UK Bound: Edinburgh (Day 2 – the morning)

After such a full half day I did not think we could be even busier and find more excitement. Instead we were looking forward to a more in depth walk on our own around the Royal Mile before heading to Edinburgh Castle at the top of the hill. As mentioned in Day 1 we were staying at the base of Calton Hill, (Marriott Courtyard – I might do a Blog about all of our stays. At this place I had to use my credit card to pay for £3.65 coffee because they, ‘stupidly’ was my note that morning, would not take cash – grrrr!) about 1 mile away from our destination. Thinking in miles vs. kilometres messes up my brain; much to the chagrin of my daughter I tended to use time instead. If I have to be somewhere I want to be there ahead of time. Starbucks coffees (if readers have not figured it out yet I have been drinking more coffee than usual – lattes)in our hands we had barely arrived a block down from St. Giles Cathedral when we were drawn to a booth and a gathering of people preparing for a ‘free’ two hour walking tour. Five minutes later we were off with Graeme, our new leader, to explore, discover, and learn. The best £10.00 I spent (at least that day).

The only drawback with a walking tour for me was trying to hear what was being said, keeping up when dealing With all the stairs, and forgetting to take photos! Of course not everything has been retained. My advice is to go on at least one walking tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and quick to respond to questions. The reason I did not hear everything is that we were outside, in a group of about 15 and I have one ear that does not cooperate. (In other words partially deaf – caused by a flight descent some years ago). We walked to, stopped at, and carried on, to several points of interest. The Writers’ Museum happened to be one of them, through Advocates Close this time. It was open! It is free, we went the following day as a walking tour tends to omit going inside places.

The door is open! Try to visit anywhere other than on a Sunday. The museum is housed at Lady Stair’s Close. The home, also Lady Stair, was built in 1622, eventually renovated to the building we now see. The following day I would discover thr requisite narrow, winding staircase is deceiving; it leads you up to two floors, plus down to a lower floor, that hold the works and memorabilia of three of Edinburgh’s greatest writers, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson. None of whom had any connection to the house.

As usual I was looking up when given an opportunity to stop to drink in my surroundings. (one of our few rainy days that eventually saw the sun come out) The Closes were once nasty, tightly packed tenements that are now mainly self-serviced accommodations for visitors. However, it did appear that the few windows I found interesting might have been either more personalized for the discerning guest, or permanently occupied and/or decorated by someone with a sense of humour. On a higher floor there was a tailor’s dummy in the window. Also look down at your feet. Closer to the Museum are flagstones with inscriptions that commemorate the city’s literary heritage.
These add to the relative peacefulness of the courtyard that is Makar’s Court. Many of the tour guides we saw seemed to understand that not everyone wanted to struggle through throngs of visitors gawking at whichever site was being discussed and kept a respectful distance from the one narrow entrance to the museum. Not all, but most.

Of course how can any good guide pass up the chance to discuss one of the better known tales, and the Edinburgh connection. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a definite draw. Based on the life of well respected town counsellor, Deacon Brodie – cabinet maker by day, thief by night who was eventually caught sticky handed and hanged close to where he lived and worked – remains a popular name for the now restaurant where he resided.

I have been attempting to save what we heard to the last, except it was halfway through our two hour walk. However, rather than manipulate the day to suit my writing here we are. After winding down one steep hill, (I had no idea Edinburgh is so hilly), being shown various points of interest, climbing down more stairs, then halfway up Prince’s Street, we stopped across from the Prince’s Street house and garden that abut Edinburgh Castle. Sort of a tantalizing taste of what is around the corner for anyone who had not managed to sneak a peek earlier. As our guide explained to the damp group what we were looking at a massive boom surrounded us. A few seconds later, another boom, then another. Of course we were all extremely taken aback because it was not the construction site below us collapsing or something worse. Our guide was just as startled. So the chatter started, could they be practicing cannon fire at the castle? For what purpose? The Tattoo is not until August. Still wondering, still hearing the booms, we carried on. When we hit 13 I said it must be a 21 gun salute (I had been counting). Of course we all speculated why. None of us had heard anything about a royal visit and my daughter and I had tickets for the castle that afternoon. Besides, the Queen is 96 years old, surely she would not be traipsing around the place! Once we were sure we were not under attack we carried on, rounded the corner, and there was the castle. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary unless a line up to enter the castle was unusual. (We learned later that it is not) Our ears still ringing, we passed the tantalizing entrance to take yet another long staircase down to a lower street.

Our first view of the outer section of the castle as we walked down yet another steep set of stairs. Going up is easier for me. I kept being left at the back of the pack and missing scraps of information or stories. Fortunately I was happy to just gaze around me and capture interesting angles if any caught my attention.

Despite the controversy over the author’s views on transgender issues no tour seems complete without mentioning JK Rowling. We had already passed close to, or sort of within view of, some of the cafes she wrote her first Harry Potter book, then shown the direction of where the final book of the series was written – Balmoral Hotel – definitely a move up in the world. We had already walked past it a few times to and from our hotel. Which brings us to the Greyfriars Kirkyard (cemetery) where she is said to have found some of the names for her characters. I am sure everyone knows who her Thomas Riddle was, but who was the person buried? We were not told. (Do a search of Greyfriars Cemetery where they mention a few well know names)

I believe we were the only two from our group to take time to visit Greyfriars Kirk (Church – not a direct translation as Kirk was for the clothing worn by Franciscans – pre-Reformation) that sits inside the cemetery. The church has gone through many transformations. This stained glass is mid-Victorian. This was the first Scottish church to have stained glass since Reformation. I believe these panels were put in after a mid-1800s fire.

Peter Collins organ. Built in 1990 to replace an older one. Pretty impressive far above us in its own alcove . I enjoy organ music, we heard none in any of the churches we visited.

Besides the Harry Potter connection to the cemetery there is a lovely, somewhat touching tale about the faithful dog Bobby, a Skye terrier who visited the grave of his master for 14 years! One story is he, the dog, was given the freedom of the city after the gardener of the churchyard complained and had Bobby taken to the pound only to be reprieved by the Lord Provost. Bobby had a wonderful life, and there is even a Memorial fountain with a life size monument of him – no photo by me. Also a headstone in Greyfriars Kirkyard -also no photo. I was getting tired, dampish and hungry.

Of course we had to eat here! The lower rooms were where the Deacon had his cabinetry business, now a cafe-bar. Of note is that it seems many of the more well-to-do also had small courtyards; these days a great spot for more tables for those willing to sit in the rain. The upper floor, where he lived, is a tearoom.

The tomato basil soup was quite tasty. Something I rarely like. This was probably the only day we had any significant rain on our whole trip in Scotland, soup seemed like the right choice before an expected long afternoon of castle climbing.

By 1:15, warmed, and our head’s buzzing with everything we had seen, heard and discovered we were ready for the last bit of the Royal Mile, that leads to the gates of Edinburgh Castle. Would the queen be home? (Or could she have gone to Holyrood Palace, at the other end of the Royal Mile? Was the 21 gun salute even for her? Our entry time was for between 2:00 – 2:30. Do not be late. But first, we had to squeeze in Saint Giles Cathedral! Would we be on time?