Today’s post is 1650 words, 46 photos, an 7 minute read. Enjoy!
Hi everyone,
This was our last full day in Edinburgh so we were up early, there was still a lot to see and do. I’ll take you to Calton Hill, the National Museum of Scotland, and the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens. If you missed the two previous posts on our stay in Edinburgh, click here and here.
Before I begin, I have to share one of my favorite photos from this trip. This sign was posted outside a restaurant along the Royal Mile. It cracked me up with its humorous poke at the way Americans speak. I suppose we could turn the tables on the Scots, sometimes I wonder if it’s English they are speaking. All in good fun. 
Calton Hill
Our walk from our lodging took us through blocks-long residential areas. This is a typical street scene in the city, lots of apartments, usually three or four stories, some quite old. We found these neighborhoods to be very quiet with a lot of people walking, biking, or waiting for a bus to take them to work or shopping.
We passed The Balmoral on Princes Street, the finest luxury hotel in Edinburgh. This is where celebrities, world leaders, and royalty stay when they are in town. To learn more about The Balmoral click here to read a post by Scottish blogger Samantha Grant who stayed at The Balmoral along with her Wee White Dug, Casper.
We were soon at the foot of Calton Hill preparing to make the gradual walk up to the top of the hill where we’d be greeted with panoramic views of the city. Calton Hill is included in Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. In addition to the views, this volcanic hill is home to some of Scotland’s most important monuments.
Below are two photos taken from Calton Hill looking north toward the Forth of Firth, the large bay that extends to the North Sea.
In the other direction, we see the Edinburgh Castle and the spire of St. Giles Cathedral along the Royal Mile.
To the east, is Arthur’s Seat, another extinct volcano. To the left in the photo is the royal palace Holyrood House and the Scottish Parliament Building. The older building in the foreground is the Old Royal High School. Built in the 1820s, the school closed in 1968. Since then, it been largely vacant. There have been many proposals for its use, a luxury hotel, art gallery, and home to Scotland’s First Minister. All ideas have failed mostly due to the lack of funds. 
As I mentioned earlier, there are a number of monuments on top of Calton Hill. The most prominent being The Nelson Monument erected to honor Royal Navy Admiral Horatio Nelson and his victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He died during that battle. The monument was closed for renovations. On a previous visit I climbed to the top of the tower that provided even more magnificent views of Edinburgh.
Below is a photo of the National Monument of Scotland. Built in the 1820s as a tribute to the Scottish soldiers killed during the Napoleonic wars. It’s a partial replica of the Parthenon in Athens – partial because they ran out of money before it could be completed. For that reason, some Scots call it a “National Disgrace.”
Dugald Stewart was a prominent philosopher and a key figure in the Scottish Enlightenment in the late 1700s and early 1800s. After he died, the Royal Society of Edinburgh commissioned this monument in his honor.
The morning was sunny but chilly, (hats and mittens were required) my Traveling Partner and The Youngest were ready for a spot of hot tea and I, a coffee. We descended Calton Hill and found a tea room close by. After warming up and refreshing our energy, we made tracks for the National Museum of Scotland.
The National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland is about a five minute walk from the Royal Mile. This museum is a recent merger (2006) of several smaller museums related to Scottish history, culture, art, science, technology, fashion, and others. There’s a lot to see, I’m told. Things like Dolly the sheep, the casket of Mary, Queens of Scots, and the Millennium Clock.
However, I was there to see a specific exhibit, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, on loan from London’s Natural History Museum. While the entry to the National Museum of Scotland is free, special exhibits have a fee, in this case 10£ (~$13 USD). This exhibit is a showcase of the best nature photography and photojournalism in the world in 2023. Over 50,000 entries from 95 countries were submitted by amateur, professional, and young photographers. Even though I’m not a nature, bird, or wildlife photographer, I appreciate seeing any good photography. After paying the fee, I entered the exhibit hall and was immediately blown away by the 100 photos on display. I spent the next two hours walking through the exhibit and reading the stories of the photographers and how they captured their photos.
