We arrived into Edinburgh late afternoon. By that time I well and truly had the Florentine Flu (or perhaps, but doesn’t sound as good, the Veronese, Roman or Cambridgeshire cold). Now, I am usually so damn organised that I bring enough pharmaceuticals to cure anything that might befall, but alas, I had myself convinced that it was the English/Scottish/European summer – I just didn’t remind myself that the summer heat sits at 10 degrees Celsius. Well the Scots are out in t-shirts, the shops are full of bikinis, Lydia has been trying to buy a coat but they think she is weird cause it is summer. There is a biting cold wind. I went in search of over the counter drugs and was pleasantly surprised that it is much easier than home to buy large amounts of pseudoephedrine. Heavily dosed up, we chased ghosts through the streets of Edinburgh. We were promised that we would visit spots where people lived in utter misery. As I felt like crap it seemed rather fitting.
Underground we went in the pitch black. Our leather coated, vampire looking guide thought it was highly amusing to run his fingers along your shoulder as he lurked in dark corners. As we wandered in the dark, through the depths of the South Bridge Vaults, we were sure we were being stalked by the South Bridge Entity – that malevolent presence that reminded us that we were in the darkest of places – home to the poorest of the poor, the plague and Burke and Hare’s corpses. Our lovely guide told us that we were quite safe as the walls were made strong by the hundreds of bones that were crushed to make the plaster. We were told that when the bridge was due to open in 1788 there was a great deal of superstition surrounding the bridge. A grand lady was asked to open the bridge to allay the fear but a few days before, she died mysteriously. She therefore did the bridge opening as the first body to be carried over the bridge in a coffin.
The labyrinth of rooms below the bridge is damp, moldy, cold and filled with rats – yes one would wonder why we paid good money to visit. We went on to the Covenanters Prison and the Black Mausoleum, the lair of the Mackenzie Poltergeist. Deep in Greyfriars Kirkyard we screamed and yelled – Lydia’s ear was burning hot – was she getting sick or was it the mark of the poltergeist.? As the clock stuck midnight we scuttled home past the looming castle.
It was so damn cold in the morning that we decided we would be Arctic explorers and brave the climb past Holyrood Palace and up to Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘hill for magnitude’. OMG it was so cold and I coughed and spluttered my way up – the view for miles from the top of Arthur’s seat is fantastic though. As we wandered down past the crags we soaked in the glorious Scottish summer and rubbed our frostbitten fingers.
Our gorgeous summer tour continued to the ancient stronghold of Edinburgh Castle. Yes it is a commanding view, but the bitter winds really made us wonder why the Scotts and the English have fought so much for its control. I was sure we could hear Robert the Bruce and William Wallace’s teeth chattering as we wandered back down the Royal Mile.
We can tell the fellow Aussies without asking nationality. They are like us, rugged up in hats, coats, and gloves. The locals are sun baking on the mound but there isn’t any sun. But then, oh Scotland is so beautiful.
We waved farewell to Scotland via the Earl of Rosslyn’s 1446 chapel – last time I was here it was a quiet place full of the mysterious green men – this time it had well and truly become the Da Vinci Code tourist spot – some of it’s magic had disappeared but the mysterious green men, the apprentice pillar and the weird Knight’s Templar effigies sit ignoring the tourists.
Sleeping under the stars 