Great report. We loved Scotland. I'm checking airfares to Edinburgh.

Hi Lynda! We're heading to Scotland in May and so I'm loving reading your report... Thanks for taking the time to write one!

janisj - meant to reply to you previously, meant 30 minutes up Glencoe not 30 miles.

Thank you everyone who is reading along. It's so encouraging to know I can contribute to this site that has nurtured my love of travel.

Day Five

This morning DB and I were up bright and early. We had dropped DD’s laundry off yesterday, so before breakfast DB and I walked up down Kenneth Street to Tomnahurich Street where we turned left then crossed the street to the launderette. After picking up the laundry, we went into the Tesco Metro and bought sandwiches, water and chips for a picnic lunch on the train. It was another beautiful morning with clear blue sky. Back at Tanera we had breakfast then asked our host to call a taxi for us. We settled the bill and went outside to await the taxi. I think this taxi got lost as well as we ended up waiting quite a bit, but we eventually made it to the Inverness train station.

I had purchased tickets online in advance for this trip. After entering the train station, I looked around for the machine to dispense our pre-purchased tickets. The only ticket machine I could find was out of order so we went to passenger services to retrieve our tickets. As we were standing in line, I looked around, and there was another ticket machine in this office. I hurried over and was able to retrieve our tickets. We went out to the waiting area and everyone visited the facilities. Note, toilets in the Inverness Train station cost 30p to enter.

Our train’s platform was not displayed on any of the boards and it was approaching 10:00am. There seemed to be many more people in the train station than I had anticipated and with no platform being announced, I decided it was time to play dumb tourist. I noticed a smartly dressed woman standing near us and approached her. I excused myself, then asked if she was there for the 10 o’clock train to Edinburgh. I didn’t get her name, but this woman was very kind and helpful. She replied that the only train leaving soon was the Edinburgh train and she pointed it out to me at the far end of the platforms. She said that she was a frequent traveler on this train and the station was so crowded because there was a large group of girl scouts taking the train today. She said the train would be boarding soon and recommended we move over as soon as we saw people being admitted through the turnstiles. Sure enough, passengers were soon being admitted through the turnstiles with no announcement or platform ever listed on the boards. I shepherded my little flock through the turnstiles and we headed for our train.

My goal was to find seats on a car without Girl Scouts. We stepped aboard the next to the last car and before we had stored our luggage we were swarmed with Girl Scouts. The last few seats in the car were quickly taken by the GS. Keeping firm hold of my bag, I quickly swiveled around, said “Out!” and pushed my two charges out the car. I hurried down to the last car, which was thankfully devoid of Girl Scouts and had an open four-seat table. We stowed our bags and plopped down into our seats. The kind lady from the station was seated in this car. She looked up and said “Oh yes, I should have told you to head directly to the last car.” I replied that I thought we had outrun the
Girl Scouts in the previous car, but they had caught up to us and driven us onward.

Eventually our car filled up and I heard a conductress asking loudly who was the owner of this red suitcase? I have a red suitcase. I got up and started back toward the luggage rack, but she was berating some other poor passenger about properly and safely storing his bag. I settled back into my seat and soon we were off.

My one miscalculation is that my sense of direction easily gets turned around and we were seated on the sunward side of the train so we were rather warm in the sunlight streaming in the large windows, but it wasn’t unbearably uncomfortable. There was a group of about eight businessmen in the car near us traveling as a group and I think they were pretty toasted before the train ever left the station. They were quite loud and passing around several large bottles of liquor. I was happy to see them go when they disembarked in Perth.

As we rattled down the tracks, it didn’t take long for the hypnotic motion and the warm environment to lull all of us into a nap, the drunken businessmen notwithstanding. Our daybags were in the inside seat next to me and our suitcases were buried beneath quite a pile of larger bags, so I wasn’t too worried about them finding new owners. Looking back on it, I guess that falling asleep on the train was not the safest thing we could have done, but I don’t think Scotland has much of a reputation for theft as say Rome, New York, or Paris. Not to say it doesn’t happen, can happen anywhere. Thankfully we did not learn an expensive lesson. After about an hour we all roused, confirmed our bags were indeed still traveling with us and enjoyed the view of the Scottish landscape.

