One Day in Scotland

Thursday morning brought us to the port of Greenock for excursions to Glasgow and Edinburgh. We wanted to see Edinburgh this time as on our previous visit we traveled out to St. Andrews. This was a popular choice, on waitlist when we pre-booked excursions; fortunately it cleared and we were able get there after all. The only disappointment was that the annual Military Tattoo wouldn't be starting for another week.

The drive from Greenock took about 1 1/2 hours, during which Monica worked a bit on previous blog entries - yes, it's been one of those trips so far - in between taking a few photos of the countryside.

The River Clyde on the way toward Glasgow

Passing through downton Glasgow

On the way to the centre of Edinburgh, we drove through parts of the New Town (which still dates back to the 1700s) that was established as 'country residences' for the wealthy merchants and lower aristocracy. There are some lovely buildings here, but also some really nice private homes. Some of their gardens were also quite beautiful:

This building, the name of which escapes us at the moment, actually has a connection to Liverpool. Remember the design competition for the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral? Well, this building was one of the designs submitted and ultimately rejected. So, as Trish, our tour guide, said, 'Liverpool's loss is Edinburgh's gain':

Our first stop in Edinburgh was at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's residence when she is in Edinburgh. We didn't have a lot of time to stop here, as our day was fairly precisely planned, but at least we got a good view from outside the gates.

One surprise to us was the elevation differences in the city. The Old Town, where the castle is built, is high on a hill, making it almost impregnable. The New Town was built down the hillsides and outward. The streets, of course, are rather narrow and for the most part one way, so it was quite a challenge for our coach driver to get around some of these places.

This bridge goes across the valley, not a river

The photo of the Greyfriars Bobby pub is notable not because of the building but because all the people are gathered around to rub the nose of the little dog statue out front. He is 'Greyfriars Bobby', a little dog owned by a local fireman. The fireman passed away, and the dog continued to visit his grave every day for 14 years. He became a ward of the city, with everyone feeding and taking care of him until he died, and this was the tribute Edinburgh made to him.

No economist could pass by this statue without making a comment. Adam Smith, the father of economics, in front of St. Giles Cathedral.

We walked along the Royal Mile that leads through the centre of town and up to Edinburgh Castle. Shops, pubs, whisky (the Scots spell it without the 'e') shops abound, along with street performers and some unique presentations, like this falconer:

We had lunch at Hadrian's Bistro in the Balmoral Hotel. Yes, there is a connection to the Queen - not only does she own Balmoral Castle elsewhere in Scotland, but she also owns the hotel. After that we had some free time to wander before heading to the castle. We walked along the Royal Mile, and in one whisky shop we found a product from the somewhat elusive Glen Elgin Distillery, Norm's favourite:

Sorry, Norm - a bit too expensive to bring home
for you

And then it was on to the castle.

Our tour guide, Trish, was a very nice, bubbly Scot who had obviously been doing this for quite a while. The only problem was that she was rather short. To compensate, she had a retractable baton on which she flew the Scottish flag, but sometimes she needed a little help. So Larry, of course, offered to give her a hand when needed:

The castle area was quite busy, but we still managed to get around and take a few good pictures:

The National War Memorial

In the courtyard

State rooms still used today

The Great Hall, also still in use

Looking down over the city

And of course, it can't be a visit to a major historical site without scaffolding...

From the castle we headed back to Greenock, unfortunately through Edinburgh rush hour, but one good thing about Britain is that there are lots of dedicated bus lanes, especially in the cities, so we managed to avoid the worst of the traffic.

The River Clyde, like most others here, almost disappears at low tide, as evidenced by this picture taken on the way back. Compare that to the first picture in the post and you can see the difference.

It was a long day, but we were in the Sunset Bar for sailaway at 10:00 p.m.

On Friday we would be in Dublin for the first day of our overnight stay.