Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Edinburgh St Gile's Cathedral (1/2)

 

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Edinburgh Old Town Royal Mile Walk (5/5 - Castle Views)

 

The target of our Royal Mile walk was to reach Edinburgh Castle. You know how you research a place before you visit, but is never confident how it would turn out unless you're really there in person? So this walk for me was like finding my footing in this city, knowing the length of the Mile, the location of things, and how easy it was to get anywhere. So it was exciting when I finally reached my end point and see the sun set at the castle :)  We were due to visit it the next day at 930am :) 

But here and now, it was just time for us to explore the grounds outside the castle. It was basically just an empty concrete square. But at the side of it, there are some monuments to be seen. Like this one for Scottish Horse. Why horse? Well the next photo has more information on it.

It was nice seeing how people honour the animals that serves them.

Above is the view opposite of the castle entrance. It was a very huge square. Just at the left of that photo was the Witches' Well. I forgot about it the first time I was there, but went again the next day to properly took a photo of it. Witches, something very much mysterious yet cruel in Scottish history. 

We walked around the edges of the square. Since the castle was on top of a hill, from there you could look down on the whole of Edinburgh. Facing the castle, above is the view at the left side of the square. We did eventually visit the below area when we went to visit Castle Terace the next morning. 

Here is a further view of the area looking more towards the Museum area. 

And above is the view to the right of the square, overlooking residential areas, the New Town, and sea. This was where we walked on Sunday when we visited Dean's Village and Stockbridge area. Through out our stay in Edinburgh, we walked everywhere. We only took public transport once, which was our last day when we took the bus to the airport. We also took a Uber to Castle Terrace to meet up with our tour guide for our trip to Isle, and that was it. I've yet to visit Leith side of Edinburgh. And I just feel that I would visit again even after our 2026 trip.... 

Leaving you with a selfie of us on our first day in Edinburgh as we stood outside Edinburgh Castle. 

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Edinburgh Old Town Royal Mile Walk (4/5 - Symbols)

A tourist sight, without a doubt, a Scottish man in full traditional kilt and playing a bagpipe. They are buskers, yet for tourist like me, where else could I get a chance to see this and listen to the traditional music of Scotland? So in some way, aside from being a busker, I think these artist also provide some service in terms of  culture to the city, they are a symbol of Scotland itself. And at the Royal Mile, there were many things that are symbolic. 

As I mentioned about the many Close along the Royal Mile, each Close is different and unique in their own way. Many have decorative items on them, perhaps symbolising something that I am sadly unaware of. I often don't travel with a tour guide, and rely solely on the internet for information about the places I visit. These days, I try to mix and match my travel, to have a balance of organised tour and solo wandering.

I also took this lovely photo of stone pillars near the Supreme Court. I love tunnel looking photos, and especially if they are made of ancient architecture. This photo just represent so much strength, and history, for justice!

Right at the top of St Gile's Cathedral, gold crosses decorates the tower structure of the church. They shine brightly as the setting sunlight hits them. I remember how golden Paris looked when I was there, they too have many structures with gold or gold-painted pieces on them that just shines and glitter in he sunlight, perhaps symbolising wealth and glory? Or even of heavenly things? 

I also saw these three cute nuns at the wall near St Gile's Cathedral. Can't remember whether it was part of the building, or nearby. I found art pieces like this cute and charming, something you won't see much of in tourist information. These are things you see only if you have the time to wander and explore. These are things that make your trip unique only to you :)  I feel that beauty is all around us, and am quite happy just wandering around a foreign town or city just finding these little things that make my day :)

Walking around, I also notice this fish sign on top of the entrance of a building. I can't remember what building was it, but it was a corner building along the Royal Mile. Fishes like these reminds me of olden days Christianity.  So I stopped to take a photo of it.

There was also a picture of a stock. No idea where I took this. I guess what I am trying to say is, keep your eyes open when you're visiting Scotland, or anywhere! There are so much more to see than the usual tourist sights!

Of course there are also subtle historical sites that you might not be aware of unless you've done your research. For example here lies the last public execution site in Edinburgh, perhaps something not all visitors might be interested in, lol. But I thought that it was cool that they have marked that sight, to show that it was important to them, no matter how small the sign was. 

