The Royal Mile

Started the morning at Carlton Hill, overlooking the city, for some nice views. Inevitably every major U.K. city has a monument to both Nelson and Wellington and, sure enough, there they were.

Down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace, the royal family's shack in Edinburgh. You can tell that somebody important stays there by the anti-tank defences around the gates.

Across the road to the new Scottish Parliament building. Actually there are lots of buildings in the city with plaques that say that the parliament met inside for a while, but this is the one they built in 2004 after getting some degree of independence back from a desperate John Major who needed some votes to stay in power in London. It's a lovely building, and so it should be. The budget was 40 million, and it eventually cost 400 million. Who said something about the Scots being canny with their money? Or was it english money they were spending?

Then we retraced our steps up the Royal Mile and visited St Giles Cathedral. Giles was made a saint for plucking an arrow in flight out of the air and saving a deer's life, so he is often pictured patting a deer. In truth it's only a High Kirk instead of a cathedral since the reformation changed the occupation of bishops around the place, but nevertheless it's a lovely church. Its real claim to fame is the Thistle Chapel where the Queen, along with all the other Knights of the Thistle, does investitures, and it's a special little chapel.

Up to Edinburgh Castle where Mandy went for the tour, and was inside the walls when the 1pm gun went off. I was outside below in the Princes Street Gardens watching from the other side of the wall. Mandy saw the crown jewels, the Stone of Scone, St Margaret's Chapel and all the other sights. Meanwhile I visited a tartan weaver and watched the tartan cloth being woven then made into kilts. Quite involved due to the intricacy of the tartan patterns.

After lunch we bought Mandy a jacket, then went for a visit to the National Museum of Scotland. Interesting and well done, but any national museum that lists the Bay City Rollers as an important exhibit is hard up.

Lastly, we caught the bus down to the Ocean Terminal to see the Royal Yacht Britannia, before getting some tea at a pub and heading back to the hotel.