Edinburgh 2023 – (19th)

July 15-30, 2023

15th - Arrival16th - Dean Village17th - Portabello Beach18th - Union Canal19th - Baird & Blackford
20th - Mercat Cross21st - Cramond Beach22nd - Botanical Gardens23rd - Stirling24th - Scottish Museum
25th - Duddingston26th - Pentland Hills27th - Glasgow28th - Gardens29th - Rugby game

Wednesday

It was a bit drizzly that morning and we slept in. Dan would start his day at the barber shop. He had made an appointment with a local shop that he had visited before (and liked, obviously!). The Sink and Anchor was nearby, and I did some window shopping while he was busy, so as not to make it awkward for me to just sit and watch.

Once he was done, we caught a bus to the south side of town, as we had made plans to visit the Royal Observatory, and see what other outdoor activities were in the area.

Royal Observatory

It turned out that the Observatory wasn’t open to the public that day, but there were some nice walking paths in the area and we walked around the “Baird & Blackford Hill” area. The skies had cleared up considerably and it was (another) beautiful day.

Super Zoom to the top of Arthur’s Seat!

Edinburgh Castle and city

From Baird & Blackford Hill we walked down the other side and into the surrounding neighboring streets. We eventually made our way back towards the city, catching a bus at some point to make the journey a bit faster and less tiring.

Street art

We went back to our room for another break before heading out again. It was really nice to have more than just a hotel room, and to be centrally located. It made it easier to break up the day and not feel like we had to see everything at once.

A lovely view from our room

When we did finally go back out, we chose to see some of the more common tourist sites in the city, ones that we had skipped on previous visits because we felt pressed for time. We went to the east side of the city and walked up Calton Hill, specifically to where the various monuments are gathered.

Besides the monuments themselves, the hill gives a lovely view of the city – different than Arthur’s Seat. Plus, I had read that the sunsets from here could be particularly nice.

I love how the towers line up

Not the best night for a sunset

From Calton Hill we walked across the street and inspected the headstones in the Old Calton Cemetery

Walking back to the city center

Such an imposing location for a castle

Sunset from our room

Thursday