one vault linked to the torturing of witches to try to rid it of evil.

He built a rock circle to try and capture whatever evil presence he perceived, that still stands today. After the attempt to remove evil failed, Cameron abandoned the room and recommended sealing it up. His coven set up shop in another vault which has been preserved and is now gated.

Mary’s King Close is underground as well but not considered a vault. It refers to the small alleys located underneath Edinburgh City Chambers on the Royal Mile. The close is a series of historic streets frozen in time a few stories deep. There were no pictures allowed at the time of my tour.

The Royal Britannia

This 5-story yacht belonged to the Royal family for 44 years, until Tony Blair took it away from them and turned it into a museum. It was really old and cost too much public money to maintain. Now it's one of Edinburgh's top attractions.

The inside is really not that fancy. Today's modern day cruise ships are more elaborate. But it's cool to visit anyway and get a glimpse of the Queen's former floating palace.

The Georgian House

The Georgian House in Charlotte Square is another place you can get a glimpse into the past of those that lived and worked here centuries ago. 

Royal Botanic Gardens

Just outside the main city center is the Royal Botanic Gardens. It's quite a lovely colorful place to spend a few hours taking a free stroll away from the hoards of people on the Royal Mile & Princes Street. There are cafe's on the grounds making it a great lunch spot. 

Another attraction just outside the main city center is Craigmiller Castle, Edinburgh's other castle. It's much less crowded.

<<Back to Scotland Homepage                                          

---

    The Misadventures of an Indigo traveling to Scotland>>