Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3

May - June 2024

May in Edinburgh. We are expecting all of the 4 weather seasons, in the coming weeks along with Whiskey, cows, Harry Potter, trains, heaths, kilts, haggis, castles, Out Lander and public transit. Read more

Currently traveling

33footprints
2countries
23days
241photos
3videos
812miles

Follow Calendar Share Bucket list

Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 1, 2024, 3:31pm
- ☁️ 55 °F
- Altitude: 226 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station 55.951263, -3.18838355°57’5” N 3°11’18” W
Day 1
First Impressions
May 1 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
There will be lots of steps and stairs for us in May!
While Edinburgh is very walkable and has great transit, there is a steep valley that runs through the city. There are public staircase everywhere. Between the train station and the Royal Mile shopping mall, stairs go up about 7 stories high.
It’s that or a weird back and forth on the street.

I’m already googling for a foot massage spa.Read more
Traveler Get that foot massage!!!!
3wReply
Traveler I’d second on the footsie massage. Or as they say in Britain…MASS-age.
2wReply
Traveler Scotch tasting on the agenda?
2wReply
1 Planet 1 Bag Yes and my new favorite whiskey cream….
2wReply
6 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 2, 2024, 3:14pm
- 🌬 55 °F
- Altitude: 157 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh Grassmarket Edinburgh Castle 55.948284, -3.20333355°56’54” N 3°12’12” W
Day 2
Lay of the Land
May 2 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 55 °F
We walked around Edinburgh. First to a pub where, in a week we will attend a beer tasting, then we took a tram to the port where, again later on, we might take a tour of the Britannia Yacht. We also walked down the Royal Mile (no photos were taken and we will walk that as an event of its own). Then a bus home. Learning our new neighborhood is always fun.Read more
4 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 2, 2024, 6:49pm
- 🌬 52 °F
- Altitude: 135 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh York Place Calton Hill 55.951046, -3.17694555°57’4” N 3°10’37” W
Day 2
Walk around Arthur’s seat
May 2 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 52 °F
Today I took a walk around the mountain named Arthur’s seat that we see out the windows of our apartment. It is in the center of Holyrood park, a park of mostly grass fields and wilderness next to the parliament building and royal castle. It took me about an hour to circle the mountain.
Many people were also on the path. All in better shape than I am.
I’ve got 4 weeks to change that deficit.Read more
4 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 3, 2024, 2:06pm
- ☁️ 54 °F
- Altitude: 302 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh Craigmillar Craigmillar Castle 55.926117, -3.14103155°55’34” N 3°8’28” W
2
Day 3
Craigmiller Castle
May 3 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
Although this castle is still in Edinburgh it felt a world away. Not an only a world away because there were only 4 other people there, but yes, a world away because they filmed several episodes of Outlander there.

The more we travel the more We love how little structure there is when touring places in other countries. There were no monitors telling us to “stay out of there”, “Don’t touch that”, “Use the handrail”, “don’t fall off”. As a matter of fact it was the opposite. We were told to touch anything, there was a rope as a handrail, and few places had little more than a turret to save you from falling. Everyone who visits is left to themselves and to their own level and interest to walk around and explore. So refreshing that this country believes in the best of people, people will be polite and considerate and somehow survival of the fittest will win out.Read more
Traveler That is beautiful!
2wReply
Traveler Third watch is available. Come on over and it’s all yours!
2wReply
3 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 4, 2024, 12:23pm
- ☁️ 52 °F
- Altitude: 13 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh Brunstane Brunstane Burn 55.945316, -3.06531755°56’43” N 3°3’55” W
3 2
Day 4
Musselburgh - Fishermens Festival
May 4 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
The ocean is closer to Edinburgh than we expected. 20 minutes on the bus and we were in the small beachside town of Musselburgh. We picked today to visit as it’s their annual Fishermen’s Festival. It was small beach village at its best. The people were warm and the gathering was happy. The local vendors were creative and many used items they found on the sea shore. For geologic reasons the sea shells on the beach are unbroken and you can scoop them up by the bucket full.Read more
Traveler My favorite attraction!! I love needle crafts!!
2wReply
1 Planet 1 Bag This fair was really for the locals to sell their handmade goods and some beautiful things indeed.
2wReply
Traveler This nice lady told me that she had knitted everything on the both herself. She took up the hobby during the Covid lockdown. She said the work on the table was about a couple of weeks of knitting for her. It was just wonderful home craft work.
2wReply
2 more comments
4 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 4, 2024, 2:09pm
- ☁️ 52 °F
- Altitude: 13 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh Joppa 55.949162, -3.09541755°56’57” N 3°5’44” W
2
Day 4
Portobello - The sea not the antiques
May 4 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
The next town up is Portobello. More people and movement than Musselburgh. Complete with a small boardwalk. Very active on this Saturday with beach volleyball (in sweats) a community pool, and a gaming place with coin pushers that used actual .02 pence and the possibility to win actual money (no age restriction)!

