Dining like the royals….

We were not meeting our group until dinner time, and the weather is still exceptionally nice. During my walk yesterday, I had noticed a BIG HILL, right at the end of high road. And anyone who knows me will guess that I cannot see a BIG HILL without climbing to the top of it.

So I took advantage of both the extra nice weather and extra time, and headed that way right after breakfast, where, once again, we failed to try the haggis..

The BIG HILL in question is Holyrood Park, which is the remnants of the dead volcano that created the land around Edinburgh.

It has an impressive cliff  overlooking the city (Salisbury crags), which is where I headed first. But, once there, you can’t help but notice an even BIGGER HILL - which is Arthur's Seat, the highest point of the volcano crater, at 824 feet.  

That doesn’t sound that impressive, but Edinburgh itself is at sea level, so for just a “morning stroll”, it is quite a lot. The trail is mostly easy although there is some scrambling at the end, and some steep parts. It is used so much that every rock shines from the many boots that have waked on it. It’s probably really slick when wet, but today was not a problem. 

 The trails are lined with these beautiful golden bushes - making the entire hill glow. These are Hairy Thorn brooms, or Scotch brooms,which sadly are invasive, but very pretty this time of the year.

I was really surprised by how crowded  it was! Not unpleasant yet….   But  I wouldn’t want to see it in peak season. Then again, it’s Saturday and the weather is just so nice that a lot of locals were there, not just tourists.

The view going up, and at the top is well worth the climb! Plus there were a lot of pretty birds.

This is the only one I manage to take a picture of (It’s a common chaffinch). But not common to me, So, I was excited  

On the way back, I took in some more of the cute stores on High Street,

 

and admired the many flowers on the other side of the Princess Gardens, including some unusually bright and colored rhododendrons. 

Just as I got back to the hotel, I got a message from my friend Fiona, who lives in London, telling me she was having lunch at my hotel!!!!  How likely is that??? So we shared a glass of Rose.  What a lovely surprise that was!

Joe and I walked to Rose Street, the pedestrian restaurant street next to the hotel, and shared a traditional English pie outside, soaking in the sun. 

We finally met our tour group, and started with a bang, with diner on the royal yacht Britannia -which is now a museum and which we had all to ourselves this evening (see picture on top of blog). The food was excellent and the setting even more so. More of Edinburgh tomorrow- it’s late now… just time to finish the blog, and watch the end of the final of Eurovision (!!!), and go to bed.