Edinburgh Highlights

After multiple days of eight-hour tours, Tim and I gave ourselves a bit of a break today with a three-hour Edinburgh Highlights included excursion. Elaine and her group had also signed up for the same one.

Edinburgh has been Scotland’s historical, cultural, and political capital since the fifteenth century and is known for its marvelous views of the sea and its gorgeous setting on green craggy bluffs. Our panoramic overview tour promised that we would see highlights of Scotland’s capital city, from classic architecture to a storied castle.

Before we could begin our tour, we boarded one of Viking’s tender boats since our ship was not docked at a pier. This was our first tender port, and the ride across the Firth of Forth estuary provided great views of the Edinburgh skyline as well as the Scotland’s Forth Bridges, which represent the pinnacle of engineering from three centuries.

Tendering to Shore

Scotland’s Forth Bridges and the Edinburgh Skyline

The crew did a great job of getting us from the ship to the pier where we were serenaded by a bagpiper. We boarded our motorcoach and began our journey in the historic district of Newhaven, once a thriving fishing village and center for shipbuilding, as we drove toward the heart of the historic city of Edinburgh.

A Very Scottish Greeting

Taking photographs from inside a moving bus is hard enough, but it’s even harder to get decent photos of buildings in a tightly compact city like Edinburgh. I did my best, but I’m not happy with the results. Any photo, at least, helps to preserve the memory of a great city like this one.

Our drive through eighteenth-century New Town was a particular favorite of mine. Here, we were treated to block after block of fabulous examples of the city’s Georgian and Neoclassical style architecture. The Georgian era produced some of Scotland’s most distinctive architecture, and we were treated to many fine examples today.

Elegant Georgian Style Buildings

Such Classic Architecture

As we wound our way through Edinburgh, we made our way into Old Town. Here, we passed the Grassmarket, a historic marketplace in the heart of Old Town. Its location directly below Edinburgh Castle adds to the ambience of the square. We’ll try to forget that it was also a place for public hangings.

Grassmarket Square

We next came upon a total surprise, the new Scottish Parliament Building. Dissolved in 1707, the Scottish parliament was reestablished in 1999, after three centuries of London rule. Its new home was built in 2004, and it’s a striking example of modern design, as well as a celebration of Scottish democracy.

Scottish Parliament Building

Proving that not all of Edinburgh’s historic buildings are Georgian or Neoclassical in style, we came upon St. Andrew’s House, the headquarters building of the Scottish Government. This building is an excellent example of Art Deco style architecture and was the largest metal-framed building in Europe when it opened in 1939. Sadly, I was unable to capture many of the signature Art Deco design elements, but I wanted to include the photo anyway.

St. Andrew's House

The Royal Mile is the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town and begins at Edinburgh Castle, which overlooks the city from Castle Rock. The Royal Mile is a shopping street, but it is also lined with many of Edinburgh’s historic buildings. After exiting the bus for a short stroll, we focused our time on the area around St. Giles’ Cathedral, the flagship of the Church of Scotland.

Little did we know at the time that on September 12, a little more than three months after our visit, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II would be carried up the Royal Mile. The procession would end at St. Giles’ Cathedral, where her coffin would remain for 24 hours. The queen would be the first monarch to die in Scotland since James V in 1542.

Edinburgh Castle

St. Giles' Cathedral and the Royal Mile

During our walk, we wandered through Parliament Square, where Tim posed with the statue of Sir Walter Scott, Edinburgh’s celebrated novelist, poet, and playwright. Tim was even happier to pose with the statue of David Hume, a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher whose philosophy of religion, including his rejection of miracles and the argument for the existence of God, was especially controversial for its time.

Tim, David Hume, and Sir Walter Scott

It was certainly a whirlwind tour, but I left the bus with a good overview of Edinburgh, its history, and its architecture. That’s exactly what an overview tour is designed to do.