I don’t know why, but I was actually surprised by how green Scotland is. I think my mental image was more like Glen Coe than the low, rolling, green hills we saw throughout most of our trip. Near noon, we pulled out our lunch and soon we could tell we were approaching Edinburgh. We crossed the Firth of Forth and soon we were pulling into Waverly station.

At last the train came to a stop, we gathered up our belongings, hopped off the train and waded through Waverly Station. Exiting the station, we found the taxi stand and asked the first one in line to take us to our new home for the next three nights, Highfield Guest House on Mayfield Road. The Highfield Guest House is the “fanciest” of the B&Bs we stayed in on this trip. It is a very charming old Victorian with high ceilings, lots of crown moulding and well appointed rooms. DD and DB shared a twin room on the ground floor and I again had a single on the first floor up.

At check-in our hostess inquired as to our plans offering suggestions for buses, etc. She suggested that if we were planning to visit Edinburgh Castle that we do so today for photos from the esplanade out over the city as it was a lovely day, but tomorrow was supposed to be very overcast with possible rain. DD was feeling the need for a nap so DB and I decided to take the bus as close to the castle as possible, take some photos and scope out the lay of the land. From research, I knew that the castle was on a hill, and with DD needing a nap again this afternoon I was beginning to get concerned about his ability to visit the castle safely.

Leaving DD resting, DB and I crossed and walked up the street a short distance to a bus stop. In my planning I had scoped out the two bus stops near the Highfield and which bus routes to take to and from the Royal Mile. On Mayfield Road, bus 42 would carry us towards the historic center. About two short blocks east on Newington Road, bus 37 would carry us to and from the city center. There is also a handy app you can download on your phone to track the bus you need and to plan trips and let you know which stop to take.

After a wait of about 15 minutes our bus pulled into view. Luckily we had enough change and boarding the bus, I deposited all our coins, told the driver we wanted 2 singles and asked him to let us know when we neared the stop for the castle (I wasn’t quite as handy with the app at this point). The driver gave me a surly look and didn’t reply, so we meekly found a seat; and I tried to remember from the online maps I had spent hours studying where we would need to jump off. I definitely felt that I had the word “TOURIST” emblazoned in neon yellow on my forehead. However after about a 20 minute ride a kindly lady told us that the next stop would be the one we wanted for the castle as she made her way past us to the door. The bus lurched into motion again, and a few other passengers chimed in and said that yes indeed, the stop for the Castle would be next. The driver did actually call out “Edinburgh Castle” as we pulled up to the stop and DB and I thanked our fellow passengers and hopped out.

Standing on the sidewalk DB says “Which way?” and luckily all the time poring over Google maps on my laptop paid off. Also, I knew we needed to go uphill, so I pointed “that way” and off we went. We were at the Victoria Street bus stop and had only about a block (I thought it was a long block) to the Royal Mile. We reached the Mile and turned left. We could not see the castle yet, but I figured we were headed in the right direction because we were still going uphill. We crossed the roundabout at Johnston Terrace where we saw a piper in full regalia playing on the sidewalk. We kept trudging uphill and finally the esplanade spread out around us. It was full of cranes! Big mechanical cranes! And giant metal bleachers! The seating for the Tattoo still covered both sides of the esplanade. There would be no photographs from the esplanade for a few more weeks from what I could see!

We wandered around the esplanade and confirmed that no, there was no place along the esplanade for photos out over the city or down the hill that was not blocked by ugly metal bleachers or machinery to take them down (I presume). As we stood looking around the esplanade and down the Royal Mile, we were both dismayed by the uphill hike needed to reach the castle. Very concerned I said to DB, “I don’t think DD can do this tomorrow.” DB didn’t think he could do it either, considering that to see the castle there was even more (and steeper!) uphill walking once through the gate. I was becoming more and more dismayed. This was DD’s one trip to Scotland. I couldn’t bring DD all this way only to tell him I didn’t think he could physically manage to see THE number one site in Edinburgh. I said “I’ve been places where there was another entrance that wasn’t readily apparent so let’s go through the gate and see if we can ask someone about another entrance or way up the hill.” DB and I went through the gate and into the ticket courtyard. I was specifically looking for something that might say “Visitor Services” or such but was really beginning to panic. I was just about to give up when I saw a man walk out a door into the courtyard pushing a wheelchair and wearing an Edinburgh vest. I practically tackled him.

