A Weekend in Edinburgh!!!

September 27-29 2013

Edinburgh is a city that I have wanted to get to since we arrived here in London. Unfortunately, the kids and I have never found the right time to tag along on one of Keith's many trips to Scotland. I decided, with Keith away in Canada on business, to take the kids on a weekend getaway and finally check out this amazingly historic and charming city!

The flight time from London to Edinburgh is a quick 70 minutes, which is a piece of cake after our long flights back to New York! Upon arrival we took a quick taxi ride to our hotel which was just off the Royal Mile. We checked into our room and headed out for lunch and some exploring!

We spent a lot of time along the Royal Mile High Street, which stretches from Edinburgh Castle to The Palace of Holyrood. We shopped, ate, watched street performers and of course hit many of the must see tourist spots! Here is a great link to the history and buildings along the Royal Mile, http://www.royal-mile.com/onroyalmile.html

By far, touring Edinburgh Castle and climbing one of the peaks of Calton Hill were the best things we did while there. Not only were we taking in amazing history but the views of the city were AMAZING!!!

SIGHTS ALONG THE ROYAL MILE

Parliament Square

Bank of Scotland HQ

Barclay Church

Barclay Church

St.Giles Cathedral

Canongate Kirk

Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the Monarch of the United Kingdom. It is located at the end of the Royal Mile opposite Edinburgh Castle. Queen Elizabeth spends one week a year in residence

EDINBURGH CASTLE

The Castle sits upon the plug of an extinct volcano. It is believed that the rock has been occupied by humans since the 2nd century. The Castle has sheltered many Scottish monarchs, including Queen Margaret and Mary Queen of Scots. In the 1600s, the castle became a military base. Some buildings were rebuilt and new ones were built to hold a huge garrison and provide a secure jail for prisoners of war. The military presence remains, but over the last 200 years the castle has become a national icon. It is now Scotland's leading tourist attraction! 

I feel like every city we visit has some building or statue that has an amazing presence. This castle is amazing. You can see it from all over the city and it has some fascinating nooks to explore! The kids and I had a great time climbing the steps and checking out the views of the city and the various prison cells.

We rode the Open Top City Tour Bus around the city. I love being able to get off where we want and being able to get back on later. It is especially convenient with the kids! Here are a few sights we saw along the way!

HIKING CALTON HILL

Calton Hill is a hill in central Edinburgh. It is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrew's House on the southern slope of the hill. The Scottish Parliament Building and Holyrood Palace are near the foot of the hill. The hill also includes several iconic monuments and buildings such as the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument and the City Observatory.

When we first saw the hill from the bus, Mandy said "Look mom, there are people up there! Let climb it too!" I thought it was a good idea until we stood at the base and I realised how much of a climb it would be with three kids and a stroller. We decided to give it a go and see how high we could get. About 1/4 of the way up we ditched the stroller in the tall grass and Aiden walked almost the rest of the way to the top. It took us about 45 minutes to reach one of the peaks, but is was so worth it!!

Views of the city

I am so glad I made the trip with the kids to this amazing city. Mandy and Ryan really seemed to embrace the history and the significance of some of the buildings. It great to see their excitement. The only thing that could have made this trip better would have been if Keith were with us!