Adventuring: Edinburgh

12th - 14th November 2024

DAY ONE:

Waking up early on the 12th November to the peaceful silence of a sleepy town at 6am to catch a train was probably the most exciting things to happen in my life.

Independently planning and procuring activities was a scary thing to do, especially as many people in my community do not dare venture further than the outskirts of the local county. Life here in my sleepy town consists of work, home and the local pub for a cold beverage. Travelling for anything is ...well... madness! I wouldn't say it was the coldest morning but I did anticipate the nippiness. With my best friend in tow and some great tunes the train ride was quite a blur of a journey. It was reaching the next station, in Newcastle that really threw us off! Making the change wasn't exactly the straight forward ordeal that my app told me it was (I'm not used to using trains as transport) we were told that the next train is behind the one we were currently travelling on and as we waited, I realised out train was on the opposite platform and as we sprinted across it set off without us! Oh shhh--- (SUGAR, HONEY, ICE, TEA) ! Then set in the stress and panic! Welp, as you gathered from reading this it can't have been too bad of an issue as we were set on the next train soon after that.... Crossing the border to Scotland was crossing into another dimension. I've never seen such pretty country side with peaks higher than clouds. It was like crossing the border into Hogsmeade valley. And When we finally arrived at Edinburgh Waverley Station we took a rather long walk to get our bearings, at about midday sat on a bench next to the Duke Of Wellington Equestrian statue of which I gave a quick snap and uploaded to social media to give family and friends a heads up we arrived safely. It was beautifully composed with the Balmoral Hotel at the opposite side of the road.

It took us a few minutes to figure out where to go for food and settled for a local cafe down the Royal Mile, taking in the surrounding beautiful architecture, we truly transported ourselves into some sort of modern fairytale. Even the side streets still seemed to be intact from the 1800's just rich history at our fingertips at every turn. After a much needed break to fill our bellies and replenish with a cup of hot caffein we decided our first mission, before checking into our apartment room, was to find The Greyfriar's Bobby! but on the way we found some gems ! - St Giles Cathedral

-Narrow Old Town Alley ways

-National Scottish Museum

-Harry Potter Inspired Graves at the Kirkyard

-Local businesses

-Parks & Gardens

-Scot's Monument

In the evening after we unloaded our luggage at our room and filled up on the delicious food available to us. We ventured out once more in the dark of the evening to enjoy a quiet half hour in the library before joining a comical and horribly historical Ghost Tour that was very quaint and entertaining! bonus points that we snapped a picture with the actor on board that gave his a lovely spooky experience!

Narrow Alleyway

Princes Gardens

Cool monument from Carlton Hill

Duke Of Wellington Statue

DAY TWO!

Waking up Absolutely shattered from the previous days travels and excitement we had breakfast at Equi's Ice Cream ... yeah not a great choice but we did wake up at 11 am which is late and we had a wonder around some beautiful gardens before settling on well.. a pizza and milkshake. I ordered the Vanilliam Wallace shake a wonderfully creamy shake with Oreo biscuit and a splash of FREEDOM! and my friend ordered the Mary Queen of Scoffs - Vanilla creamy shake with Biscoff crumble. We then made our way up and around the Edinburgh Castle met with amazing views and once again fairytale architecture and paying our respects to the grand memorial in the centre. Everything about Scotland and Edinburgh to this point is like unshading a map in my mind....you know like in a game when you travel to a new place and your absolutely blown away by the world creation...haha! It really blew me away! literally and figuratively ! It was hella windy up on that hill! After spending a few hours up here we impulsively booked into the Camera Obscura & World of Illusions which kept us entertained like little children. It was so cool and awe-inspiring seeing the Castle and Edinburgh through a live lens created in 1835. Science is just toys for adults really. Our favourite part of this was probably the room that made us look taller and the rotating Tube that made us feel dizzy! after all we are big kids a heart! and Day TWO ended with a Harry Potter inspired experience over at The Cauldron to make our own cocktails and in my opinion was well worth the price! A magical and chill experience guided by wonderful staff and enthusiastic staff surrounded by maximalist boho interior design to give it that potions - come - divination class room vibe. Even the signs on the toilets are worth noting ! Wizards vs Witches rooms - which gave me a chuckle! We may, or may not, have left the evening ever so slightly tipsy! shh! FINAL DAY! Since this is check out day we had to lug around our bags, not ideal, especially with all the hills. However we managed to push through! We took to the Edinburgh Dungeons for a fun morning! (not too different from the York Dungeons) very fun! Then a nice stroll up and over Carlton Hill for the views. We spent much of the day weaving in and out scouting for food and drink at a slower pace to save energy for out train home. I managed to track down a highland cow plushy to hopefully take with me on my other travels and perhaps he'll come back home again in the near future! I was disappointed we didn't get to take a walk through Dean Village or get to hike up Arthur's Seat. However, that’s only going to give me an excuse to come back! Yep. I think that sums up my trip. I'm not the greatest writer in the world but I'd rate this an 8/10. would absolutely come back!