The next four photos describe two of the winners in this competition. The stories of how they did their photography are amazing. A lot of it is being ready when the opportunity presents itself.
Below are a few other photos from the exhibit.
As I went through the exhibit, I was reminded of a couple of the key points when making photographs.
I was kind of dazed when I exited the exhibit. My Traveling Partner and The Youngest were waiting for me, they had seen Dolly and some of the other exhibits. But it was past lunch time and they were hungry, so was I. Here’s a glimpse of the open, airy Grand Hall of the Museum.
We headed toward the Grassmarket section of town that is right below the Edinburgh Castle. On the way, we passed the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a terrier, who is said to have guarded the grave of his master for 14 years. The story of this dog has been turned into books and movies. Recently, the original tale has been disputed but the legend lives on. We did rub his nose for good luck.
The Grassmarket is filled with restaurants, bars, and shops. It was a Saturday, therefore a long wait for tables and service so we headed toward the Princes Street Gardens and Prêt à Manger (French for ready to eat), our favorite fast food place in the UK.
As usual, the Princes Street Garden was filled with people enjoying the sunny day and walking the promenade. We found a bench to sit on while eating our fresh-made sandwiches and bags of crisps (potato chips).
After enjoying our lunch, we gathered up the debris and looked around for a trash receptacle. We saw one down the way. When we reached it, we noticed the woman in the photo below, trying to maneuver her assistive device and dispose of her trash. We helped her and struck up a conversation. Meet Mary, age 87, from Derby, a medium-sized city in central England. She was in Edinburgh on a bus holiday and decided she needed some rest from the rigors of traveling. She was so delightful and glad we stopped to chat with her. Actually, it was us that were honored to meet and talk with her.
With that, we hiked over to the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh.
Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of the leading botanical gardens in the world. It has one of the largest and richest plant collections on Earth. Situated on 70 acres within a mile of the city center, this garden has been in existence for over 350 years. There is a rock garden, woodland garden, tree arboretum, a large collection of rhododendrons, and much more. The Youngest was interested in seeing the gardens because she was thinking of taking an online class on botanical drawing hosted by the Royal Botanic Garden.
When we arrived, I headed to the large, comfortable tea room for a rest and refreshments while my Traveling Partner and The Youngest began their walk through the garden. I should mention, there is no admission fee to visit the garden.
After I rested up, I made my way around the garden, stopping occasionally to snap a photo or two. It was late April so the spring flowers were just beginning to show their beauty.
Does this look like a sleeping alligator? It did to me.
After a few hours at the garden, we headed back to our lodging for a bit of dinner. But our day was not yet done.
The Scottish Storytelling Centre
The previous day, out of curiosity, we stopped at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on the Royal Mile. Anybody that has been to Scotland and talked with the local people knows that Scots love to tell stories. We chatted with one of the staff and she told us the Centre was participating in The Pomegranates Festival that celebrates traditional dance from Scotland and around the world. There were lectures and performances happening throughout the city. The one performance that matched our schedule was “Elegies,” a dance interpretation of the poems of Hamish Henderson, a Scottish poet-soldier, sing-songwriter, and scholar. He wrote poems from his time as a soldier serving in North Africa and Italy during World War II. It sounded interesting so we bought tickets to attend on our last night in Edinburgh.
The theatre at the Storytelling Centre seated about a 100 people, maybe half the seats were filled. There was folk music, some written by Hamish Henderson, and a reading of some of his poems. At the end of the presentation, there was a question and answer session with the dancers and choreographer. I wrote this in my journal: “The Dance and music was interesting, not sure I got it all, but good all the same.” I don’t know much about interpretive dance, I guess this is an example. It’s good to try something new. Stay tuned, Hamish Henderson will come up in a future blog.
According to my journal, we walked almost 13 miles and nearly 30,000 steps that day. My feet were tired but it was a good preparation for our coming walk in the Dales. Next week we travel to Troon.
Until then, happy travels!
Tom
PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM