April 16-18
Day 1:
I left early to catch my train to Edinburgh so I could stop at Greggs to grab a BAP for the train. This time I was sat on the opposite side of the train so I didn’t get views of the ocean, but I did see a lot of farm animals and scenery.
Once I arrived in Edinburgh I followed the crowd off the train and wandered in a direction I figured my tour would meet at. It reminded me a little of Quebec City with the staircases that were between buildings and the whole weird levelling of the city. Thank goodness my foot was as healed as it will ever be, otherwise it would have been torture. I ended up on the Royal Mile, which is a popular tourist attraction. There were crowds of tourist groups and basically every store was a souvenir store. There were Scotsmen playing the bagpipes, a man holding an owl, and people touching a statues toes. It was interesting. I had a bit of time before my tour so I explored the shops to scout out the best souvenir deals. One of the stores I went to claimed to be the oldest one in Edinburgh. They sold the same as the others, looked a bit fancier, but were over-priced. They had a student discount though.
One of the weirdest souvenirs in Scotland is the wild haggis stuffed animal. It was a brown Pygmy puff (basically a fur ball with eyes) and it was sold more than it would cost to make 20 of them. It reminded me of an old science project I had where I sewed a similar creature by cutting up an old stuffed animal. The display for the wild haggis was a children’s eye level, so I could see what they were doing, but it really is a stupid gift.
I then decided to find my tours meeting spot but had a few issues as it was on another level of the city so finding the right direction was hard, especially when I didn’t want to walk with my phone in my hand.
I actually got stopped by this guy who asked me where I was from. I was so confused I told him Canada. He was from Russia, I then held myself back from asking him if he was a Russian spy. Anyway, after him telling me nice things about Canadians he tried to get me to donate to some charity. I easily got out of that by saying I didn’t have any cash on me. When I walk in crowds I don’t make eye contact with anyone for this very reason.
I finally found the tour meeting point, which was by Bobby. There were a lot of people in the area, but it was hard to tell if they were there for the tour or to take pictures and rub Bobby’s nose. It was also not that great of a meeting point, even though it’s a pretty significant landmark, it’s located on the sidewalk in a weird intersection.
The tour guide was easy to spot as he arrived dressed in his Harry Potter gear as I was taking the free Harry Potter walking tour. We formed a large group and followed him down into Greyfriars Kirkyard (a famous graveyard). There he quoted Harry Potter lines, showed us the two important gravestones: McGonagall and Riddle. McGonagall was actually known for being a terrible poet, he was so bad people threw rotten food at him while he performed. Quite different to the character who shares his name. The tour guide also pointed out the real Hogwarts school that J.K.’s own kids went to where students are sorted into houses. It’s called George Heriot’s School.
There was a lot of graffiti and vandalism in the Kirkyard – generally HP related.
Next, we were brought to Potterrow which has nothing to do with HP, just that its name is Potter. The guide pointed towards JK’s brother-in-law’s café that she actually began writing HP at, as that was where she went when she moved to Edinburgh. Then, we walked to the National Museum of Edinburgh where we found out that the chess pieces that inspired wizard’s chess are inside. Then we were taken past the acclaimed “birthplace” of HP, The Elephant Café. They charge people to come in and take pictures if you don’t buy anything. I’m told the girl’s bathroom is covered in Thank you’s to JK and other HP things. We were told by a male tour guide, so you can guess what joke was made from the tour group.
Next was our last stop, one of the many streets that claim to be Diagon Alley. This one, just like The Shambles in York, has an HP shop, but thankfully less people crowding the streets. I hung out in this area a bit after the tour and explored.
Then, my back was aching from my backpack, so I headed towards my hostel at the West End Hotel. It’s, as you can guess from the name, on the west end of the city. I walked by the castle on my way and got a bit lost due to that distraction. Thankfully google maps had my back. I found out I was in the business district as I passed by lots of suits and fancy buildings.
When I got to my hostel I checked in and was surprised to see no one in the room – some beds were claimed, but I thought I might see someone. I claimed the bottom bunk closest to the bathroom as the other bottom bunk was in the path of everyone walking. I also claimed space to store my things. What was annoying was that the lockers have their own lock built-in that you have to pay a pound to use. I guess I bought a lock for naught. Most people, like myself just used the lockers but not the lock.
