For I Would Walk 500 Miles.....Da La Lat Da

After plane delays and rental car pickup delays we arrived into a blustery and cold Edinburgh. We were only there for one night before we started our round trip down to York for David's conference returning via the Lake District to Edinburgh. Given that it was not raining, we decided that we would climb Arthur's Seat, the volcanic peak in the middle of Edinburgh, first thing in the morning and leave walking the Royal Mile and viewing Edinburgh Castle until we returned.

Atop Arthur's Seat

The steep walk up the path that leads to the peak was spectacular but did require some stamina. Thank goodness for my daily bike ride before leaving Dublin! I hate the people who effortlessly jog these tracks! The view of Edinburgh was amazing and well worth the effort, despite being nearly blown to Glasgow. A great place for some solitude if you could get away from the noisy tourists. We walked up the steep side and returned on a more gentle path where the grasses rippled in patterns across the hill.

Mary Queen of Scots House

From Edinburgh, we traveled to Jedburgh, a small quaint town in the Scottish Borders where Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566. Whilst waiting for our dinner reservation at the very Scottish tapas restaurant, we met one of the local drunks who was very friendly and asked to join us for a drink. He seemed amazed we were driving the 3 hours all the way to York. We were quite thankful when he decided he'd had enough to drink and staggered to wherever it was that he was going. Whilst in Jedburgh, we visited Jedburgh Abbey and Mary Queen of Scots' house. This was a free museum, giving an excellent history of the area and its relevance to Mary Queen of Scots.

We drove from Jedburgh along the coast to Dunbar before heading inland. We avoided the motorways where we could which led us to stumble across Witton Castle, a beautiful 15th century castle. You approach the castle through stone gates,  pass the pheasantry, drive along a winding narrow road, through a tall wooded area to..... rows of mobile homes! It turned out to be a very English holiday camp!

St Oswalds, Heavenfield

After a bite to eat in the grounds, we continued along our way and saw a sign to Hadrians Wall, which once stretched 73 miles across England and was built by the Romans to keep out the northern Barbarians. In trying to find the wall, we stumbled across St Oswald's Church in a field at Heavenfield. This is where it is believed King Oswald raised a large wooden cross and called his troops to pray before the battle of Heavenfield. It was a bleak afternoon and it may have been for this reason that a family were eating their picnic lunch in the front pew of this tranquil hilltop church!!

Next stop York and all things Viking! 

We had 4 nights in York whilst David attended a conference.  I amused myself at The Jorvik museum (the Viking Museum), a visit to York Minster (the city's enormous gothic cathedral), a river cruise, a city walking tour, a walk up Clifford's Tower, Hop On Hop Off bus, walking the city walls and, of course, a trip to York is not complete without a visit to the medieval city area known as The Shambles. David saw some of these attractions with me and some we returned in the evening to see after my wanderings during the day. The Viking history of the city was very interesting and the fact that no new renovations can occur without another piece of history being uncovered is amazing!

I would walk into the city every morning, about 25 minutes along the riverside, and return each afternoon to meet David before walking it all again for dinner. It was a picturesque walk where you could look at beautiful old homes, squirrels, geese and boats heading along the river. I loved the cobbled streets of the town centre and the fact that it was a pedestrian thoroughfare with very few cars. The evenings stayed light until 10:00 pm and so we were only ever walking back to our accommodation as the light was starting to fade.

After 4 days of city bustle, sights and medieval history, I looked forward to the next few days of country serenity and scenery on our return journey to Edinburgh.

The Shambles

At Clifford's Tower