Sometime back in the spring, my brother messaged me and told me that Fields of the Nephilim, a gothic rock band from the late 80s/early 90s that we both really like, were going to be playing a show in London at the end of October. He said we should go, and, at the time, I scoffed, mentally rolled my eyes, and said “Sure, why not travel 3500+ miles to see a concert”. My brother lives in The Netherlands, so it's easier for him to jump across The North Sea as opposed to me flying across the Atlantic.
But boy, did that idea stick around and setup camp in my brain, I talked to the wife about it, half-jokingly, and she said I should go. She was all for it. But being a bit of a penny-pincher (i.e., cheap) I simply couldn't justify spending money to go to the UK to see a concert of all things. Obviously I would do more than just see the concert, but that was the main thought process that kept me from buying plane tickets.
Now, for about a year or more, I've been telling myself that I need to sell my motorcycle. I don't ride near as often anymore, and it was just taking up space in the garage. So I told myself that if I managed to sell my motorcycle I could maybe use that money to go.
I sold the motorcycle in June.
Now that I had the money, I started thinking really hard about going. I was still having a hard time pulling the trigger. What I did do was buy a ticket to the concert, just in case. My brother and his wife already had theirs, and I wanted to make sure I didn't wait until the last minute, decide to go, and find out they were sold out (which ended up happening, so good foresight on my part!).
Now that I had a concert ticket, and the money, that idea that had setup camp in my brain became much more active. And, to make a somewhat long story shorter, I bought the plane tickets with the plan of flying into Heathrow, getting myself to Kings Cross, and taking a train to Edinburgh. Edinburgh has been a bucket list destination for awhile, so I figured if I was that close, I needed to go.
I flew into Heathrow very early Friday morning (the sun wasn't even up), and by about 1pm, was walking out of the Waverly train station, into a perfectly overcast, drizzly afternoon. I found my hotel which was only about a half-kilometer from the train station. I was a bit early to check in, so I setup camp in the hotel bar to plan out my day, and had my first overseas beer: a Innus and Gunn, which, apparently, is Scotland's best selling craft beer.
My wife likes to joke that I probably sent her more pictures of the various beers I tried, rather than the typical touristy shots of Edinburg. She's overexaggering; out of 418 pictures I took in Edinburg, I only sent 9 pictures of beer.
Gallery
Anyhow, after getting my room and dumping my luggage, I set out with no particular desination in mind. After the red-eye flight and four-hour train ride, I mostly wanted to stretch my legs. I walked past The Royal Mile, knowing I would be fully exploring it over the next day or two, and just wandered through the streets of Edinburgh Old Town. I met a guy from Canada, named Ty, and confessed I felt like telling people I was from Canada, and hope he didn't take offense. He laughed, made me an "honorary Canadian" and we parted ways. Good start to the trip; first person I talk to wasn't even from there, but was awesome all the same.
Saturday I did something I don't think I've ever done on my own: signed up for a tour! I prefer to immerse myself in the culture of a place as opposed to doing the touristy things, but this was a very specific tour: a walking tour to "Discover the streets and secret alleyways where J.K. Rowling found her inspiration", for Harry Potter. I've loved Harry Potter for a long time, so this definitely my cup of tea. It was a lot of fun and it's easy to see how much inpsiration JKR derived from the narrow alleys, whimsical shops and builds, and overall history and charm of Edinburgh.
I spent Sunday walking to wherever my feet took me, and after walking along Queen's Street through Edinburgh New Town, I ended up at Calton Hill, which afforded amazing views all around; from Arthur's Seat, to the Firth of Forth, and on out to the North Sea. Not to mention an amazing vew of Edinburgh itself.
I started Monday by making my way back to The Royal Mile, and decided to visit St Giles’ Cathedral, which was founded in 1124 by King David I, and has been a working church for over 900 years. The cathedral itself is stunning, like most of these old (OLD!!) cathedrals are. I wish I could have been there when someone was playing the pipe organ. I bet it would sound, well, divine. There was also an exhibition on Edinburgh’s First Burghers, which used lighting to project the facial reconstructions of five early Edinburghers throughout the Cathedral.
I made my way to the castle next and spent the rest of the day there. Talk about magnificent. While there were some impressive castles we visited Belgium back in 2014, this is, by far, the best castle I've ever visited (not that I've had a lot of castles to compare with). There has been a royal castle here since the 11th century. It's old. There are several buildings atop Castle Rock, including Saint Margaret's Chapel, which is the oldest building in Edinburgh, having been built in the early 1100s. Older than the U.S., by several centuries. In a (hypenated) word: mind-blowing.
There was so much to see, and I haven't talked about a lot of it. There were several trips to various pubs and several variety of beers to be had. Many steps every day, many old buildings to gawk at, and many closes to explore. The One o'clock Gun. Pipers playing along The Royal Mile. The Scott Monument (the largest monument in the world dedicated to a writer). And so much more.
Edinburgh is truly a magical city.
Next up; London, baby!