Edinburgh in Winter

Being "trapped" in the UK and having to take Christmas week off, I found myself in Edinburgh for a day on my way up through Scotland. I've been to Edinburgh once before and also in the winter months. (The last visit was in November of 2005, so that is going back a few years now.) Unlike my trip that year, which was sunny but extremely cold, Edinburgh was being battered by hard rain. I did manage to glimpse the sun for a few minutes on the next day before it started to rain again.

Christmas markets and ice skating rinks seem to be popping up all over cities in the UK, and Edinburgh now has one. It is located near the Scott Monument and in Princes Street Gardens. There's a German market here as well as a traditional Christmas market, ice skating rink, reindeer, and various other Christmas attractions.

The next morning, the rain had ceased somewhat. I walked up to Edinburgh Castle to get some photographs. Seeing the castle early on a quiet and wet Sunday morning was an experience. I wanted to capture the expanse of the car park after the rain with the castle on the hill behind it with a few tourists walking about.

If the day is sunny and clear, I recommend the Camera Obscura. This is located next door, and through a pinhole of light and a mirror, you can see the image of what is happening outside being projected onto a table in a dark room.

The Royal Mile has many attractions along it. One of my favourite attractions is Mary King's Close. The Royal Mile used to be congested with people going about their daily busy and buying/selling items. The city was built up with buildings on top of buildings with small alleyways and closes leading off of the main street. One of these closes is Mary King's Close, and the attraction explains the history of Edinburgh and takes you to these built-up areas and discusses how the plague had impacted the history of the city. It's a fantastic attraction, and I recommend it.

Before heading out of Edinburgh, I stopped off at Greyfriar's Kirk. The kirk is noted for the tale of Bobby, the dog that never left his dead master's grave. Bobby is buried near his master's grave inside the churchyard. I didn't wander into the churchyard very far this time, but when I visited it in the middle of the day in 2005, I felt an eerie feeling. Apparently, I was not alone in this feeling as many others feel the same. The churchyard is one of the most haunted places in the world, if you believe in that. I was not ready to relive that experience on this occassion.

In addition to the above photographs, I have posted some below that I took in November of 2005. Below is a view of Edinburgh from the vicinity of the observatory area near Regent Gardens. There are pretty views of the city from here.

I also visited the castle in 2005. There are excellent views from the castle hill.

I also visited Scott Monument and climbed to the top. I loved the gargoyles around this monument, and there are also good views from the monument.