I spent last weekend staying in a swanky hotel in Edinburgh (the Apex City Hotel to be precise) with friends. I’ve spent many a night out in Edinburgh over the years and until recently my brother lived there, but I’d never really been there as a tourist before.
When most English people tell me they’ve been to Scotland, invariably they’ve been to Edinburgh and nowhere else. I then use my stock lecture about Scotland having so much more to offer than the big city but I have to admit, it is a great city. I’m not much of a fan of cities (give me rolling hills any day) but Edinburgh has always been one of the cities that I actually like. It’s got beautiful architecture, history, shops, restaurants, a friendly atmosphere and a real buzz about the place. All without really being that big a place.
Armed with the Scotland Lonely Planet Guide we took in sights like the Royal Museum (right, pictured by my dodgy camera phone as I didn’t bring a proper camera), the Museum of Scotland (there’s an interesting exhibit in the basement of some giant robots – I’m sure they weren’t the first settlers in Scotland!), the Royal Mile and of course Princes Street (with plenty shopping).
We were going to go on one of the ghost walks but unfortunately the weather changed for the worse so we passed and I didn’t get to get scared out of my wits. What a shame! It was a fun weekend although over all too quickly. But it was strange being there and not seeing my brother – I’ll always think of him when I think of Edinburgh. Not that he’ll be complaining enjoying the sunshine in California while we battle the elements here! 😉
Get around, don’t you? I’ve been to Edinburgh…and nowhere else in Scotland! Have you been to Glasgow, European City of Culture 1990?
Yeah, I do seem to travel around a lot don’t I?!
I have been to Glasgow, several times in fact. The centre’s really nice these days having had quite a lot of redevelopment. However it’s no Edinburgh.
And you know John, there’s a lot more to Scotland than just Edinburgh. There’s the north-west for a start with all those mountains… 😉
There’s certainly some breathtaking scenery up there and I’d like to see more of it. What are your views on Scottish independence, John?
Oh I think it’s completely pointless and an out-dated concept. I’ve never heard an argument for why Scotland should be independent from England that actually makes any sense – it’s inevitably ill-informed Scots who seem to think they’re living in the 14th century and are under tyrannical English rule who argue the case and use passion and ignorance in place of logic!
Hi John,
My wife and I came to Scotland for our honeymoon back in ’92. We flew into Glasgow, went to Edinburgh and used it as a base for daytrips for the first week. The next week we went up to Inverness and took daytrips from there for a week. Scotland is beautiful and the people we met were friendly and welcoming. If you ever get the chance come visit the mountains of North Carolina. I think you’ll find it a lot like home. All the best,
Tappy
Ah, sounds like a nice trip around Scotland!
North Carolina looks lovely, and not too far away from the UK. Might have to check it out some time. So much world to see and so little time…