DB and I pounced on this poor man. “Excuse me, do you work here?” Stupid question. “Yes I do can I help you?” I quickly explained our dilemma that we were bringing our DD to the castle tomorrow and was there another, easier entrance for elderly or disabled individuals? “Why yes there is. There is an accessibility car that will take elderly or disabled visitors to the top of the Castle. Just outside the gate to the left is a sign and you can wait there for the accessibility car." We went out the gate and milled around for a few minutes, unable to see any signage about a car and then our friend came out the gate and said it’s just over here. There was a very small sign that was turned away from us but all we needed to do tomorrow morning was get DD to this spot and then he could take the car up to the top of the Castle. He could then tour the buildings at the top of the hill and walk down at his leisure or contact a docent and the car would bring him back down if needed. Hallelujuh! Our trip was saved!

Giddy now that we weren’t faced with the unpleasant task of telling our DD we couldn’t tour the Castle tomorrow, we walked back out the esplanade. To get home we needed to walk down the Royal Mile to Newington Street and then look for a bus stop for route 37. However, we decided to indulge in our first serious shopping since the start of this trip and we made it about 100 feet from the Castle Esplanade before we were lured into a very large 3-story souvenir shop. They had everything from the usual T-shirts, coffee mugs and thimbles to very expensive jewelry and custom kilts. We did find some things with the crest of Clan MacLaine along with some T-shirts and other items. I found a woolen scarf woven in the (supposedly) Clan MacLaine tartan. I even found a whiskey glass with my married name for my husband.

As we walked down the Mile, I think we made it into almost every shop between the Castle and Newington Street, if only for a quick look around. There were a large number of shops selling expensive woolens. Since we live in a pretty temperate environment, wool was not on my must-have list. Eventually we found Newington Street, and reading the signs at the bus stops finally found one for route 37. We lined or queued up to wait for our bus. By this time I had opened the Lothian Bus app on my phone. I knew from notes I had brought that we needed the stop at Crawfurd/Savile Road. Bus 37 never came, so DD pulled out his phone and using a mapping app said he thought we could walk it in 30 minutes. I was kind of dubious, but agreed to give a try. After about 20 minutes I don’t think we were very close to home so we found another bus stop for bus 37 and lined up. I reopened the app and found a bus was enroute. We did wait a bit, but the bus finally approached our stop (this was now rush hour when people everywhere were trying to get home). We hopped on and of course the charge on my phone was getting low. I actually thought we had gone past our stop and told DB we needed to get off at the next stop. We looked around and found the button to signal the next stop. Standing on the sidewalk trying to figure out where we were, I realized we were at the Crawfurd Road stop! Our day just keeps getting better.

It was about a 15 minute walk along Savile Road which had a little dogleg, a right turn up Mayfield Road and we were home. We went into DD and DB’s room to find DD awake and in good spirits. We had a desultory conversation about where to go to dinner. We couldn’t seem to come to an agreement. DB and I had passed another branch of Bella Italia on the Royal Mile and I think DB was hungry for Italian food, so that is what we finally agreed upon.

I was able to look up the restaurant’s phone number (what did we do without smart phones?) and make a reservation. I then tried out the number for City Cabs I had stored in my phone before leaving home. DB and I had talked it over and decided that we would conserve DD’s strength for walking around actual sites and use City Cabs to get back and forth from the guest house. During the next two days the fare was generally in the £9-11 range per trip. This was three times what we had planned (£3.30 for all three of us on a bus) but I think it was the difference in enabling DD to get around.

