Stardate: 24 April 2019 - Out and about in the old town

We've realised we've said nothing about out train journey to Edinburgh yesterday so will remedy that now.  It was excellent!  A tad under five hours in total with plenty of scenery to keep us interested including some gorgeous pastoral landscapes.  In Northumberland we saw the tidal island of Lindisfarne in the distance, whose recorded history dates back to the 6th century AD.  We also saw lots of baby lambs, cattle and canola fields, beautiful Durham Cathedral, as well as that coat-hanger type bridge in Newcastle that bears a resemblance to the Sydney Harbour bridge and I think was designed by the same engineer. No sign of  Detective Chief Inspector Vera though - Newcastle is her 'hood.

The best thing about our journey was that the catering crew never stopped feeding us.  Two hearty meals on offer about two hours apart and non-stop offers of tea, coffee and soft drinks, then grog after midday.  Singapore Airlines and their meagre offerings could certainly learn a lesson or two from London North East Railways.  All meals and drinks were included in the ticket price, which we got at a quite substantial discount with our geriatrics railway cards. 

Moving on, here's me and the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, allegedly a Skye Terrier but I thought he looked more like a spaniel. Bobby's devoted owner died when Bobby was only about 2 years old and from then on he rarely moved from his owner's grave just over our back fence in Greyfriars churchyard.  The church honchos continually warned him off but Bobby persisted and was eventually allowed to stay. He was fed and watered by locals in the nearby Greyfriars pub and lived till he was 15, dying in 1872.

Good boy, Bobby.

We took several photos of this cafe frontage and Mr Pants and I were in furious disagreement about which was the best. He won. So I present to you the upper reaches of the outside of the cafe wherein J.K. Rowling drafted the first volume of the Harry Potter series - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  You will just have to imagine how the frontage looks from ground level.  And indeed, the interior.  On a bus tour we took later we went past a number of landmarks that Rowling used as inspirations in her book, including a very narrow, curved and cobbled street that she imagined as Diagon Alley.

 And this is Greyfriars Kirk, which we can see from our bedroom window, being just over the back fence.  It was built in 1600 and stands on the site of a pre-Reformation establishment of the Franciscan order - the Grey Friars.  There are heaps of old graves in the churchyard.  This would have been a real issue for me as a child, given that we're right next door. Hooray for adulthood!






Mr Pants is now cooking dinner but will be with you shortly.  Till tomorrow!

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We weren't intending to take a hop on-hop off bus tour, but we found ourselves at one of the stops, and made a spontaneous decision to do so.  And a good decision it turned out to be.  We scaled the stairs to the top level where we got a panoramic view, and for part of the tour we were the only patrons.  Later we were joined by an eclectic group from Germany and other sundry Europeans keen to enjoy their UK holiday before Brexit takes effect.  Tour guide Heidi (Scottish, although she did speak German) was excellent, and we told her so.  A great way to see a new city when you've just arrived and don't really know your way around.  And they sold us discounted tickets to Edinburgh Castle.

The castle is undoubtedly the top attraction in Edinburgh.  No surprises I suppose, but nevertheless we were a tad overwhelmed by the crowds.  We doubt that there would ever be a time to visit when it wouldn't be packed out.  Most of our photos were intended to feature parts of the castle, but in reality seemed to highlight sundry tourists from who-knows-where.  One pic in particular of the oldest building in the castle, a chapel from the 12th century, looked for all the world as though we intended to focus on a particular woman in the foreground.  As Anne 

said: that's all very well, except it's not me. Touche.

Another miscellaneous view of the castle, and one of the few in which people that we don't know do not actually dominate the photo.

Anyway, moosn't groomble; if it wan't any good nobody would want to go.  During the day we did see lots of other great views of Edinburgh architecture, which is truly wonderful.  Most of our photos didn't really do it justice, although this one comes close.

It's a beautiful city, and nearly all of what you want you to see is within pretty easy walking distance, which is a great bonus.  We'll be doing some more of it in due course, although tomorrow we think we'll head to Glasgow, about an hour in the train.  We're told that fewer tourists are attracted to Glasgow than Edinburgh; we certainly hope so!