Edinburgh and the End of a Journey

Two weeks of travel and 23 posts later, I finally conclude my summer 2009 journey to Great Britain. I was pleased that I had been able to minimize my carbon footprint by mostly using public transportation without getting myself seriously misplaced.  On the other hand, the impact of this journey on me was great.  But before I ended this glorious adventure, there was  Edinburgh.

July 8-9, 2010

Coming from the pristine Highlands, I was initially disappointed  in Edinburgh.  I arrived in a gray drizzle, and the town seemed old and dirty with trash bags piled on the sidewalks. As the main thoroughfare Princes Street was closed for trolley construction, the traffic was heavy and loud, even to reach the near-by George Hotel where I had found a good deal on a room overlooking the stylish George Street.

I headed out for a late afternoon/early evening stroll across the Mound (filled-in part of ravine separating Old Town from "New" Town which was started in 1767 to relieve over-crowding).  Most sights were closing, so I returned to the Gerogian-style New Town and meandered from the ornate Sir Walter Scott memorial through the famous Jenner's Department Store to the banker's area near Andrew Square on down to Charlotte Square with Queen Victoria's beloved statue of Prince Albert.  As evening shadows lengthened, I found myself alone in an old church graveyard at the base of the  Princes Street Gardens.  There was a nearby Victorian merry-go-round and beautiful gardens I would have liked to explore, but I hurried ahead to where the crowds were watching Scottish dancing at the base of Edinburgh Castle.  The haunting tales of former witches,  Grassmarket's bodysnatchers and murderers, and  Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde made me uneasy to linger alone in shadowy alleys and graveyards in this city with a dark side.

But it all looked better in the morning.  I spent the next day scurrying around Stirling and Alnwick castles (see prior posts), and most of my last day back in Old Town Edinburgh on the Royal Mile. Having lingered longer than intended at Edinburgh Castle (prior post), I ended up walking past more interesting sights than I was able to explore.  I did peer into the Grassmarket area (not so scary now) from behind the Hub--which I thought was going to be an important church not a tourist center.  I saw the statue of Bobby, the Skye Terrier, who faithfully watched over his master's grave for 14  years in Greyfriar's Kirkyard, also known for the 1,200 Covenanters who were imprisoned there in 1639 for their opposition to Anglican interference in their Scottish Presbyterian church.
I entered  St. Giles' Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh, with its beautifully carved Thistle Chapel, used by the Queen to meet with the Order of the Thistle.  In front of this peaceful church was the "Heart of Midlothian" over the site of executions and a nearby prison and across the street was the Deacon Brodie tavern--reminders of the two faces of this city of good and evil.

 I approached the modernistic building of the Scottish Parliament (disbanded in 1707 and reconvened in 1999) with an open mind about its unusual design, but I have to agree with its critics.  I had spent several hours on this long "mile" before I finally reached its end at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Official Residence of the Queen in Scotland (rood is an old word for cross).  As she was not in residence, it was open to the public.  So I entered the castle: hot, sweaty and hungry from my long walk and with a big, bulky bag stuffed with gifts and souvenirs.  I  felt anything but elegant in these regal surroundings, but the gracious guides still took my money and let me in.

I admired the Queen's Gallery of remarkable paintings from her private collection; joined a guided tour through the ruins of the Holyroodhouse Abbey (founded by King David I in 1128); and then made the circuit through the elegant state apartments, ending at  Mary, Queen of Scot's, suite where her jealous husband, Lord Darnley, ordered the stabbing of her Italian secretary while she was playing cards next door.

Hers is a fascinating and tragic tale:  crowned queen when one week old; married to the French Dauphin at 15; French queen to her husband Francois II at 16; widowed at 17; returned as a Catholic to an increasingly Protestant country; had her only son (James VI/I) by Lord Darnley in a marriage gone sour; when Darnley was murdered,  married his suspected killer, the scandal of which forced her abdication to her year-old son; fled for safety to her cousin Elizabeth I who had her imprisoned for 19 years and finally ordered her execution at age 44.

Wishing I had another day or more in Edinburgh, I hurried out of  Holyroodhouse and grabbed one of those great black taxis to take me back to the hotel for a quick check out and dash to the train station to catch the late afternoon train back to Kings Cross station and then another taxi to Paddington and the train to Heathrow and a bus to my airport hotel for a night of interrupted sleep and a Jaguar "taxi" ride (guess someone's fallen on hard times or the owner sleeps in) for an early departure on the plane back to Dulles Airport in Virginia.  I was pleased with all I had done and seen in my time;  I was renewed and regenerated (see Kensington post); I was reconnected and recommitted to learning more about my ancestors;  and I returned with a longer list of things to do next time than I had on my original list--a sign of a truly successful journey.  Hope you have enjoyed it with me.
Click links for slideshows:
Edinburgh


More information:
http://www.edinburgh.org/
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=36
http://www.edinburghgeorgehotel.co.uk/