The taxi deposited us in front of Bella Italia and we were actually a bit early for our reservation, but were seated relatively quickly. Unfortunately we were in a table near the door, the restaurant was packed and there was a screaming baby. However, the service here was still better than that experienced at Cuan Mor (no, I'm not bitter). The food was good, not in the range of great, but good and filling. As we were finishing dessert, I again called City Cabs. Their automated system tracks the calls from your number and asks if you would like to be picked up at the same location as last time. I had to reply no each time and wait for a live person to come on and give them our current location and destination. We stood outside and people watched while we waited for the taxi, but we were soon back at the Highfield and tucked in after a long day.

Day 6 Edinburgh Castle

After a restful night we woke up and met for breakfast about 8:00am. While we ate I called a taxi from City Cabs and it soon picked us up. It was a slightly overcast and windy day. This was our one experience with City Cabs where we were less than excited with their service. We explained to the driver that DD had trouble walking uphill and asked him to drop us off at the gate to the esplanade. The driver took us about halfway between Johnson Terrace and the entrance to the esplanade saying he couldn’t get any closer due to delivery trucks approaching the castle. There were trucks approaching, but there was plenty of traffic approaching closer to the castle. He refused to go any further so we got out and continued up the Mile to the Castle. When we finally reached the pick up point for the accessibility car there were a few chairs set out and I asked DD to have a seat. We were the first people at the pick up point, but an elderly couple soon joined us. An attendant soon appeared and looked at our tickets. The Castle was covered by the Scottish Explorer Pass. I think we just broke even on the cost of the explorer pass using it at Dunstaffnage, Urquhart, and Edinburgh Castle.

More people began to wander up the pickup point and we even saw a few vehicles drive up the esplanade and drop off passengers. The attendant came back around and asked us if one of our party would mind walking up the castle so the elderly couple could ride up in the first trip with DD. DB said he would walk up and meet us at the top. Soon, the accessibility car pulled up and the four of us piled in. The car took us up to the top of the hill through a back access road and dropped us at the top of the hill. He reminded us that the car was available if we needed a ride down and directed us to the entrance to The Honours (the Scottish Crown Jewels). DB was waiting for DD and me when we climbed out. There were very few people around and we hotfooted it to The Honours first.

There is quite an exhibit prior to the actual Crown Jewels with a statue of the crowning of a Scottish king as well as murals on the walls depicting Scottish kings. There was also an exhibit portraying a coronation with mannequins which I thought was slightly cheesy. By this time a few other people who had made up the hill, but we mostly had the Crown Jewels to ourselves. They were impressive and it was nice to see them without having to jostle 100 of our (not) closest friends for a view. Coming back out of the exhibit, we next toured the Royal Palace and the Grand Hall. I was particularly impressed by the ceiling of the Palace as well as the relief of the Scottish Coat of Arms above the fire place. By now it was becoming noticeably more crowded as we made our way into the Great Hall. This is a large and impressive room that was used by royalty as a state receiving room. The walls are covered in finely carved wood paneling about 12-15 feet up topped by dark red paint the rest of the way to the ceiling. There are several sets of armor and lots of weaponry around the walls.

After the Great Hall, we walked across the square to the Scottish National War Memorial. This was a very moving exhibit. Seeing the memorials with the names of those lost in WWI makes it easy to understand why WWI was called the Great War. There are memorials for each branch of the service and then some. DD wanted to make sure he saw the memorial for the air corps. Leaving the War Memorial we walked out across the Half Moon Battery. The canons of the Half Moon Battery face out over the city of Edinburgh, bringing the history lessons from the Culloden Battlefield into focus. We wandered around the battery for a while admiring the views out over the city then walked down along the Forewall Battery to Mons Meg. We admired the giant canon and continued to ooh and ah over the views of the city and out to the Firth of Forth. Looking down I noticed the dog cemetery. This is a little plot of land dedicated to the burial of pets belonging to the soldiers stationed at the castle. Leaving Meg, we entered St. Margaret’s Chapel. This is a very small, simple chapel.

