... has a large 'waiting hall' where travellers gather and stare at large electronic boards waiting for notification from which platform their train departs.
Once the number appears, it then becomes a scramble to firstly, get there, but more importantly, to get to your carriage with your luggage and stow it in the very limited spaces available.
Sadly, we did not get to the station early enough to visit Platform 9 + 3/4.
Typical of European trains, they chug along at a fair pace. My 'Tom Tom' navigator showed 200 km/h before we backed off a bit to a mere 172 km/h through a crossing or station, then back up to cruising speed of 201 km/h.
.... and arrived at Edinburgh late in the day. The trip took nearly 5 hours, but what a way to go! Time for a photo near the station before a walk to accommodation...
... and a walk around the city in the long twilight. We were in 'Old Edinburgh' and the streetscapes were truly spectacular. The area is heavily oriented to tourism, so shops selling tartan everything were everywhere.
The next day, Tuesday, started with a walking tour of the town. These are a great idea, with the Guide explaining that the company organising the tour don't pay him, so he is totally dependent on 'tips' from the group, so he has to do a good job to earn enough pay to justify doing it. This guide was very well informed and entertaining so he earned a good tip from us and I'm sure he does well.
The Mercat Cross in the middle of town is still used occasionally for ceremonial announcements. The unicorn on the top is the national symbol of Scotland but they're still looking for one to confirm size of appendages etc.
The original Houses of Parliament are now used as Government offices.
St Giles' Cathedral is in the middle of town. The story of the transition from pre-Henry VIII Catholicism to post Reformation Presbyterianism with Catholic King James I of England (= James VI of Scotland) is a very interesting story and well-explained by the Guide, but a bit complicated for this setting (and perhaps this mind?) so we'll leave it for another time.
Dominating the skyline is Edinburgh Castle on Castle Rock. It is truly a magnificent sight.
Later, we went past a school originally intended for those less fortunate, but now a prestigious and expensive school called George Heriot's School. Recognise anything? Hmmm!
Colourful and interesting streets.
OK, no more suspense. An author, one J. K. Rowling, when penniless and desperate, sat in a Pub back room trying to make a living by writing. She looked out one window onto Edinburgh Castle and out another window onto the aforementioned George Heriot school. Hence, Hogwarts! The nearby cemetery provided inspiration for many character names and the headstone below is the inspiration for Voldemort! The maintenance crew have to regularly remove that added inscription from the headstone.
That particular graveyard (Greyfriars) is interesting for other reasons. It was the location for the legend of the little dog, Bobby, which provided the inspiration for 'Greyfriars Bobby'. Apparently the dog did exist and there is a headstone (Yes!! a headstone!) for the dog and a nearby pub named after him.
The cemetery was used at the time when grave robbing was common-place. The recently buried corpses were 'resurrected' by the grave robbers in the dead of night and sold to a nearby teaching hospital who didn't ask questions, so the richer people could hire the cage shown below to guard the corpse of their loved one until the corpse had degraded beyond use to the medical institute, then the coffin was moved to a normal grave. Apparently the poorer people had to sit in vigil at the burial site until the body was beyond use. This is where the expression 'graveyard shift' originated.
The Grass Markets had a colourful past. This was the site of the gallows, from which the unlucky villains were 'hung until dead'. Maggie Dickson, after whom an ale house is now named was one such colourful character who was hung for some minor crime, but despite being pronounced dead at the scene, she did not die, so when news of her recovery surfaced, an attempt to hang her again resulted in cries of 'double jeopardy' and a legal impasse. She was released because she had already 'served her punishment' for the crime and legend has it that she lived in a room above this pub and used to lean out the window to witness subsequent hangings with the advice that 'it ain't too bad'.
The Grass Markets also witnessed the indiscretions of the legendary Deacon Brodie, who was an upright and well-respected citizen and community leader by day and a notorious philanderer and criminal by night. It is suggested that he was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Of course, Edinburgh boasts of many fine authors as natives of the city.