I then relaxed a bit and tried to plan out what I wanted to do next. I planned reasonably, as I knew I was going to be tired on my last day so I didn’t want to leave everything for then. I booked a movie ticket to see Captain Marvel, mostly because I didn’t want to be awkward in the hostel waiting to go to bed, so seeing a movie lets me go out and then come back and just sleep right away. This in mind, I set everything on my bed that I would need so I wouldn’t make too much noise when I came back.
I’d planned to bus to the castle, but ended up walking there because the bus/tram thing was too confusing and you had to pay in cash on board and I didn’t have much on me. I was a bit short on time, I had to cut up the steep stairs to get to the castle instead of going the long way that avoided stairs. I made it just in time to get the “you may not see everything” speech from the ticket lady. I used my express pass here, so I didn’t have to pay for the castle.
I did my own thing, just walking around and doing my best not to pass out as I was exhausted already from all the walking. It was pretty interesting, I got to see some birth beds, some jewels, you know the typical lot. I found the prison area to be more interesting as it showed me what it looked like to be a prisoner in the 15th/16th centuries. It’s different than what I could’ve imagined.
I ended up in one area where there was no one around, so I took a selfie, but out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone. Then, upon closer inspection I realized it was a couple of dummies. It was really creepy being in a prison all alone so I left.
I then admired the cannons before making my swift departure.
I headed straight to the theatre and made it in time to order an overpriced hot dog, as I hadn’t had time to eat anything yet. The theatre was relatively empty. I really enjoyed the movie, which made me more excited for Endgame.
After the movie, I walked home and again ended up walking the wrong way and being too embarrassed (also not wanting to look lost – identifying myself as an at-risk tourist for mean people to take advantage of), so I walked a bit and let my GPS re-route a bit. I ended up walking by this weird statue. Also, since I was in that fancy business area, I wasn’t in a bad area.
I got back to the hostel at around 8pm and the lights were off and I saw a couple people there. I thought it was a bit odd to have the lights off so early, but I just let it go and got ready in the dark. Thankfully the bathroom had its own light. Once I was in my bed, someone walked in and asked why the lights were off, apparently, no one was even sleeping.
I spent the rest of the evening on my phone watching a TV show. The beds were triple bunkbeds so I had to lay down, as there was no head space.
I set my alarm for earlier than I needed, as there was one bathroom and 12 girls.
Day 2:
In the middle of the night I ended up needing to put in my ear plugs and wear my blindfold as the bathroom light would wake me up and some of the girls were just loud snorers.
In the morning, I waited out for people as much as possible. I had to pee, but I could hold it in if I was still in bed, so I waited for the moment I knew no one was in there to wake up. About three of us shared the bathroom getting ready. No one really spoke since there was still people sleeping. From what I’d gathered, two of the girls were either Portuguese or Spanish – I’m still not good at distinguishing those languages. Another was American, and then the others didn’t speak at all so I had no idea.
I had time before my train left to get a full breakfast, so I decided to splurge since I planned to eat something I’d bough from the grocery store for lunch. It ended up being a fancy vegan café and I was the first patron of the day. I sat by the window and got to know the area I was in. I also watched the people to see where the best spots to cross the street were. In the UK the traffic lights take forever to change as there’s like a few second pause in-between, so most pedestrians just walk if there are no cars.
My pancakes were very dry, but the cream and actual maple syrup (not corn syrup as I’ve pointed out to my exchange student friends that is tended to be served here) made it taste better. I also liked the edible flowers and it was nice to have fruit. The presentation was also worth it.
I still had time, so I headed to the train station, printed my ticket, and sat down on a bench to wait.
Once on my train I found a good spot, facing forward, and ended up behind two people having an interesting conversation, where I overheard about football for the homeless, and waited long enough for one to share their business card. I was also right by the bathroom and this girl came saying how she had to puke and wasn’t sure if anyone was in there. She was definitely still a bit drunk, the door had red on it, which meant it was locked. She came and went a couple of times until it was empty. I then did my best to tune out her business.