We stopped at an Oceanside restaurant and I had fish and chips. I’d call it more fried fish than fish and chips but still tasty and a large portion.Read more
Traveler So cool
1wReply
1 Planet 1 Bag And a view of the ocean in the front yard. This is a town women folk and families came to for the summer. Kind of a weekend home.
1wReply
4 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 5, 2024, 12:26pm
- ☁️ 57 °F
- Altitude: 259 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh York Place Calton Hill 55.950649, -3.18402255°57’2” N 3°11’2” W
Day 5
Edinburgh Parade
May 5 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F
Our last adventure in Edinburgh was 2019 and we walked through the town with flaming torches on Hogemany. The Scottish celebration on New Year’s Eve day. In that case, walking with the flaming torch had us, as the parade. This time the parade was for peace, or ecology, or global warning, or worker’s rights. It was hard to know which as every group was included. Still colorful and there were bagpipes so very Scottish.Read more
5 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 5, 2024, 12:53pm
- ☁️ 59 °F
- Altitude: 220 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh York Place Calton Hill 55.951141, -3.18144755°57’4” N 3°10’53” W
5
Day 5
Sunday Roast
May 5 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Edinburgh, and all of the UK for that matter, have many restaurants that feature a Sunday Roast. Roast beef, rustic vegetables, gravy and a Yorkshire pudding (the roll/pastry thing). My mom who grew up in Manchester would frequently cook a roast beef with vegetables and it is truly a home cooked meal for me. Now we search them out each Sunday.

Today was extra nice as we ate with my cousin Shirley and her husband Lee. They met us in Edinburgh for the afternoon. Sunday roast was extra special with family.Read more
Traveler Had a lovely Sunday roast with you both and thoroughly enjoyed the day with you both ❤️ 😘
2wReply
1 Planet 1 Bag Marc is very excited to play St. Andrew’s with Lee next week.
2wReply
Traveler Glad to hear it x
2wReply
2 more comments
4 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 6, 2024, 12:16pm
- 🌫 50 °F
- Altitude: 102 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh York Place Holyrood abbey 55.953861, -3.1720755°57’14” N 3°10’19” W
Day 6
Holyrood Palace
May 6 in Scotland ⋅ 🌫 50 °F
We are so happy to host our first friends who took us up on our “visit us wherever we are” option. Jim and Donna, (friends I met in Ecuador, and fellow world travelers) met us after their visits through Europe.
We took a very short walk to visit our neighbors home (ok it’s the Palace at Holyrood) but fun to say it’s our neighbor. Lots of walking in and around inside the Palace. There’s a headset so you get all the info on what you are seeing sent right to your ears.
This Palace is actually the home of the Royal families when they are in the area, which is fun to think that they walk the same hallways.

Oh, no photography allowed inside the Palace. So just a few of the garden.Read more
2 likes
Scotland, Yr 1, Home 3
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- May 6, 2024, 3:24pm
- ☁️ 55 °F
- Altitude: 348 ft
- Scotland Edinburgh Grassmarket Edinburgh Castle 55.94865, -3.19950555°56’55” N 3°11’58” W
Day 6
Edinburgh Castle
May 6 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
At the other end of the Royal Mile (the road that connects the two) is Edinburgh Castle it is the main focal point of the town. This dominates (and shouldn’t all castles dominate?) the skyline and the hill of Edinburgh. There is too much history to get in to here, so let’s just say that the old parts are really old 1100 and the castle is still the main base of the Edinburgh Military guard. It is also the home of the Scottish Crown Jewels which is beautiful red (no photos) and the entire castle is considered the ancestral home of the true Scottish Monarchy.
As is fitting a castle, the views of the surrounding area are spectacular.Read more
Traveler Thanks for all the pics
1wReply
Traveler It is truly our pleasure to share them with you.
1wReply
4 likes