Weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland

Marco and I went to Edinburgh over the long weekend (Bank holiday in the UK and Memorial Day in the US).  We had a great time!  The architecture is just fascinating and I didn't realise what a hilly city Edinburgh is.  We spent most of our time along The Royal Mile which forms the main road of medieval Edinburgh; the castle is on top of a hill at one end and the Palace of Holyroodhouse is at the other end.

 

This is St. Giles Cathedral.  John Knox started the Scottish Reformation from here and when Queen Elizabeth II is in Edinburgh she attends St. Giles (and has her own special seat).

 

 

Near St. Giles, I noticed this heart shaped cobble stone pattern.  When people walked by they would spit in the heart.  This prompted me to do some research...  This is the Heart of Midlothian.  It marks the entrance to the where the Tolbooth used to be (set up in 1561) to collect tolls.  It also became a place where scaffold was erected to hang criminals and to display heads of famous victims.  The spitting is a sign of disrespect to the town council for the tolls.

 

This is the Scot Monument (not along The Royal Mile).  Sir Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh and besides being a famous writer he was also a noted public figure.  This monument was built after his death in 1832.

 

Sir Walter Scott with his dog...

 

This is Edinburgh Castle.  It is built on an extinct volcano and sits high above the city.  It has been used as a fortress, a palace, military post, and a prison.  We did not gone in while we were there because it was quite busy.  Besides a lot of tourists there was also some sort of function/party going on - men in their kilts and women in dresses and fancy hats.

 

Here is a side view of the castle... very rocky!

 

We saw men in kilts almost everywhere we went and they were not just party goers and street entertainers....

 

We visited a place that makes tartan.  I did some research before we went, to see if I could find the tartan for part of my family.  When talking to people I've been told that Ballentine is a Scottish name but I was unable to find the tartan.  I was once told that it falls under the Campbell clan but I could not find proof of that.  There are also several Campbell clans and tartans.  I did find the Moran tartan pattern but we were not able to find the actual tartan in Edinburgh...  probably a good thing because I'm not sure Marco can carry off the kilt... and he wanted the Sporran to go with it.

 

The architecture was amazing!

 

A little church on a side street... love the red door!

 



 

Edinburgh has several gardens.  The largest are the Princess Street Gardens near the castle (here) and the Regent Gardens (Holyrood Park is also a large green space).

 

This is Palace of Holyroodhouse.  The Palace was built by James IV in 1498.  Before the Palace was built there was an Abbey here... interesting story....  David I was staying at the Edinburgh Castle during Holy Rood day (September 14).  He was encouraged to acknowledge this holy day but he preferred to go hunting.  While hunting, he became separated from group.  He stopped by a spring to drink some water when a giant stag leaped out and pinned the king to the ground with his antlers.  As the stag was about to go in for the kill, David I looked up to the sky and saw a cross appear in a silver cloud.  The stag reared up and ran away.  David I was so grateful for God saving him that he built an abbey and made sure that the monks had everything they needed!  The meaning of Holyrood is Holy Cross. 

 

Mary, Queen of Scots lived here and when Queen Elizabeth II visits Edinburgh she stays here.

 

James V's arms at Holyroodhouse.

 

I didn't get to show everything but I did show some of the high lights.  Marco did get to visit the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre and do the tour.  It was interesting and Marco enjoyed it.  Marco also was quite daring and tried the haggis, neeps & tatties - a very traditional dish but not for me!

 

We had a great time and are already talking about what to see and do next time.

 

Hope you enjoyed!!

Walking in Wapping

 

Wapping is the part of London where we live and we absolutely love it!  When the weather is nice, I have a walk I like to do.  It is about a 2 mile walk and I get to see a lot of interesting things.

 

 

One of the first things I come to is the Prospect of Whitby (my book club meets here every 3-4 weeks).  It is one of our local pubs (and our favourite).  It is the oldest pub on the River Thames... opened in 1520 when Henry VIII was king.  When it opened it was called the Pelican.  Because of the dodgy area with sailors, thieves, pirates, etc., it was known as the 'devils tavern'. 

 

Across the street from the Prospect is Shadwell Basin.  I've seen school kids taking sailing and kayaking classes out here.

 

The draw bridge that used to let boats into the basin....  not your typical draw bridge.

 

Another view of the basin.... some of the best blackberries are along the path around the basin.

 

Wapping's 1 white duck....

 

Wapping Woods

 

The Shard... the tallest building in all Europe!  When Buck was here we went up to the top!  72nd floor gives quite a view of London!! (& the window washers were out the day we went up... not a job I would like!)

 

This canal runs along Tobacco Docks.  Ships use to come into these canals and unload their goods into warehouses along here.

 

One of our 5 swans....

 

A pair of our Canadian geese... we also have Egyptian geese (not as pretty sorry to say)

 

Another view of the canal...

 

Daddy Coot helping to feed their babies.... aren't the cute!!

 

Goose

 

This is Raine's School... a wealthy man founded the school in 1719.  There were 50 boys and 50 girls.  Each year 2 girls' names were drawn and they each received a dowry of 100GBP.  That was enough to buy a house in Wapping... not any more!

 

This is part of St. John's Church.  The church was bombed during the blitz and the only thing that remained was the steeple.  Wings were later built on and converted into apartments.

 

This is the gardens across from the old church and the school.  St. John's church was originally here but the ground was marshy and not stable so the church started to sink.  The old tombstones from the church yard now line the walls of the garden.

 

 

When the docks and warehouses were in use, the bridges connected buildings so goods could be easily moved for storage.  Some of the buildings had cranes that would hoist goods up from the street level to different floors.

 

This.... is where the the local Maine police work on their boats.  Not a lot of people like this building because of it's 'modern' look.

 

The Marine Police dock...  In 1798 the Marine police were established here.  It was the first regular police force in the world!  This police force was called in during the Ratcliff Murders (unsolved murders in Wapping 80 years before Jack the Ripper) and also during Jack the Ripper murders.

 

This is Captain Kidd named after the Scottish sailor turned pirate.  He was hung in Wapping (among many, many others!)  There was some debate about the naming of this pub because although Captain Kidd was hung nearby, Captain Cook frequented the area more.  Captain Cook's father-in-law ran a public house in this area (so I've been told).

 

This building and the one next to it are the only buildings still used a warehouses....You can sort of make out the cranes on the side of the building.

  You see the archway to the left?  The opening of the Elephant Man was filmed along there.  The Elephant Man was treated at the Royal Hospital in Whitechapel which is just north of Wapping (& Jack the Rippers major haunt).

 

This is our street - Wapping High Street.  The Overground station is just on the right and our apartment is just after it....  The Overground actually goes under the River Thames and was the first tunnel to go under the river (150 years ago...)

 

We really love Wapping!  We are 1 mile from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge but we have a great little community here.  We have our own butcher, baker, veg shop, post office & coffee shop...  The history in just this area is amazing!  Gulliver travelled from here; Captain Bligh (Mutiny on the Bounty) lived here and 4 of his 5 daughters were baptised here; John Newton was born here in 1725 (he wrote Amazing Grace); Dickens frequented here and some of his inspiration for his books and stories came from here; Samuel Pepys (an English naval administrator and a Member of Parliament) first visited Wapping in 1661; James McNeill Whistler (painter) visited here; several actors and rock stars have and do live in the area; among many others....

 

I hope you enjoyed the tour of Wapping!