Leaving the Chapel, we toured the Royal Scots Regimental Museum. This museum has exhibits about the history of Scots in the British armed forces from the times of Culloden through the present. There were exhibits about everything from a historic soldier’s gear to actions in the Gulf. I thought it was very interesting to see the different crafts completed by the soldiers, including some very intricate beadwork. After the regimental museum he walked through the Prisons of War exhibit, which is a recreation of prisons of war from the time of the American Revolution. It was sobering to see the conditions endured by American POWs.

After the POW exhibit, we were museumed out so started walking downhill. We continued to admire the views of the city but eventually wound our way down and out across the (still!) crane filled esplanade. By this time, the castle was very crowded. I was somewhat surprised at the number of tourists we saw here and at Urquhart. I would have thought that late September would have seen the crowds lessen much more than this. I can’t imagine how crowded Edinburgh must be in August during the fringe arts festival.

We continued on down the Royal Mile, by now looking for somewhere for lunch. We stumbled upon Brodie’s Café and we all settled down for a panini and chips. DD needed some time to sit, so after we finished lunch I ordered a cup of tea and succumbed to the temptation presented by the many desserts on display at the counter. DB followed suit and soon we all had tea or coffee and a dessert. Our next appointment of the day was at the Real Mary King’s Close tour at 3:00pm. After about an hour, I suggested we walk down to St Giles Cathedral which was nearly across the street from the Real Mary Kings Close. We were not very far away and I thought DD could sit in a pew while DB and I took in the Cathedral.

Still following along and enjoying this!

Damn, I better get in shape...quick! Great report.

((H))

Enjoying your report!

Thanks, I'm glad you're all still following along! Below is the 2nd half of day six and I'll finish up day seven soon.

Day Six Part Two

After finishing off our desserts, we walked down the Royal Mile to the Cathedral of St. Giles. Entry was free, but there was a £2 or £3 photography permit, which DB and I both paid. DD found a pew with a padded seat in the back and settled down to rest while DB and I circled the church photographing the carvings, stained glass windows, the ceiling, the ornately carved pulpit and the memorials. This church has a beautiful blue vaulted ceiling and many beautiful stained glass windows. One of the side chapels has a beautiful wood carving of the Madonna and child with angels. I was amused at the carving of a unicorn seahorse on the back of one of the pews. This church is not as grand as St. Paul’s, but is full of history.

About 2:45, DB and I woke up DD who appeared to be having a comfortable nap in his cushioned pew and crossed the Mile to the Real Mary King’s Close. I had prebooked this tour through The Real Mary King’s Close website. I presented our voucher and we were waved through the entrance to the waiting area in the back of the building. There are lockers where we left our daybags as they are not permitted on the tour and then we stood for a few minutes waiting for our tour to begin. Our tour guide was a young woman in I think 14th century dress, who adopted the persona of a young woman from that era. The tour was very interesting and informative about life for the average person in Edinburgh from the middle ages through about 1800s. Our tour guide had an (I thought) annoying giggle but was very knowledgeable.

The tour itself was through several homes and buildings that are now below street level. Edinburgh is built on the back of a ridge or spine of rock that descends from the Castle down to the Palace at the end of the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile itself is a street built along the top of this spine or ridge and lanes and alleyways (closes) descending down the sides of the spine grew up along the side of this street. In the 1700s the city of Edinburg decided to engage in some redevelopment and condemned a series closes on one side of the street. The buildings in this area became the foundations for a new shopping complex. If I remember correctly, that shopping center is now the Edinburgh City Hall complex. I believe some of these closes were used as air raid shelters during WWII. The Real Mary King’s Close has access to this area and conducts “social awareness” tours through the tiny homes and buildings of what once was medieval Edinburgh. Some of these homes continued to be occupied until early 1900s despite being condemned. It was a very enlightening tour to learn about the living conditions of the average Edinburgh resident in the middle ages through the 1700s.

