Today’s destination, the port of Greenock is located about a 45 minute drive from Glasgow. As Sylvia and I had visited this city on a number of occassions we decided to take the oppurtunity to visit Edinburgh as we had not been there before. This involved an early morning call to board the coach at 07.15 to make the 2 hour journey to Scotland’s capital city. The weather in Greenock when we left was overcast but dry; in Edinburgh it was overcast and wet, and it didn’t improve all day.
Our coach dropped us off near Waverley Station and we made the short walk up the Royal Mile to the castle. The festival and military tattoo finished last week and as we walked through the castle entrance workmen were removing the event’s temporary seating.
I was surprised at how compact the parade ground was, it looked much larger on TV.
We explored the various parts of the castle trying to avoid the rain and the ever increasing number of tourists... they get everywhere.
The Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny are both housed at the castle and we joined the queue to view them. No photographs were allowed in this room and the exhibits were poorly labelled, a little disappointing really.
The castle sits high on a hill overlooking both the old and new town below. On a clear day I am certain that the view would be amazing but today this was the best we could get.
After spending an hour or so at the castle we decided we could do with a drink and something to eat, so we made our way down the hill towards Greyfriars. Here we came across a small cafe that has great literary connections.
It was in the Elephant House that writer JK Rowling wrote the first drafts of the Harry Potter books. Just around the corner is Greyfriars Kirk…...
…the graveyard of which gave Miss Rowling many of the names for the books. Here can be found graves for the Potter family, Scrymgeour, Black and this one for Thomas Riddell(Lord Voldemort).
Of course Greyfriars itself is better known as the home of that loyal little dog known as Greyfriars Bobby who sat on his late master’s grave for some 12 years after his death. A statue commemorates his loyalty.
Almost directly opposite this statue lies the National Museum of Scotland where Sylvia and I decided to split up for a short time. She visited an exhibition on fashion through the ages whereas I went into “Rip It Up” , the story of Scottish Pop. This outlined the history of Scottish Pop from Lonnie Donegan to current artists such as Biffy Clyro through audio visual presentations and memorabilia. A very good and enjoyable experience.
The last literary link that we made today was a visit to the Sir Walter Scott memorial on Prince’s Street, prior to returning to the coach for our journey back to the ship.
A great day in Edinburgh even if we did get very wet.
Back at the ship we were entertained by a Scottish Folkloric group which included singers, dancers and a pipe and drum ensemble. An excellent presentation.
At just after six the ship sailed away from Greenock along the Firth of Clyde onwards to our next port of call, Kirkwall.
Tomorrow is a sea day so no blog unless something exciting happens.
