Today we were off to Edinburgh with Shanny, Shaz and Ken. Ken was again playing tour guide, a role he takes on with great enthusiasm and passion.
Rather than catching the tube, it was decided to take a black cab to King’s Cross Station, since there would be the 4 of us travelling today. Shan had to work today, so would be travelling up tonight.
The train pulled out from the station very smoothly, and I had no idea how fast we were actually going till I checked the map on my phone. Um, 200km/hr! That might not be fast to some, but it was the fastest I’d travelled on land. Well apart from when on the runway just about to take-off. Well, I thought it was exciting.
England flew past, and then pretty soon Scotland too was flying past outside. Green fields, stone cottages, castles, ruins, sheep with black faces; a beautifully scenic train ride.
Edinburgh was foggy; we couldn't even see the castle as we arrived. Our apartment was in the old town on the Royal Mile, only a short walk up hill from the station. The views from our apartment over the Royal Mile and St. Giles Church were just priceless.
After dropping off luggage, we walked down News Steps and into the New Town just as a drizzle settled in. We dropped into Fredericks for coffee, and I tragically missed the last scone, so settled for a coffee while others warmed up with soup.
We decided to orient ourselves with the old and new towns by taking a couple of open top bus tours of the town; the drizzle turned became rain.
I speak of the Old Town and the New Town. This will test my memory, especially as I’m writing this a week later with a belly full of sangria (shhh don’t tell anybody).
The Old Town is like the original town. Built on the slopes of the basalt plug which gives the castle such a valued strategic position; the town was no longer the envy of the rich, and Edinburgh wanted to encourage more people to move in. So a new town was built on the other side of the gardyloo filled Nor Loch. Here, the rich moved into nice architecturally designed houses on landscaped streets with private gardens, the Nor Loch was drained and turned into a lovely private garden, and in the Old Town, the people remaining were able to move up a peg on the social ladder. Well, it was a bit more complicated than that. The poorest of the poor still lived in the closes and lower floors, slipping and sliding and dodging the gardyloo, the richest of those remaining in Old Town lived on the middle floors of the tall buildings, and the middle classes lived on the top floors. Carting water up 4 or 5 stories did not justify the views. Probably because of all the fog…
Anyway, after all that history, it was time for dinner. Our hunt for somewhere to eat was not as straightforward as all would hope, and we retraced our steps through the rainy Old Town, then through the New Town, passing many noisy crowd filled pubs and restaurants before finally finding a far distant pub.
Note to future self: pre-book dinner if eating out in Edinburgh on a rainy Friday evening. Anyway, the beers and the super yum boozy coffee made up for the average fish and chips. I am adamant I will have a good fish and chips before I leave the UK.We decided to orient ourselves with the old and new towns by taking a couple of open top bus tours of the town; the drizzle turned became rain.
I speak of the Old Town and the New Town. This will test my memory, especially as I’m writing this a week later with a belly full of sangria (shhh don’t tell anybody).
The Old Town is like the original town. Built on the slopes of the basalt plug which gives the castle such a valued strategic position; the town was no longer the envy of the rich, and Edinburgh wanted to encourage more people to move in. So a new town was built on the other side of the gardyloo filled Nor Loch. Here, the rich moved into nice architecturally designed houses on landscaped streets with private gardens, the Nor Loch was drained and turned into a lovely private garden, and in the Old Town, the people remaining were able to move up a peg on the social ladder. Well, it was a bit more complicated than that. The poorest of the poor still lived in the closes and lower floors, slipping and sliding and dodging the gardyloo, the richest of those remaining in Old Town lived on the middle floors of the tall buildings, and the middle classes lived on the top floors. Carting water up 4 or 5 stories did not justify the views. Probably because of all the fog…
Anyway, after all that history, it was time for dinner. Our hunt for somewhere to eat was not as straightforward as all would hope, and we retraced our steps through the rainy Old Town, then through the New Town, passing many noisy crowd filled pubs and restaurants before finally finding a far distant pub.
P.S. Even though the town is called New Town, it was established back in the 1760’s. You know, before James Cook arrived in Australia…
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