Once in Stirling I headed to the bus shelter, which was just across the street. I could see something off in the distance that looked interesting, I made note of it to look for later. I then proceeded to miss my bus as I wasn’t able to flag it down in time since I wasn’t able to process it’s information in time. The bus I ended up on was nicer anyway. I was annoyed though as the delay left me awkwardly waiting at the bus shelter on one of those weird rails meant to rest your knees (not a nice bench to sit on).
There was this strange figure in one of the windows I was facing. I thought it was a baby, but the longer I stared I realized it didn’t move. I tried to take a picture to zoom in, but I still can’t figure it out. I nearly asked the old lady by me what she thought it was.
Once on the bus for Doune, I saw lots of wild animals, but also some cool scenery. Like random headstones and such that looked gothic. Once in Doune I walked to the castle, trying to keep myself calm as this was one thing I’d been looking forward to. I’m a huge Monty Python fan, and especially of The Holy Grail, which features this castle heavily. Outlander also used the castle, but Monty Python took precedence for me.
I got a free audio guide with my express pass and used it as much as I could. I didn’t go by number as I chose to go in areas less crowded so I could take the best pics. It was a bit disappointing to see it was under quite a lot of construction. Thankfully the two main Monty Python rooms were presentable. Ask me when I get back home more on what John Cleese said about filming a the castle and I can also point out what the rooms were used for if you want. Or if you want to know about the Outlander stuff I can point that out too.
I then spent a while in the gift shop getting myself some presents. I got myself a shirt with my favourite scene from the movie. I tried to get one of the holy grail beers, but I didn’t have my passport on me and they wouldn’t accept my driver’s license (I’d been used to using that for liquor here so it was weird). I was really disappointed that I couldn’t get it (it was also only 3 pounds). I also got a castle pin to add to my castle collection (I’ll show those off when I get home).
I then headed back through town to await my bus back to Stirling. Once in Stirling I got terribly lost getting to the castle as my GPS kept leading me to a dead end. I then just winged it, since the castle is at the top of the hill, so I walked up. There was then a sign that said pedestrian footpath to castle so I followed that, even though it looked faster to walk in the opposite direction. This then lead me to this random wooded footpath I took where I had lunch with Scotland’s birdman.
I then decided to try out the remote access function on my camera (after many failed attempts at running and getting into position). I ended up stopping when the first person I’d seen in a half-hour arrived on the path. Since he was male and there was no one to hear my screams, I figured it was probably safest to continue. I spotted another wood carving of a fish before arriving at this interesting graveyard.
I then somehow made it to the castle.
Stirling castle was interesting. It was heavily geared towards children. They had a lot of things like games for kids to play.
I ended up not enjoying it as much since a lot of the rooms didn’t feel right to me. It felt lesser. That’s probably since I saw Doune just before.
There were some pretty things, and cool windows. I mostly liked the exterior and learning about the Greek gods used.
There was also a tapestry exhibit going on where I could learn about how tapestries were made. One of the tapestries in the castle reminded me of the one from the 2nd HP GameCube video game that lead to a secret room in the castle.
After I was done with Stirling, I made my way downwards and ended up at this cool artist/second-hand store where I bought a cool bowl.
Then I arrived back at the train station in time to wait a whole while for the train back (I had anytime return, so I had the freedom to choose when to leave).
Once back in Edinburgh I decided to go to a pub for dinner (again, just waste time). The pub I went to was one where you order at the bar and have to tell them your table number. It was really uncomfortable for me to leave my things unattended (people do that a lot here – I’ve seen many electronics and wallets left alone). I didn’t want to pay too much so I used their free water. The issue was that this was a self-serve system and the cups were small. I ordered the fish and chips. They were alright, but the ones from Tynemouth were way better. It was also weird that there were children in the pub while I was eating as it was getting late enough for people to begin drinking.
I ended up heading back to my hostel, deciding not to explore like I’d planned. All the stairs at the castles were really getting to me.
