Today’s post is 1200 words, 26 photos, an 5 minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Traveling with Tom. This week I begin a long series of posts on our travels earlier this year to Scotland and England. In this series, you’ll see some of the sites of Edinburgh, explore the southwest of Scotland, and hike the Herriot Way Walk in England’s Yorkshire Dales. As is usual in my posts, the narrative will be accompanied by photographs to illustrate the beauty and serenity of this part of the world.

Last week I finished a five-part series on some of our excursions while we were back home in the United States. If you missed that series, click here, here, here, here, and here.

The Trail to Edinburgh

Our travels to Edinburgh began on April 23 when we drove from Madison to Milwaukee where we spent the night at the Crowne Plaza and left our car in their parking lot for the next couple of weeks. We did one of those park, sleep, fly packages. Bright and early the next morning, the hotel shuttle gave us a lift to the nearby Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport where we would board a flight to Newark. It was a beautiful spring day in the Midwest, we had plenty of time to peruse the used book store in the terminal where I bought a book for the trip. The ride to Newark was smooth sailing until we got close to landing, then the turbulence for the last half hour of the flight had us tightening our seat belts. When we landed on the runway, there was collective sigh of relief.

We had a long layover in Newark at our request. Jan, our trusted travel arranger, had first recommended a much tighter connection. We opted for an earlier flight in the event there were delays or cancellations. We entertained ourselves by reading, getting caught up on email and texts, and rereading the guidebooks for more sightseeing ideas. I also shot a few photos, here’s one of the Newark skyline. We reflected on the fact that we were only at home for a few weeks since the end of our trip to Rome, Sicily, and Ghana. Was it too much? We didn’t think so at the time.

The sun was setting in the west as we prepared to board our overnight flight from Newark to Edinburgh. As I noted in my journal, the flight was ok but I’m too old for economy. I’ll pay the extra for more leg room on my next flights, if it’s available. I slept on and off after the meal was served, it was enough to get me through the next day.

Our smooth landing in Edinburgh was on time. We processed through passport control very quickly, less than 15 minutes passed from the time passengers started deplaning until we were waiting for our luggage. We were meeting our daughter, The Youngest, her plane was about 25 minutes behind ours. She was traveling with her parents, a first in a long time.

It was a little after 8 AM when we headed out of the terminal with our bags in tow. The friendly Edinburgh sign was there to greet us as it had in the past.

We took the tram to Waverley Station, the main transportation station in central Edinburgh. The ticket was 7£ (British Pounds) per person. Upon arrival, we stashed our luggage for a few hours at Left Luggage. This allowed us to explore the Royal Mile without schlepping our bags.

The Royal Mile

Our first stop was at a coffee shop for hot drinks and croissants. The weather was cool but sunny, at least for a while. Sometime during our walkabout, it began to drizzle and at times a little sleet was coming down. During the patches of moisture, we ducked into shops like the woolen shop near the Edinburgh Castle. At the time, a scarf seemed like a good idea!

The Edinburgh Castle sits at the top of the Royal Mile. It’s one of the most iconic sites in Edinburgh and is certainly worth seeing. Before leaving home, I purchased tickets for a timed entry. I was glad I did because there were very few tickets available during the time we’d be in Edinburgh.

The view of the city from the plaza leading to the Castle is spectacular. Please note that the rain clouds had moved away but the air was still quite cool.

As we walked down the Royal Mile, we pointed out some of the interesting sites to The Youngest, it was her first time in Edinburgh. Places like St. Giles’ Cathedral, the 900 year-old parish church. There are statues a plenty like that of Adam Smith, the Scottish economist and philosopher who wrote “The Wealth of Nations,” often referred to a fundamental work in modern economics. And that of David Hume, another Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and writer. He wrote “The Treatise on Human Nature” that suggested using the experimentation in the natural sciences. Note the shiny toe on Hume’s statue, it is said that rubbing it will bring good fortune.

Along the Royal Mile, there is at least one bagpiper and other artists busking for a pound or two. If I take a photo, I always drop a coin or two in their buckets.

We walked all the way down to the foot of the Royal Mile to the Scottish Parliament and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official house of the monarch of Britain when they are in Edinburgh. When Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral, she was taken to the Holyrood Palace before being transported to London for her funeral.

Nearby were the gardens where the red tulips were in full bloom. It was quite a pleasant site.

Across the street is the Scottish Parliament Building. The 129 elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) make laws on any subject that is not reserved by the Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in London. The building is new and modern with a good explanation of how it works. I found the poster on the Independence Referendum to be most interesting. I was amazed at the voter turnout, more than 84%. There are rumblings of another go at becoming independent, time will tell if it goes forward.

This fellow was recording himself outside the Parliament Building. My guess is that he was trying to raise awareness of something he was for or against, or maybe just trying to make a name for himself.

Before heading back to Waverley Station and taking a taxi to our lodging, we stopped at Clarinda’s Tea Room, a very quaint shop to warm up and have a bite to eat. It hit the spot and the servers were so attentive and kind. The cakes were especially appealing. Stop there if you find yourself in the neighborhood.

We were dragging by the time we returned to Waverley Station and were ready for some rest. We had a couple more days to explore Edinburgh before heading off to the south and west of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Join me next week for Edinburgh.

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