Edinburgh, Scotland 2022

After waiting almost three years,, my family finally completed the last of our pre-Covid adventures by spending two weeks exploring the UK.  First on the itinerary was Scotland, more specifically, Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Hop-On-Hop-Off

With only a few days to explore the city, the best method to see everything was to take the Hop-on-Hop-off bus.  Did it give us a feel for the layout of the city?  Not a chance!  We stayed in the Old Town, which felt like a warren of curving streets.

The above gives you a excellent example of Old Town’s architecture.  While the shops are now modern, the streets keep the old medieval pattern as they twist and turn.  Small walkways called wynds or closes connect pedestrians to the main roads.

I was standing on a street looking down into Fleshmarket Close.   Near the center top, you can make out the archway leading to a lower downhill road.

Edinburgh has lots of hills!

A famous Dog

As soon as the bus drove by the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, we knew our next destination.   Of course, we posed with photos of the statue of this famous 19th-century dog, so loyal that he spent the last fourteen years of his life guarding his master’s grave.

Visitors rub his nose for luck.  The city frequently restores the black color, but the need to touch Bobby continues.  As for the end of his story, he and his master are buried in nearby Greyfriars Churchyard.

Greyfriars Kirkyard

During my first visit to Edinburgh, which I wrote about in a 2017 blog, I visited major sites like Edinburgh Castle.  Thanks to Bobby, I spent a lot of time seeing Greyfriars Church and its graveyard.

I enjoyed my visit to the church, as I learned a bit about its founding, which goes back to the seventeenth century.   Greyfriars was the first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation and opened on Christmas Day 1620.  Alas, all too soon, my attention was taken by the kirkyard.

It’s rare to see such a cemetery in California.  Our climate and history are very different from that of Scotland.  I spent a long time wandering about, reading the stones, and enjoying the autumn atmosphere.  What a great way to spend an afternoon, but we had one more destination.

Books!

Edinburgh is known for its museums, libraries, and universities.  We were seeking it’ used bookstores.

These shops can be anywhere and are seldom large.  The name above the door to the left sounds intriguing, “Cordiner’s Land.”  I researched it and discovered it refers to the flat on the floor above.  So much for romance!

Old Town Edinburgh is a walker’s paradise.  To see more images of my day’s wanderings, please click here.