Edinburgh - a capital day

A day in Edinburgh was planned and executed.  First reason was to visit the National Records of Scotland.  Second was to just take in the ambience of Scotland's capital city.  We got there by train which took about an hour.  The main station, Waverley, is on the famous Princes Street and one just need cross the road for the National Archives Building.  I enjoyed the morning in the research room but wasn't too terribly successful in finding anything to add to my family history knowledge but it was a lot to take in - what they hold, how you access it, etc.  I left happy knowing I now knew the lay of the land and would be able to return and be more productive.

The rest of the day was mostly taken up walking the Royal Mile.  Connecting two royal residences, the Royal Mile runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood House in the Old Town within a World Heritage Site. I loved it!  Wonderful buildings, nooks and crannies, little alleyways pulling you away to explore; small museums and historical buildings, big and small.  It was more than a half day's worth of itinerary of course but we made a valiant effort and enjoyed it immensely.

Before you ask, the Royal Mile is the length of a Scots mile which is somewhat longer than what we know as a mile.  After the union of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1701 the standard English mile was adopted across the board.

Greyfriars Bobby

We left the Royal Mile to take in Greyfriars Kirk Yard - Scotland's most famous cemetery.  It's got oodles of history but a lot of people mostly know it for the legend of Greyfriar's Bobby - the loyal Skye Terrier who, in 1858 began guarding his master's grave - and kept doing so for years and years until he died and was buried himself in Greyfriars.

Here are a few of my photos from the Royal Mile:

In 1999 Scotland got its own parliament and the rather curious (but architecturally acclaimed) building was built across from Holyrood Palace.  (note of interest:  Election to Scotland's Parliament is by proportional representation)  I realize the photo shows very little of the massive building (not sure what I was thinking😕)  

And a few other photos "off the mile"

And here's where "it" all started.  The Harry Potter books that is.

Fish and chips at the Black Rose pub then the 7:10 p.m. train back to Glasgow after a grand day in Auld Reekie.