Millsy Meets Mons Meg

Day Thirty-six – Edinburgh

So that's pretty much it. Today was our last full day in Scotland and also of the trip (travel home excluded of course). What a way to finish! Glorious weather and a visit to Edinburgh Castle. Not much could have topped that I don't think.

We took the bus into town from Leith rather than drive, partly to avoid the need to park, partly so I could have a break. The ride was good fun and as we had a double decker we sat upstairs so we could enjoy the view. There was plenty to see, including the Scott Monument, Princes Street and more. It also gave us the opportunity to see the castle from a distance. We got rather lucky as I asked the conductor which was the best stop to get off at exactly the right moment.

Princes Street runs parallel to the Royal Mile and when we got off the bus we could see the castle up above us, dominating the centre of Edinburgh as it does. We walked along the park and then up the hill to the Royal Mile before following that a short way up to the castle. As we arrived they were still in the process of dismantling the stands and seating from the Military Tattoo which was kind of cool. It made it all the more obvious walking across the forecourt and bridge that you were walking right where they perform the tat.

While Jenni was buying the tickets I took a first look at the view from up high and it's magic. As I've said the weather was great and you could see right out across the Forth of Firth. The climb up the hill is only part of the height as the centre of town is already up above sea level.

First up we wandered around the walls on the Northern side of the castle and then down into the National Military Museum of Scotland. It's a smallish museum but has some very interesting exhibits. The fact it is almost exclusively focused on Scots military history makes it a bit different from other military museums in that there is a combination of "anti-british" material from medieval times and the more "pro-british" stuff later on.

As we walked higher we also visited the Regimental Museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The RSDG were formed in 1971 when the 3^rd Carabiniers and the Royal Scots Greys were amalgamated. Consequently the museum included plenty of Napoleonic gear, including my third French Eagle of the trip (45^th Line), taken by the Greys at Waterloo. I have a bit of a soft spot for the Greys as they were raised by Charles II to fight the Scots Covenanters (Boo! Hiss!)

By now we'd reached "the top" and I got to see Mons Meg, one of the largest medieval cannons. She sits at the very summit of The Mound and the view from the top in almost every direction is AMAZING. We sat right next to Meg and had lunch in the sunshine (and a pretty brisk breeze!). Afterwards we popped into St Margaret's' Chapel and then started our walk back down.

On the way back down we stopped to see the National War Memorial, the Royal Apartments, a small (but entertaining) exhibition on prisoners held in the castle and finally the Crown Jewels of Scotland. The jewels are a much smaller collection than the English ones but no less impressive to my mind and they feel older and more "genuine" if that makes sense. Perhaps that's just my Scots blood coming through. ;-)

Walking back down the hill was quite pleasant considering all we'd done so far all day was walk uphill. On the way back down we stopped in a crazy tartan weaving mill cum tourist trap shop which was as much a maze as a shop, mainly to pick up some final souvenir bits and a birthday presso for Sam (yes, we haven't forgotten you mate!). As we came out we passed a guy dressed head to foot like Mel Gibson from Braveheart, doing photos for charity. In my opinion he's tied for best street performer of the trip with the Purple Bike Dude from York.

The walk back down to Princes Street was over quick (certainly quicker that the trip up) and we were soon on a bus home. The rest of the day is going to be spent trying to get far too much stuff into four suitcases. I don't fancy our chances ;-)

PS. Some quick bits and bobs...

• UK Trip Pub Spotter's Trophy goes to...... ME! I'm clearly a better pub spotter that Jen, kicking her arse all over the UK with 9 Royal Oaks to a measley 3 Rose and Crowns. To be fair Anna helped me a couple of times. Good girl!
• Photo count currently stands at 3,615. I'd say when we've cleaned out the "junk" and duplicates that will drop to about 3,400 but its still an impressive tally. I'd hate to think what that would have cost in film and prints back in "olden times".

Cheers,

Millsy