We arrived a bit late to do anything on the first day. We elected to go for a walk before we left Falkirk, so it was a post 1PM departure from Falkirk and then the campsite is a few KM outside the city.
We are at a Caravan and Motorhome club site so there are rules – the motorhome has to be parked a specific way around in the space. There are bike lockers that we need to use thanks to a spate of recent thefts. We have a spot of late lunch and get the bikes down. Then it’s a few km each way down the Firth of Forth.
Day two and we grab a bus (the campsite is 7 km outside the city) to the royal yacht Britannia and that ends up being the while day gone. Fabulous boat. They get a massive amount of tourist traffic so we cannot get quite as hands on as some of the boats we have visited over our trip, but it was amazing.
Lunch was on-board the boat, but the queen was not in attendance. All the food is cooked in the on-board kitchens and we grabbed some fudge to take away for later 😉 A superb meal!
The evening was spent catching up on emails and laundry plus bakeoff. We have still not quite got used to having UK TV in the mothership again.
Back to town on the bus the following day and the National Museum of Scotland. It’s free to get in and has just about everything that you can imagine as long as it has a Scottish link: Science, technology, natural sciences, architecture and even art. The museum is built around an old iron framed victorian building which is amazingly light and spacious. Think Ally Pally meets Kew gardens and you will not go far wrong.
The Tower Restaurant was our lunch venue and it was superb. Two days in a row we have felt like royalty at lunchtime. Late afternoon and it was over to Mary King’s Close for a look at a preserved close.
On the third day in town, we went to the Surgeons’ Hall Museum. This place is amazing and frightening in equal measure! Time for a walk down to Hollyrood Palace and see the Scottish Parliament buildings, then check out the New Calton Burying Ground and walk up onto Calton Hill to see the Burns Monument and the Nelson Monument. The Cemetery is really interesting. It dates from the time of Burke and Hare and their notorious killing spree in 1828 – grave robbing was so common that many of the graves had full cages around them and the ground has it’s own lookout tower.
Fast and Furious number 73 or whatever is at Edinburgh filming at the moment, so we had to fit in around various streets being shut for the movie people.
This is our last day in Scotland – tomorrow takes us back into England and land of the Xenophobes. Toby has to forget he is a Munro and start being a Seaman again!
Britannia Britannia – Princess on the desk Britannia – Quaity veicle being unloaded Britannia – this is just the officers dining. Britannia – Posh dining Britannia – Queens sitting room Britannia – Engine room clean enough to eat your dinner off Britannia Crammond Island walkway Some waterfall Opposite the campsite Now THAT is an expedition vehicle Edinburgh Castle – cleaning up from the international festival Filming 2F2F 93 Early Ferranti computer Victorian ironwork Yes, found an Enigma machine! Edinburgh Edinburgh Democracy still exists in the UK, you just need to go North. 2F2F 234 rigs Nelson Monument Progress Monument Pilgrims headed for Arthur’s Seat
