N and N's New Adventure: Day 13: 6/7/12 Edinburgh Castle

Day 13, Thursday, June 7, 2012

The weather was supposed to be decent today, so we decided last night that we would head to Edinburgh and do the castle. Neil and I picked up Jan and Bonnie at their hotel about 9:15 and walked to the Hill Head Tube Station. Neil and i bought 20 trip passes for the subway in Glasgow. We took the subway to the Buchanan Street station and walked to Thomas Cook Currency Exchange where we changed money. Then we walked to the Queens Street Station where we had arranged to meet Pete, Jess and Joey. We were able to get a group rate ticket which means that we have to travel before 9:30 AM and after 6:30 PM.

We did get to Edinburgh without much excitement. After arriving we started the trek up the Miracle Mile to the castle. It is only up with narrow sidewalks and cobblestone roads. The Miracle Mile has shop after shop of all things Scottish for the tourists. In addition to the shops, which are fun, are pubs for food and drink. We trekked up and up the hill which makes sense since castles were built on the tops of hills for defense.

We made it. The castle sits on Castle Rock which is a volcanic rock. The castle or some form of it has been there since the 1200's, We paid our fees and decided to split up and meet later at the cafe. Neil, Jan, Bonnie, and I went to the National War Museum of Scotland. We looked at a lot of weapons of war, military equipment that was carried by the soldiers, and saw many medals that were given to soldiers. We saw different uniforms, including the kilted uniforms of the Scots. The items are identified and have their stories and explanations attached.

After finishing our tour of the museum, it was raining, so we decided to stop at the cafe a bit early. Pete and Jess arrived about the same time. After lunch, we headed up and up to the top of the castle enclosure...Crown Square. Crown Square contains the display for "The Honors of Scotland" which are the crown jewels of Scotland. Since the display is usually crowded, we sent Jan and Bonnie on their way to see them. Neil and I went to the National War Museum of Scotland. It is a very impressive building honoring all those who have died in wars. There are individual plaques to the military divisions. Below the plaques is a shelf with a heavy red leather bound book listing the names and statistics of the thousands and thousands of people who died.

We checked out the Great Hall again. It has been used as dining hall, military barracks, and now as a spot for special events. It is the usual massive stone room where there is an immense and very impressive fireplace in one end of the Great Hall and the other end is a carved wooden wall with what I call a choir loft at the top of it.

We went out to Crown Square which is the central square for the buildings containing the jewels, the War Dead Monument, Queen Anne's tea room and the Great Hall. We found a nice bench that was rather protected from the rain. Pete and Jess came into the square pushing a sleeping Joey. We took over the pushing duties and gave Pete and Jess a chance to explore. The rain continued.

After Pete and Jess collected Joey, we started down the slippery cobblestones. On the way we stopped off to check out the mons meg cannon. This is a huge cannon that was built in the 15th century. It fired 330 lb stones over two miles. The cannon was last fired in 1681. While Neil looked over the wall, I checked out St. Margaret's Church. It is the oldest building in the castle and in Edinburgh.

We stopped in the Whiskey Shop near the little church. We found a bottle of Scotch that was locked in a glass case. It was only $8,000.00. Oh, my! We left the bottle there and went back to the cafe where we had said we would meet.

The group decided we had had enough of the castle and started down the hill. Since we couldn't leave on a train before 6:30, we stopped in a pub that Pete and Jess knew for dinner. We all had a pint and either fish or steak and ale pie. Some had dessert. The food and the atmosphere was great.

After dinner we definitely needed a walk. Back to the station we went to catch the 6:43 train to Glasgow. As usual the train ride was uneventful arriving on time. The British trains operate on time the majority of the time. When we got back, Pete and Jess took a taxi back to the flat (because of the pram and all of Joey's stuff), and the rest of us took the subway. We dropped Jan and Bonnie at the hotel and trudged up the hill to the flat....and believe me it was trudging.

Steps: 18,832 Nancy steps....