Willingly Wasting Our Time In Edinburgh

We like Edinburgh. It has a great vibe and is an easy city to willingly waste your time, which we intertwined with some planned activities.

On top of Calton Hill, our tour guide warned us he might drop my phone if the wind blows up his kilt

After a delicious breakfast naan roll at Dishoom, we headed for the most popular attraction in Scotland - Edinburgh Castle. The home of Scotland's kings and queens for centuries, the castle has witnessed royal births, medieval pageantry, and bloody sieges. Throughout its extensive history, Edinburgh Castle has been attacked, besieged and invaded 23 times — more than any place in Britain or any other castle in the world. As the busiest (paid) attraction in the UK outside of London, today only people with pre bookings will get in; they are sold out! It will not come as a surprise that we arrived 30 minutes before opening and started the line to get in. We must've been the only one there following Rick Steves advice - now outdated due to COVID. We sent straight to the top of the volcanic hill to start with the Crown Jewels. We had the castle completely to ourselves for maybe 15 minutes but it felt like eons. I just love stuff like that!

If you didn't pre-order your tickets for Edinburgh Castle, you were out of luck!

Before the castle opens, they keep you waiting on the street outside of the esplanade. There is a long line behind us!

In April they start setting up the the bleachers and stage for August's Royal Military Tattoo in the castle esplanade 

We were the first ones into the castle - except for the fox (center of photo) who sneaks in every night through the tunnel

Edinburgh Castle was protected on three sides by sheer cliffs,  yet not impregnable

From 1120, St. Margaret's Chapel is Edinburgh's oldest building.  And you can get married there - if you don't have more than 20 family and friends. (Wedding packages start from £8,000)

After the castle, we had some time to kill before meeting our tour guide so we went to Grassmarket for some drinks, people watching, and ice cream.

Wanting to get a good sense of Edinburgh and its history, I booked a tour with Robert. https://www.historicedinburghtours.co.uk/

In the months leading up to our trip, we became friends and corresponded often. He is helpful, generous, knowledgeable, and resourceful. After checking what our interests were, we set off around historic Edinburgh. He had great stories and loads of information.

People come to Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh's old graveyard, for three things. To see the grave of Greyfriars Bobby, see gravestones that inspired Harry Potter (JK Rowling), or to be scared out of their wits on a ghost tour. Known as the most haunted graveyard in the entire world, most of the hauntings are linked to the ghost of George Mackenzie — a merciless judge who presided over the trials of the Presbyterian Covenanters in the 1670s.

Harry Potter tours come here to recognize the names of many famous characters on the tombs.  Tom Riddell was buried here. 

A concept I was unfamiliar with is a mortsafe - used for body snatching prevention during the 18th and early 19th centuries.  If you locked up a freshly buried body under a mortsafe while it decomposed, it was safe from being dragged from its coffin and sold to the anatomists all in the name of medical science. 

Mortsafes, predominantly used in Scotland

 With our tour guide Robert at New Calton Burial Ground - where someone mans a watchtower (behind us) to prevent body snatching. 

The well-known little dog, Greyfriars Bobby who wouldnt leave his master's side - even in death

Our guide said that rubbing Bobby's nose is "complete hokum". Locals really don't like when tourists do it! Since Bobby became quite a tourist attraction in his day, there is one theory that suggests two dogs existed - when Bobby #1 passed, he was replaced with Bobby #2.

The concept of replacing beloved pets isn't new to Scotland.

Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. I vividly remember this monumental achievement from 1996; before Dolly was born, this was thought to be impossible.

We met Dolly! -- National Museum Scotland

After the tour we sat at Worlds End Pub along the Royal Mile again, watching people go by - whiling away our time until our dinner reservations at Makar's Gourmet Mash Bar which has been on TripAdvisor's top 3 list of restaurants consistently since 2018.

Trying a scotch egg and "Neeps and Tatties" (haggis and potatoes). Haggis is yummy as long as you don't think about the fact that you are eating sheep lungs.  

Situated five minutes away from Princes Street, visitors can find the Dean Village, a beautiful oasis right by the Water of Leith. Our place (EdinburghHolidayHome.com) is in the cluster of builings on the water that everyone comes to take a picture of!

It is so peaceful and beautiful to stay here in Dean Village!