Other interesting tidbits on the tour included this commemoration below of an early burglar alarm. The steps had a known imperfection in them, such as a missing step and the inhabitants knew this. However, anyone else going up the steps in the dark would 'trip' on the missing step, thereby causing noise and general alarm. This is probably the origin of today's expression of 'tripping an alarm'.
Many fine buildings.
The afternoon saw us join another tour, this time a tour to the Castle. The group wound their way up the Royal Mile towards the castle and took in the views.
As we approached the Castle, the iconic view we expected is temporarily disrupted, as it is every year at this time, by construction of the seating for the Tattoo and other concerts. A bit of a shame, but understandable. In the photo below, there is also a stage for a rock concert which will be removed for the Tattoo.
Some limited view of the 'front' of the Castle that we see in the filming of the Tattoo, which is an edifice of no defensive value added at the instruction of Queen Victoria. But it does look good!
The serious defence was the next gate up, with a portcullis and 'murder holes' behind in case the portcullis was breached. The 'murder holes' were for tipping rocks or boiling water or oil over any unwelcome visitor.
The fairly smooth paving on the outside contrasted with the sharper pebbling on the middle track so the horses could get a grip on the stones.
... and in an inconspicuous courtyard was a spectacular bronze casting of the military leader who many see as a very ordinary general, Douglas Haig. It is a great statue or cast - a shame about the soldier! I did mention Haig in a previous post.
The buildings were old and dignified, such as the Museum or Military Memorial below.
The entrance to said building was from a courtyard below. Yes, it looks like a church but it isn't.
The Tower below held the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny.
This Stone of Destiny sounds like a good yarn. (I had to scam the photo below from online - cameras were not allowed and my 'shoot from the hip' was not up to standard).
This Stone of Destiny sounds like a good yarn. (I had to scam the photo below from online - cameras were not allowed and my 'shoot from the hip' was not up to standard).
Legend has it that the innocuous block of sandstone sat under the chair of the King of Scotland, so when Scotland was 'taken' in 1296, the stone was moved to Westminster Abbey and placed beneath the chair used for coronations. Some attempts over the years to return the stone resulted in protests by English, so the stone remained in Westminster for six centuries. This incensed many Scots, so many plots were hatched to right the wrong. One attempt in 1950 by a group that sounded like Uni students on a bender, was successful for some time, but it resulted in the stone being broken in half accidentally, with the group being caught eventually in 1951. In recent years only, as late as 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland in ceremonial fashion. It had been repaired. Apparently there is a film about this, so could be worth watching.
The original chapel, St Margaret's, is tiny but has been kept and restored.
The views from the Castle were exceptional as expected.
... and several cannons lined the ramparts.
... including this veritable old thing below which was capable of blowing holes in castle walls if it could be moved into position. I'm referring to the cannon, called Mons Meg. For many years another gun was fired every day at 1pm so ships in the harbour could adjust their chronometers, vital for navigation then. Of course given the time lapse with sound, it had to be at 7 seconds before 1pm. It is fired now for random ceremonial purposes only.
The barracks still house a small garrison and the prisons were used until fairly recently.
The Castle was well worth visiting.
Back down through old Edinburgh, at the other end of the Royal Mile is Holyrood Palace and the imposing hill, Arthur's Seat.
The walking track up Arthur's Seat was well used.
Also in this precinct is a building obviously designed to win the ugliest building contest, if there is one. Shock! Horror! It houses the Scottish Parliament. How could any sober person or group build something so awful in a precinct of fine old buildings like Edinburgh. My photos don't do justice. It's uglier than this.
It looks atrocious now, so once the facade ages and the bamboo or timber sticks weather and break, this will continue to look awful. I should do some research before putting up this post, because it probably won some design award and I'll look like a dill... but it's happened before.
(Much later: I did some research and Yes! .. it is some innovative design representing upturned boats on the shore or something like that. Regardless, I'm sticking to the point that it looks hideous and is not in tune with the character of the buildings in the precinct of the Royal Mile.)
A quaint use of a red telephone box in Edinburgh. The telephone is on the right outside, with an ATM on the left side. How innovative to keep the old facade!
... and to finish; a bit of advice outside the pub opposite our accommodation!
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