This is where things get a bit scary. Something I found out once I was safely back in Newcastle, whilst in my Uber was that an actor from Trainspotting 2 had been murdered. The exact scene of the crime was on a street close to my hostel that I pass as I walk there. Had I dawdled an hour longer I’d have been there around the time the gunshot was heard. I remember once I was in the hostel hearing police sirens, but I was used to that sound as Newcastle has those going off every night, and definitely on the weekends. After hearing about the incident, and knowing I’d been in the area just before I tried to think if I’d seen anything odd. I could’ve witnessed something that might’ve helped to police, but it is very hard. Also, since I heard about it, I could already visualize things that I never saw. Taking a witness’s testimony as evidence is hard, especially when the mind can create realities that never happened, but make us think they did.
Anyway…
Here’s a picture of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Church by my hostel that I debated stopping in out of curiosity.
Day 3:
I got myself ready in record time and checked out of the hostel. This time I’d looked into the buses and found an app I could buy a day pass off of for real cheap. I then took the bus to my third castle of my Scottish Castle adventure: Craigmillar.
This is a less known castle that I found out about from this FB group Emily added me to. It’s just outside of the city and I had to walk a bit in a suburban area, also through another forest path to get to the castle. This path had lots of dogs being walked, but I didn’t get to pet any as they were too far from me.
Once at the castle I looked at the gift shop and saw the matching pin to my Doune castle pin, I decided I’d buy it on my way out as I was looking forward to exploring. Again, I used my explorer pass, and got the passcode to the bathroom. Once in, I quickly realized I was in for a treat as there was hardly anyone there. I only crossed paths with people twice. I’d love to go back there sometime as it was really cool to explore. They had lots of alcoves and secret nooks that children would love. Before coming to the UK I wanted to avoid castles that were mostly ruins and instead thought I’d enjoy updated and well-kept castles – instead I’ve realized I prefer seeing the ruins as it feels more real. There are castles that I do enjoy that are well-kept, but the ruins are now better than I’d thought.
I stopped at the bathrooms on the way out. As I was leaving I noticed the 4-5 spiders surrounding the exit door. It scared the shit out me. I had to take a moment to calm myself down and then basically run out of the bathroom. No one witnessed it, so I was able to run without embarrassment of having the need to run.
Tired from my near-death experience, I stopped on a bench and ate my lunch. When I went back into the shop to get the pin, there were none left. I can’t even find them online to buy so I was really disappointed, especially since Craigmillar is probably my favourite castle. I have nothing with it to bring home.
Then I took a mad spill on my way out. I thought everything was ok, but later I realized my camera screen has a crack in it and my arm was heavily bruised.
I then took the bus and say Arthur’s seat from the bus, but decided I’d had enough hiking for one day.
I then headed to get some things on my list finished before my train home. First, I went to the National Museum of Scotland. There I paid to put my heavy bag in storage and then explored the place. There was lots to see and lots of small children to trip over. It took me forever to find the wizard’s chess (I left after I found them). I also found Dolly, the first cloned sheep which I found out about from overhearing one of the girl’s in my hostel talk about on her phone call.
I then grabbed my bag and left the museum and headed to the Writer’s Museum, which ended up being a bit of a disappointment to me. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. It was a cool building though.
I then grabbed the best deals on souvenirs before taking the bus towards the railway station. I ended up doing some shopping in that area. I needed new jeans as I noticed my jeans were getting worn away and I didn’t want to have an awkward rip situation. I also had some Chinese food that tasted awful, so that was disappointing.
I still had lots of time, so I bought some groceries and then sat and waited at the train station.
Once on the train I was excited to sit in First Class. I’d wanted to experience it just once, and the ticket was cheaper than taking regular class on certain train times, so I took it. I got served some much-needed juice. Sadly, since it was a night train I didn’t get free food. Also, my ticket wasn’t checked until later. When I’d gotten on the train some girl was in my seat and I had to make her move (I never thought I’d have to do that on first class). I did eventually get checked though.
There wasn’t much of a view outside, I did get to see the sunset on the beach, but was too tired to film it. Then it was too dark and I could only see my reflection.
My body was exhausted when I arrived back in Newcastle, so I took an Uber back to my flat. It took longer than it was supposed to because there was more traffic than usual. This was when I heard about the murder in Edinburgh.
So, that was my Edinburgh experience. Obviously there's more to tell from this trip and lots more pictures to share, but I have to stop before this turns into a novel.
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