At the end of the tour, we bought some water from the café and DB purchased a few items in the bookshop then we called trusty City Cabs and returned “home” for a nap. However once at the Highfield we began to think about dinner. We decided on seeing how the Scots treat Mexican food and settled on Pancho Villa’s on the Royal Mile. I called for a reservation at 7:00, arranged the taxi to pick us up at 6:45 and then we took a much-needed rest.

Our taxi arrived promptly and soon delivered us to Pancho Villa’s. I think we all had enchiladas which did not live up to our local Tex-Mex, but which were still pretty good. And as I expected, no free chips and salsa as soon as we sat down. The restaurant was not crowded and was closer to the Palace and the Scottish Parliament building than the Castle.

Google maps showed a Starbucks nearby and since I needed to pick up two Edinburgh mugs for my DS and his GF, after dinner we walked about two blocks further down the mile. However, we got to Starbucks just after 8:00pm and they had closed for the night. DB wanted ice cream and he looked up a nearby place to find it on his smart phone. It wasn’t far, but we didn't want to overtire DD, so we again called City Cabs. Standing on the sidewalk on the Royal Mile at 8:00pm we were nearly the only people on the street. This part of the Mile seemed much less touristy than the upper half near the castle. The cab came and we were delivered to Snoopz. The ice cream was good, and we soon called another taxi to take us home for the night.

Lovely report! Thanks for all the details!

Day Seven Palace of Holyrood House and Rosslyn Chapel

Today was Saturday, our last day in Edinburgh. We met in the breakfast room about 8:00 am and once again had a very filling breakfast. I was going to miss the tea when we returned home. Hot tea in the US is just not the same as the flavorful, robust tea served in the UK. We again called City Cabs and were dropped off outside the Palace at the foot of the Mile. It was about 9:10am and the Palace did not open until 9:30. We walked along the front of the Palace gates and the Queen’s Gallery and took pictures from every conceivable angle; then we turned around and took photos of the very modern Scottish Parliament building and Arthur’s Seat. With my telephoto lens I could discern a few hearty souls trekking up the trail along this iconic bluff overlooking the Palace. It was an overcast and windy day, but not too chilly. We wandered back over to the entrance and waited for the Palace to open. As opening time approached, more visitors arrived and milled around the entrance, but there were nowhere near the crowds as at the Edinburgh Castle.

At last the gate opened, and while everyone else made their way to the ticket window, we approached the last gate and the courtyard before the Palace. I had pre-purchased our tickets before leaving home. We presented our tickets and picked up an audio guide. Try as I might, even with my wide angle lens, I could not get a clean photo of the entire length of the Palace façade. We crossed the courtyard and entered the Palace, stopping in front of the inner courtyard or quadrangle. Turning to our right, we began the tour of the state apartments and the Mary Queen of Scots chambers. The state apartments were suitably grand and awe inspiring.

Following the state apartments, Mary’s chambers were reached by a steep spiral staircase. We saw Mary’s privy rooms and inner and outer chambers. The audio guide stated that David Rizzio her secretary was murdered as they dined in the northern turret room, although other publications place the scene of his death in the outer chamber. As we toured the turret room which Mary used as a private dining room, eating with her innermost circle, I remember thinking it was a small and intimate room. David Rizzio was stabbed over 50 times by 15-20 men with Darnley. This room must have been very crowded with Mary, Rizzio, a few other of her inner most circle, Darnley and the swarm of men he brought with him. Rizzio must have been killed practically at Mary’s feet. I was struck by how up close and personal this murder must have been to Mary. This shocking act of violence, so immediate, so intimate, must have had a lasting effect on the young queen.

Completing the tour of Mary’s chambers, we descended to the ground floor and viewed the exhibition of the queen’s fashions that were on display. All the items presented were related to Holyrood Palace or worn by the queen at an event at the Palace. I think it’s safe to say I enjoyed this exhibit more than either DD or DB. I caught up to them in the ruins of the abbey outside. We walked back in and out the front and across the courtyard to the café and gift shop. We bought some bottled water and I purchased a miniature porcelain pitcher for my collection. We finished our visit to Holyrood in the Queen’s Gallery (tickets also pre-purchased). On display was a smallish exhibit of garden related art from paintings to ceramics. Again, I enjoyed this a bit more than either DD or DB. Exiting the Gallery we set off to find an ATM.

