Sunday 13 October 2013

Highland Fling

Last weekend, we took a trip to Edinburgh. Having never travelled up to Scotland, I was excited to discover somewhere new as well as sampling their famous shortbread. We stayed in a wonderful little apartment on the Royal Mile, tucked away in the midst of busy streets and old-fashioned taverns. 

Whilst this trip was for the purpose of relaxing, we managed to fit a few things in. A main aim of mine was to climb up to Arthur's Seat. For anyone who is a fan of David Nicholl's One Day, this is the hill that is climbed at the beginning and end of the novel. Although it was admittedly tougher than we anticipated, it was worth it for the beautiful views from the top. We celebrated with a trip to a small tea-room covered in chintzy prints and old knick-knacks and an old lady with purple hair who made fantastic homemade jam.

We visited Edinburgh's famous castle and learnt about the many uses it has had over the decades. We also visited the Whiskey distillery next door- home to a collection of thousands of bottles. Alongside eating and drinking too much, we took a moment to explore this beautiful cathedral. Despite not being particularly religious, I love to visit beautiful churches on holiday and this one was lovely. We also took in a ghost tour, part of which was held in Greyfriars cemetery and spent the next night drinking spiced rum in an old pub whilst listening to Scottish folk music. Definitely a city to fall in love with.