Walk, Edinburgh, Castle and Royal Mile

Walk, Edinburgh, Castle and Royal Mile, Approximately 4.5 mile or 7.2 kilometres.

A minibus from the campsite dropped us in a back street (Charlotte Lane), where we walked through a passageway to Charlotte Square where we turned right and walked straight to the main street in Edinburgh, Princes Street.  Unfortunately for us and other visitors, until 2011, transport improvements mean that the road is partially closed, dug up and looks a right mess.  So we headed for the Castle.  We crossed over Princes Street and along Kings Stables Road (we actually walked a path in the gardens alongside the road) to Johnston Terrace then up some steps (Castle Wynd North) to the Castle.   There is quite a contrast in architecture between the new and old buildings on this walk and I am not sure some of the new stuff is in fitting for this city.

 

We didn't want to visit inside the castle, as that is an all day thing, so we just had a look at the outside in the courtyard, where the Edinburgh Military Tattoo is held every August.   We also looked over the walls down on the city, before we set off down the Royal Mile towards the Palace of Holyroodhouse. 

 

The walk down the Royal Mile took quite a long time, we popped into shops, stopped for a cup of tea and generally did the usual sightseeing things, there is plenty to see and visit along the way.   All the way along there are views of the newer parts of the city down the many side streets and also older parts down alleyways.  There are many places to eat and drink, so if you wanted you could have lunch and or a beer, we didn't today.

 

The Royal Mile is actually a mile long (strange that), at the bottom is Holyroodhouse and the new Scottish Parliament building.  The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the Queen's residence in Edinburgh and is a nice old building, the Parliament building is new and a very odd design but not quite as ugly as the locals would have you believe.

We had a walk so far up the path up Arthurs Seat (the big hill) for a better view of Holyroodhouse and the Parliament buildings (there is also a good view of the port of Leith).  We didn't go too high as it was very steep and also I didn't want to go all the way up, as we came down it started to rain so we made for cover at  the Parliament.  We had our sandwiches on seats under cover at the side of the Parliament and then went inside for a cup of tea.

 

This is something we have never done in England, visit parliament, I think security must be a lot less here than in London but we were searched on the way in.  The tea was good, we used the toilets and went for a look at the debating chamber, the building is a lot more impressive and nicer inside than it is outside.

Outside we crossed over the road to peer through the fence and gates at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, we didn't go in (we weren't invited).  

We now set off back to Princes Street, we walked passed Queen Mary's Bath House (a strange little building by the main road) and along (and up) Calton Road.  This road passes under the railway to the station then under Waterloo Place (the east end of Princes Street), onto Leith Street and a large shopping mall (St James Shopping Centre).  The arch carrying Waterloo Place is very nice but workmen's cabins from work on a nearby hotel spoilt the view. 

 

After looking around the Mall, we came out of the west side, onto Multrees Walk, leading to St Andrews Square and then George Street.  Here I had a look for the Hard Rock Cafe, with the intention of maybe having lunch there tomorrow on my birthday.  After finding the Hard Rock Cafe we turned left and headed back onto Princes Street but as it was such a mess, we walked through the Princes Street Gardens to where we had started the walk. 

 

There was still an hour to the first bus back to the site, so we popped into a couple of pubs and had a couple of beers.