Google maps said there was an ATM in the Scottish Parliament building, but we were unable to enter. An attendant suggested we walk around the end of the building and up Holyrood Road to a Tesco where we would find a bank machine. We did so and found the ATM at Tesco. Completing our business at the ATM, we cut through Gentle’s Entry and up the steps of Crichton’s Close which deposited us back on the Royal Mile, right next to Starbuck’s. How convenient. Two Starbuck’s coffee mugs acquired, we began to look for lunch. Clarinda’s tea room was nearby, but there were no empty tables. We looked around and saw an establishment named Oink across the street. They roast a whole pig, then shred it for sandwiches with different toppings. This lunch rated as edible. Be aware, there are not many restaurants or cafes on this end of the Royal Mile. There was a Pizza Express on Holyrood Road and a couple of cafes that did not look promising. If you’re planning to see the Palace in the morning and then have lunch, seriously consider lunch in the Palace Café before leaving Holyrood grounds.

As we were finishing up our roast pork sandwiches, I again called trusty City Cabs. We cleared off our table and stepped outside to wait. In only a few minutes, a black city cab pulled up to the curb. DD was heading back to Highfield Guest House for nap. I offloaded the mugs to him, we gave the driver the name and address, made sure DD had enough cash for the fare, and sent him off. DB and I were headed to Rosslyn Chapel.

We felt the need for a little more retail therapy though and decided to visit a few shops we had spotted last night as walked up the Royal Mile to South Bridge where we would catch a bus to Rosslyn. There were a couple of Christmas shops along this stretch of the Royal Mile, but they did not have anything in them I had not seen in other Christmas themed stores anywhere else. I did find a non-plaid blue ruana to take home. I had been looking for a ruana, but I’m not crazy about plaid.

It didn’t take too long to walk up to South Bridge. We knew from prior research that the number 37 bus would take us to Rosslyn. We found an appropriate stop, made sure we had £1.30 each and waited for a bus to arrive. I think there may have been slightly fewer buses running on Saturday, but we didn’t have to wait long. Once again as we boarded, we asked the driver to let us know when we reached the stop for Rosslyn Chapel. We received a neutral reply to that request, and climbed the stairs to take seats in the front of the upper deck. It took about 45 minutes to reach the village of Rosslyn. When we arrived, the driver did announce Rosslyn Chapel. However, if you are planning to make this journey, the bus stops right in front of the Rosslyn Hotel. There is a sign pointing towards the Chapel and it is just a short walk from the street. We stood in line to pay for our tickets and took a look at the offerings in the book store. I think the only thing we purchased was the souvenir guide book.

The Chapel was packed. Photography is not allowed inside, which is a real shame because there are not nearly enough photos in the guide book to do this little chapel justice. This site was suggested by DB very late in the planning process (the day before we left!), and I am glad he did. Nearly every conceivable surface inside this chapel is carved. This chapel was a display of enormous wealth by standards of 1450. The funds that the Earl of St Clair poured into this chapel in hiring the many, many stone masons to complete all of the carvings must have been huge. Almost every inch of the barrel vaulted ceiling is carved. Every window frame, lintel, pillar and arch in this little chapel is ornately carved. The master’s and apprentice’s columns are magnificent. This is truly a breathtaking site. Do not pass up the opportunity to see Rosslyn if you visit Edinburgh.

I think DB was ready to go before I was but he was patient to wait for me as I scrutinized every nook and cranny of this amazing little church. We were able to see some parts of the crypt where filming of the Da Vinci Code took place. After ensuring I had carefully examined every window, lintel, arch, and column, we walked outside and looked around the grounds of the Chapel. All the exterior window frames are ornately carved and there are a few gargoyles as well. The chapel has a very gothic exterior. There are a few memorials on the grounds and we made sure to view them all. Finally, I think we had seen all there was to see of this wonderful chapel and we walked back up to the road to catch our bus home. We made sure we both had correct change and waited for our bus to arrive.

