Scotland, Underfoot
Now this is my kind of city! Edinburgh is built on the remains of an extinct volcano. The main outlet of the volcano, known as Arthur’s Seat, towers above Old Town, while Edinburgh Castle sits on a second vent of indomitable black rock. Most of this city is carved out of dark, mafic dolerite. I love cities where the Earth is apparent underfoot, unconcealed by an overdose of concrete.
Arthur’s Seat from Edinburgh Castle.
My sister, brother in law and parents at Edinburgh Castle
Castle View. We climbed Arthur’s Seat the next morning.
View from our hostel in Old Town
One of many whisky shops in Old Town
The Scot Monument. Long-time readers will know that I always seek out high points in every city I visit. Edinburgh didn’t have any open cathedral spires, but the Scot Monument provided a lovely bird’s eye view of the city.
Charles Dickens hated the Scot Monument, describing it as a broken-off steeple stuck in the ground. It’s dark and weird, but the view is spectacular!
Climbing the tower. Slightly claustrophobic. I was really glad I didn’t meet anybody on these stairs going up or coming down. In fact, I had the place all to myself!
View from the top! Waverley Train Station, named for a Scot novel, is below.
Arthur’s Seat & Old Town
Salisbury Crags, Arthur’s Seat & Old Town Edinburgh (click to enlarge)
Edinburgh Castle Pano (click to enlarge)
Edinburgh Castle & the National Gallery
New Town Edinburgh
Old Town Meets New Town
Stay tuned for another view of the city from the Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat!
Travels with the Blonde Coyote 
Thank you for the visual tour of Scotland. This is very good. Congratulations! Barbara
Reblogged this on idealisticrebel and commented:
A treat for your eyes.
Wow! Thanks for this wonderful blog!
One of our favorite cities. When we visited, we were not prepared for the beauty of the city. It’s almost like Europe’s best-kept-secret.
I think Edinburgh is our favourite city too; so much history! Never climbed the monument though. Great pictures from the top! Maybe I’ll have to try that next visit.
Brings back memories. Studied a semester in Edinburgh as a university exchange student years ago. It is a really nice town, but for some reason I didn’t do most of the touristy stuff (like vistit the castle) until just before I left.
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Reblogged this on Hammel, McLean, Thomson, and Gillilan Ancestors.
I like!