Edinburgh: Calton Hill and the Royal Mile

We were thinking to visit Blackness Castle in the village of Blackness, but since we were on a budget, we all agreed to spend our last full day before our departure only in Edinburgh - the capital of Scotland. 

Did you know that:

- the biggest New Year street party in the world - Hogmanay takes part here, in Edinburgh?

- Edinburgh's population doubles to over a million during famous art festivals in August?

- JK Rowling wrote "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in a cafe in Edinburgh?

- Alexander Graham Bell - the inventor of the telephone, was born here?

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes stories was born here and therefore his novels perfectly render this subtly dark, esoteric atmosphere of the city of Edinburgh?

- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the fictitious character of James Bond were educated here?

- Edinburgh University belongs to the world  top 20?

The first half of the day we hung out on Calton Hill which turned out to be a charming, peaceful place with a spectacular vista that awarded even the rainy weather!

When we climbed up the hill, to my joy, we could hear bagpipes and therefore I immediately started videoing the view with this natural "soundtrack"! ;)

                               

National Monument

Portuguese Cannon; Observatory House and Dugald Steward Monument (on the left)

Later, when we were heading to The Royal Mile - the busiest tourist street in the Old Town,  we spotted this cemetery and we, obviously, had to take a closer look at this atmospheric place.

Here you can find a memorial to the Scottish soldiers who died in the American Civil War and a statue of Abraham Lincoln - the first one outside the USA.

The Royal Mile was, indeed, full of visitor attractions and crowded with tourists, entertainers, and buskers.

    

The Scotsman Hotel

 The Royal Mile led us directly to the castle situated on a volcanic rock (!). Edinburgh castle is the most popular visitor attraction in Scotland. We didn't manage to get tickets for a castle tour, as they all had been sold out a long time before our arrival. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the outside of the majestic castle. 

This trip was my first trip abroad in a while and I must confess it affected me a lot, as it brought all my travel memories back, some of which I'm going to post here too. I was definitely in my element! The trip helped me also make some decisions such as:

- look for more adventures and opportunities to go even on a few-hour trip out of town

- buy a new camera (presumably, in the far-distant future)

- sign up for a photography course or at least buy a decent handbook for a start.

Meanwhile, I'm preparing new posts on my latest trip to ...?
;)