We had been waiting a few minutes when a small group of American tourists approached and asked if we knew the bus routes very well. I replied that we did not, and asked where they needed to go. It seems they were with a tour group and their hotel was way out on the west side of Edinburgh and they didn’t know how to get back to it. I asked them how they got to Rosslyn. “Our bus let us off in the city center, and we took the #37 bus here.” We looked up their hotel on Google maps and there were bus and tram stops nearby. I suggested taking the #37 to the train station and from there a tram to a stop near their hotel. I also used the Lothian bus app on my phone and gave her the number of a couple of bus routes that would take her back to her hotel.

Once again, we climbed up to the upper deck and sat near the front for the ride home. I kept a close eye out for out stop, and we were successfully able to push the button in time for our stop. We walked the few blocks back to the guest house and checked in on DD. He had had a good nap and was feeling good. DB suggested Chinese for dinner. Using my smart phone I found a place called Xanadu that had some decent reviews in Google and more importantly had a table available when I called for a reservation. We called City Cabs again and headed out to dinner.

Xanadu had very good Chinese food. The service was good. Most of the other diners also appeared to be Asian, which I generally take as a good sign when looking for an Asian restaurant. I don’t remember everything we ordered, but it was served family style on little gas warmers. Once again we cabbed back to the guest house and settled our bill because we would be leaving very early in the morning. I called City Cabs and arranged for a pickup at 5:45 the next morning. It was time to home. I wish that we had had a few more days in Edinburgh, because I don’t think we even scratched the surface.

Day Eight Home

Our cab arrived right on time, and the ride to the airport took only about 30 minutes. After checking our bags and collecting boarding passes we walked around the corner towards security. And came to a complete stop. It was about 6:30am and there must have been 500-700 people waiting to clear security. I was dismayed. We were going to be there for a whiiiiiiile. I hoped we could get through in time to make our flight. We started forward again and found the end of the looooong line.

Twenty minutes later, we were somewhat bewildered, but on the other side of security. The folks in Edinburgh Airport security know how to do their job and move people through quickly and efficiently with minimal fuss. DFW could learn something from them. We had plenty of time before our flight left and there were actually a few shops open along the concourse at this ungodly hour. Since I still had not picked up a gift for my daughter, I popped into a shop. I actually found a very nice necklace and a pair of earrings for her at a reasonable price.

Our flight boarded on time, there were no delays taking off, and a hot breakfast as served on board, which was actually edible. We did not have such a long layover in LHR as we did inbound, however our gate was in a “Quiet” terminal, meaning there were no announcements. I found the whole experience of waiting at the gate for our transatlantic flight with no announcements whatsoever unnerving. We were unable to score exit row seating for the trip home, but we all had plenty of books and movies on our tablets. DD slept some more. We finally landed at DFW and fought the masses through immigration.

It took us longer to clear immigration at DFW than it did security in Edinburgh. Easily twice as long. And that was using ICE’s fancy new automated kiosks. I thought the whole process was confusing but we were eventually through to the other side and DSIL and DN were waiting to pick us up. DD and I dropped off DB, DSIL, and DN then gassed up and made the two-hour drive home. It almost felt odd to be driving on the right side of the road.

I was happy to see DH again and our dear little schnauzer was happy to see me and DD as well. I may visit Scotland again, but I don’t think I’ll ever have another morning as magical as that walk along Loch Buie.

Regarding the murder of Rizzio, John Guy in his recent biography of Mary Stuart ( which may well be the most current and definitive biography of Mary Stuart ) quotes Mary as later saying the blows [ to Rizzio] had been so close that" she felt the coldness of the iron".

thanks for posting your detailed trip report. We are going in July for a special anniversary trip and are very excited. Printing your report for references.

<i>It almost felt odd to be driving on the right side of the road. </i>

LOL, taking the bus home after landing at BOS on one trip to Scotland, I picked a seat on the bus's right. I looked up one time on the trip and had a heart-stopping-though-just-a-second of "Where's the driver?!"