Day 45 – July 3, 2025 – Edinburgh, Scotland

After another great breakfast this morning, we met up with our guide, Sam (female), for a walking tour of the Royal Mile. The tour lasted about 3 hours, and Sam took us to different little places along the mile with lots of stories and history. It was a great tour, and we were all happy that it didn’t rain! We have no other tours planned for the rest of the trip, but that could always change.

We ended up at the bottom of the mile, so we headed back up to find a place to eat lunch and stopped at The Canon’s Gait. I had a bowl of their veggie soup and a Caesar salad with chicken. John opted for a bowl of Cullen skink, which is a traditional Scottish soup made primarily from haddock, potatoes, and onions and is cream based, and a house salad.

After lunch, the guys headed to the train station where they picked up the number 100 bus to take them to the airport to get the rental car. Michelle and I walked through one of the outdoor markets and then made our way to Waverly Station, which is a mall-like place. We went into a couple of stores and then grabbed a café and a small treat to split. We started walking towards where we would catch the bus back to the hotel when the guys let us know they were on the way back with the car, so we headed back. We sat in the bar area with Kelley and had a drink then decided to stay close to the hotel and went back to the Salisbury Arms restaurant. Service was great, food for Vance and I not so much. He even got a free dessert out of it, but the company was good and we had a lot of laughs.

Tomorrow, we head to Nairn with a stop at Blair Castle in Pitlochry, and looking forward to seeing all of the beautiful scenery along the way. Had a great time in Edinburgh and really enjoyed the hotel, would definitely stay there again!

A drain mask, used to cover the end of an old drainpipe coming through the wall.

Parliament Square on the Royal Mile – St. Giles Cathedral in the back and the Mercat Cross in front. The original Edinburgh cross is recorded as early as 1365; this structure is a late 1800s reconstruction that reused some older carved elements.

One of the carvings on the cross that basically interprets to “Edinburgh, the Castle of the Maidens, protected by St. Giles”.

Three gold lions on a field of red, which are the Royal Arms of England

Arms of the Canongate (the old burgh). The motto stands for “thus you shall go to the starts”.

Royal Coat of Arms of Great Britain/the United Kingdom

The Hub – formerly the Highland Tolbooth St. John’s Church/Victoria Hall. It was built in the 1840s and is now used as an arts/events venue.

In one of the courtyards – love the “forestair”/external stair that were common from the 16th-18th centuries since sometimes internal stairs were impractical.

Our guide, Sam, in front of us. Notice the spelling of “whisky” here and we, in the States, spell it “whiskey”.

I’m the big HP fan, so had to snap a shot of this! This is on Victoria Street.

The Grassmarket area in Old Town with Victoria Street curving up. Grassmarket was Edinburgh’s principal site for public hangings from the 17th century until the last execution in 1784.

The store with the green frontage (and flower boxes on top) is Maggie Dickson’s, who was named “Half-Hangit Maggie”, a woman who was hanged here in 1724, revived on the way to burial, and famously survived. The pub sits near the spot of her execution.

At the top of what is called Candlemakers Row. The arch is George IV Bridge passing over the street. It was built in the early 1830s to connect the Old Town’s upper level (Royal Mile/High Street) with the Southside (Chambers Street area).

A view of Edinburgh Castle from the Grassmarket area. The curved stone wall is the Half Moon Battery – a late-16th-century artillery fortification and one of the most recognizable parts of the castle’s outline.

In Greyfriars Kirkyard – John Bayne was an elite Scottish legal professional who was well connected to major civic and royal building projects in Edinbugh. Most graves are table stones or simple markers, as his showcased his wealth.

So the grate you see are called mortsafes and were installed during the body-snatching era. That’s disturbing!

Dedicated to Bobby, a small terrier, that belonged to John Gray, an Edinburgh night watchman in the mid-1800s. When Gray died in 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Bobby reportedly stayed by his grave for about 14 years. The city’s Lord Provost paid for Bobby’s dog license and gave him a collar so he wouldn’t be taken as a stray. He died in 1872, about 16, and was buried here. People often leave sticks, toys, or flowers.

In Parliment Square on the Royal Mile in front of St. Giles Cathedral. The statue on the left is Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch and 7th Duke of Queensberry. Boy that’s a mouthful, lol!

Supreme Courts of Scotland/Parliament House. The statue is the equestrian statue of King Charles II.

The upper tower and crown steeple of St. Giles’ Cathedral. Very dramatic looking, but beautiful!

One of the alleyways (close) off the Royal Mile. The enclosed passage joining the two buildings is an Old Town feature.

So a “close” is a tight pedestrian land between tall tenements. Much of Stevenlaws Close is gone today from the Great Fire of Edinburgh in 1824.

Another “close” – love how there are stairs further up ahead going to somewhere else. Such neat history!

Off the Royal Mile – love the grey stone buildings!

Tolbooth Clock on the Royal Mile – Canongate Tolbooth, built in 1591 as the town hall. The clock was added later in the early 18th century.

Love this little courtyard in White Horse Close ! The next pic is a close up of one of the dormers.

The number is a datestone over the dormer and refers to the original White Horse Inn. This close was historically the site of the White Horse Coaching Inn, a major departure point for stagecoaches heading south to places like Newcastle and London. Below in small print is “rebuilt 1962” as most of what you see in the courtyard now is a 20th-century restoration.

The gatehouse and forecourt gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is the official royal residence in Scotland and is used by the monarch for state ceremonies. It is located at the end of the Royal Mile, where is where our tour eneded.

Love the bubbles!!!!!