Last night brought a bit of an unwanted surprise for us all. In the early hours of the morning, some local yocals decided it would be fun to jump onto the boat roof and make their presence felt. We decided not to respond which resulted in them leaving us alone. We had never experienced that kind of behaviour before but it certainly is not unheard of.
It is becoming even more difficult to become a tourist than it use to be. Not only are the crowds much bigger but you must now book everything on line. Luckily, we discovered that to get into Edinburgh Castle, you needed to book on line, bring your QR code on your phone to a booth at the castle, scan it and change it into a ticket and then and only then, were you allowed entrance to the castle.
Many people were not aware of this, so you could see their disappointment when told they had to get a ticket on line, plus all the tickets were sold out for the day. Some people in front of us were very annoyed and we could not blame them. You tend to only spend a few days in each city, so you don’t have that second chance to go back.
Wolfgang and Marlene had done the castle previously, so they wandered off around the old town whilst we explored. They were preparing all the bleachers for the Tattoo which runs for three weeks in August, so, apart from trying to avoid the crowds, you were also being aware not to make contact with scaffolding.
This shot is taken looking out towards the Firth or Forth and the open ocean. Don’t let the blue sky fool you into thinking we are having gorgeous weather. This is definitely a city with four seasons in one hour.
Accidental upskirting occurring here. Rather morose and unhappy looking Scots Guard at the entrance.
An absolute cracker of a photo with Princes Street (main drag) in the foreground with the Firth of Forth in the distance.
Apart from the castle being on an impenetrable hill, the fortification of the stone walls and the multitude of cannons, the place had to be one of the best located forts we have ever been into.
From a contact in Ontario, Di has gained some invaluable history on the Kincaid Clan. They originated from around Glasgow and though a small clan, they were astute enough to maintain their survival by marrying into the Lennox Clan which were much larger.
In the Great Hall in Edinburgh Castle is the Kincaid Crest which we found displayed in the rafters. One member of the Kincaid family distinguished himself by gallant conduct against the English forces of Edward I of England and in 1296 successfully recaptured Edinburgh Castle. The Laird of Kincaid then held the office of constable of Edinburgh Castle until about 1314. In reference to this honorable feat, during the reign of Robert the Bruce the castle was added to the Kincaid shield as an honorable augmentation to his armorial bearings. You might be able to make out the castle at the bottom of the shield. And that folks, is the claim to fame for the Kincaid Clan.
Once our trip to the castle was complete we headed down the Royal Mile and into the old town.
On our way we stopped at the statue of Greyfriars Bobby. A sad but endearing story of the loyalty that dogs give to their owners. Maybe it is a myth but it leaves a good feeling behind.
When the little dog died, they couldn’t bury him next to his master as the church graveyard was consecrated land – don’t get it – aren’t all God’s creatures holy and not just the ones that stand on their hind legs.
After a quick bite to eat, we met Marlene at the Surgeons Hall Museum which has specimens dating back 200 years of body parts. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow photos, but then again, a lot of the specimens had been poorly preserved and it took quite the imagination to work out what some of them were of. Fraser dragged behind Di and Marlene but we kept an eye out for him as we were sure we might have to pick him up off the ground. Wolfgang opted out of this little excursion.
Having met up with Wolfgang, we had a brief period of time in the Scottish National Museum. We couldn’t do it justice but the building itself was pretty spectacular.
On our way back to the boat we decided to drop into a pub and have some dinner and give ourselves a night off from cooking on the boat. We also wanted to try some culinary delicacies that the Scots are known for – namely haggis!!! Fraser bravely ordered it and we all partook in sampling it – not too bad actually but we thinks it was dumbed down for the tourist.
Rowkin Rovings Blog 