The Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is part of Edinburgh's Old Town. New Town (Princes Street and the like to the north) and Old Town are divided by the Princes Street Gardens (formerly a large bog where supposedly they buried traitors) and the central rail line through Scotland. Jenny and I spent a couple of different days on the Royal Mile seeing various items.
Our first real day in Edinburgh started off really well. We hung out with some watch repairers on Rose Street to get a new battery for my watch; bought a SIM card for our unlocked I phone we were using for the trip; and finally got my luggage (and clean clothes!). After a quick breakfast we were off to Edinburgh Castle which dominates the city skyline. This is one of those places I visited with my dad 15 years ago on our trip through Scotland so it was fun to conjure up memories to see what has changed!
The Royal Mile is book ended by Edinburgh Castle at the high end and Holyroodhouse (the Queen's Scottish residence) at the lower end. Edinburgh Castle is the number one destination in the city and you are hit early and often with all evidence of heritage tourism, whether it be street bagpipers, cashmere stores, "Edinburgh's oldest pub", the list goes on. The castle is beautiful we we took a guided tour - a must. The remainder of the time we spent walking the castle grounds, seeing Scotland's crown jewels, and having a delicious lunch at their cafe. One thing I have noticed on my trips to the United Kingdom is that they really offer a visitor a lot of services at these destinations. Even the smallest historic site will include a tea room.
We finished the day with a good nap and an amazing meal at Wedgwood - which although on the Royal Mile was a very local restaurant. More on Scottish cuisine later but one thing we have learned is that Edinburgh is a foodie city. Perfect for us!!
On my "images" page you can a number of photos. I have included some below too! (click on the pictures to scroll through them)
