12/10/23 - Travel to Edinburgh
At Southampton airport and ready to go, a welcome cup of tea and stocked up with reading material. Binny is hiding the second book as it has rather a rude title. On the runway and Binny was expecting a larger plane, at least it is a jet. Arrived safely at the city centre and then it took ages to find hotel as I hadn't researched fully the exact hotel location, and relied on phone maps app to get us there. It didn't and after an hour or so walking in multiple wrong directions, Binny took control and asked for directions and all was sorted. The hotel (Marriott Courtyard) was up to standard and conveniently sited close to Prince's Street and a welcome John Lewis (another cup of tea, disappointing cake selection as getting late so crisps had to do as a pick me up) The picture of the church was taken from our hotel room which had a slightly better view than our last hotel in Penzance )
13/10/23 Day 1 Proper
A buffet breakfast at the hotel and then out early for sightseeing. First stop the Royal Mile, I was almost tempted to buy some Harris Tweed but resisted the temptation. The piper was impressive and needed the glove on as it was 10 degrees colder than down South (not complaining as it was sunny and bright) Next stop the castle, a quick online booking and after a short wait we were in and admiring the location and its historical content. Needless to say a quick visit to the cafe. At 12:40 I thought it would be a good idea to queue to get a ring side spot to see the cannon fire at 13:00. It was a bit nippy so Binny decided to visit the gift shop. It was worth the wait and managed to get a good photo. Next stop was a hop on the tram to visit the Royal Yacht Britannia, well worth the visit (the Tour continues). Lots and lots to see and couldn't miss the opportunity to enjoy a drink and cake in the posh cafe on the top deck
14/10/23 Day 2
Out early to visit Holyrood Palace, another excellent and well organised attraction. Just over the road is the Scottish Parliament building. Could not resist a quick visit, the security was strict with bag and body scans, Binny was frisked as she had set off the alarm. Very few people about at the time and we were both very impressed with the design. The weather was great so we decided to venture part of the way towards Arthur's Seat. Approximately an hour latter we were very close to the summit, and then took the circular path back to our second visit to the Holyrood Palace tea room. On leaving we noticed a police presence by the Parliament building, and then thousands of protest marchers. Last visit on our itinerary being the Art Gallery on Princes Street, before it closed. A quick visit to M&S to get our picnic supper, and after 26k steps glad to settle down and watch strictly.
15/10/23 Day 3
As the tram stop was just outside the hotel, decided to blow the expense and get the tram back to the airport. A stress free journey home ended what was a very enjoyable weekend break.
