Today we are in port in Edinburgh, Scotland. Cloudy and hinting of rain. We are docked at Queensferry south of town and tender to shore as the tide is out. Bagpipes and welcoming volunteers greet us as we disembark ashore - what a lovely welcome. Our tour guide, Morag, quickly ushers us to a "coach" and off we go. She has much to tell us about the history of this area of the Scottish lowlands and about Edinburgh as we drive - a lovely lilt in her voice and a quick laugh - we know right away we'll have a fun day with her!
Our first stop, the Royal Yacht Britannia. When this vessel was decommissioned in 1997, a public bidding process was undertaken to determine the site for her permanent mooring. Leith port was selected and they have developed a fabulous display on the dock before you enter the ship for an audio-guided tour. The site is managed by a not-for-profit trust and they have done this up well. A few pictures of some of the areas of the ship we viewed on the tour follow:
The Queen's bedroom:
Crews quarters (left) and formal dining room (right). The alcoves around the dining room display gifts from around the world - some are quite beautiful.
The other main feature of todays tour was Edinbourgh Castle. This fortified village was the
home for Kings and Queens from the 1100s to the 17th century when conflicts decreased. It was the historic residence of royalty when in Scotland, but nowadays that residence is Holyrood Palace. Perched on the hill above the city, Edinburgh Castle is a beautiful site. The cobblestone steets and the narrow passageways give you a sense of what it would have been like to live in this city. We visited St. Margaret's chapel from the 11th century (the oldest building at the Edinburgh castle site) which was built by the same Queen that started the ferry service at Queensferry. She brought Catholism to Scotland which was prevalent until the 1600s when it changed to Presbyterian. We also saw the Scottish Honours (crown jewels - Septre, mace and crown) display - a wonderful history lesson of the various kings through the ages.Old town appears as a series of buildings "piled" on top of each other - with the city built on 7 hills, the lower buildings are only about 3 stories in height, while the ones further up the hills are 8-9 stories - makes for the "layered" look. Much of the old town is of Georgian architecture made from cream coloured sandstone which was quarried locally. Once the train arrived, red sandstone was imported from other areas and used for housing and commercial building construction.
We were very impressed with how hilly and scenic the city was mixed with the historic buildings - far more vibrant and beautiful than we expected. Definitely a site for a repeat visit.
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