Back into the good old UK now and sharing my experience from quite possibly the coolest road trip ever…Well for me and my friends that we’ve experienced so far anyway. I’ve already shared experiences from the first part of this trip in Snowdonia and the Lake District, so my first new proper place that we stayed was the wonderful city of Edinburgh. Arriving in the early afternoon and leaving late in the morning the next day, whilst we didn’t have the time to experience the city in full, we certainly had the chance to have a great introduction to it and leave us hungry for more.
Driving through the first impressions of the city were pretty good. The normal amazement at how much larger buildings are in a capital city, but everywhere seemed fairly nice as well. Most of the architecture and the feel of the city felt quite old fashioned with the classic ‘British feel’ style with the perfect balance between traditional and modern.
Once we’d checked in our first stop was obviously to go and see the castle. After the walk from the car park that was pretty much next to Arthurs Seat (which we didn’t go up after walking two mountains the day before). This was my first experience of a city that has the outside world closing in on it, Edinburgh is beautifully surrounded by the coast one side and hills the other making for a wonderful view. But the castle was our first proper stop on our trip here, and although we didn’t go up it was still magnificent to see. The way it was built makes it look literally impenetrable.
After our walk around the bottom parks that surround the castle we decided to check out the Old Town. After walking around for a bit here we were all pretty impressed. The pubs were great, the shops all offered something a bit different and the atmosphere around was buzzing.
This is my final kind of wrap up here rather than going through all of the sights. In other cities that I’ve visited I’ve just felt disappointed that I didn’t go and see everything that it boasted and didn’t really have any time to relax. Edinburgh is the opposite of this. Whilst there is plenty of stuff to do and you would always be able to find something new, I don’t think more than a long weekend at a time would be a necessarily good idea, not because of the cost aspect but I think that duration would be more than enough. Whilst there are things to do in the surrounding area, Edinburgh is so laid back and relaxed you can see everything you need to without any worry of time, its a great place to people watch in a beer garden outside the front whilst seeing all the fantastic buildings.
As the most relaxed and chilled out city I’ve been in so far, Edinburgh has given me some pretty special memories, a really good impression and the certain need to go back again, hopefully for a bit longer this time. Enjoy the cobbled streets of the Old Town, the fantastic bars, great atmosphere and beautiful surrounding area.
Rating – 4.5 Stars
An Average Explorer 