And above is what the sign looked like, a single copper looking "I" logo in the middle of the road. There are other similar signs like these in Edinburgh, subtle and unnoticed by the public. Yet they are still there, preserved by the city, safe guarding their stories :)

Lastly, a photo of a horse and a modern bike. I thought it a nice contrasting photo to take, and I also love the colour scheme of the photo. Surely, a photo could also be meaningful and carry some message? For this, it was the mode of transportation, from the old days to the current new day :P  My photos are my little contribution to art. My blog, my little documentation of the life I've lived.

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Edinburgh Old Town Royal Mile Walk (3/5 - Riddle's Close)

Along the Royal Miles, at both sides of the streets, are these alley ways called a Close. Most leads into residential places, courtyard, or different side of town. It was fun looking at all of them. One caught my eye, which was Riddle's Close. I've read about it before my trip, and I knew I could walk in to it. 

It was almost like a tourist attraction, and it was so cool to see the walkway in, like a little covered alley. 

There were proper information found on the walls outside, as well as along the alley way leading into the courtyard. Here was a placed that the philosopher David Hume used to lived at. Again, I was aware of Hume and his writings, but I wasn't aware that he was Scottish, lol. 

Walking in, there is a small courtyard inside, and you could imagine how it would have looked like in the olden days where people used to live here. I love that it was a bright orange! This was the more modern looking part of the building.

Here is a more older looking part, the part that could fit into a classical tale of the old world, with small doors and small windows, and maybe a chimney. The internal was also yellowish orange in colour.

There was also a kind of center located here which we did not enter. It was still our first day in Scotland, so I wasn't sure what was allowed to wander in, and what wasn't. I was just happy to be standing at the courtyard soaking in the history of the place.

And as we made our way out, I slowed down to read the writings on the wall found here. It tells of all the famous people, mainly philosophers and writers I guess, who have once lived here. I didn't know most of them. I only knew David Hume. But it was still interesting to read about them and their thoughts about things. 

Some writing from David Hume himself. I believe he was known as the first atheist at that time, that even during his deathbed, he held true to his belief. I guess that was something very rare in the Christian world at that time. 

Here is a saying to live by, in Latin "By Living We Learn". As we live, there is so much in the world for us to learn from and experience. So I thought that was a great saying to live by. Sometimes I feel that humans work and work, held down by responsibility, by earning money, and doom strolling on their phones that life just passes them by. They do not reflect, they are not curious. They just breath, and live, staying at the same place they were born, never wondering, never asking, never pondering. I wonder, is that a life worth living?

Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Edinburgh Old Town Royal Mile Walk (2/5 - Places of Business)

One of the highlights of visiting UK and Scotland was actually seeing for myself the names of some of the pubs and hotel here. Their names were kinda like from a story book. And some of these pubs have been here for a very long time. Above one that is called "The World's End". Interesting name for a pub. It is as if this would be the place to be if the world was coming to an end and I needed one last drink before going down with it, 

 

Clan was also a big thing I learnt about Scotland. So many clans, so proud of being part of clans. Above Clans of Scotland, perhaps a cafe, a pub or a souvenir shops. We have clans in the Eastern world too. We have Kongsi in Malaysia! Based on our surname, same as the Scotts.

Taverns are also kinda cool. Above is Deacon Brodie's Tavern. That brings me back to me reading fantasy books of Dragonlance, where the heroes would always stopped the night at a tavern, for a meal, for a drink, for meeting with someone to get information. Even from the movies I watched. All these were fictional places for me, before I landed in UK :)  I didn't patronised any of these establishment though. But that will change in my next trip, as I have a pub planned in my itinerary.

Or The Inn on the Mile. I can't imagine a building like this in my fantasy stories though, mainly cause this one looked so modern and concrete. I take it that this is a small inn, but it sure does look grand :)  We did stayed in a small hotel later on, during our trip to Isle of Skye. Since we were on a 3days2night tour, the tour company actually helped booked the accommodation for us. It was expensive, but I guess it was also an experience, to have stayed in a typical bed and breakfast local hotel in a small town called Portree. 

We also saw some cheesier looking places that looked geared towards tourist. Deacon's House was one of them. I think this was a cafe or restaurant. For some reason, we didn't frequent these places much as the prices were on the high side, and if we needed a meal, we could eat quite well just out of the supermarket.

They have a British looking statue outside their cafe too. Almost like a themed cafe I guess. The western people seems to love dining in cafe, sitting outdoors, drinking beers. Maybe it's just their culture. Maybe they are just richer, or more YOLO. For me, that would have been a treat, something that I would need to take time to enjoy and appreciate. Not something I would do daily on my travels. I rather like eating alone in my hotel room when I travel solo. 

One shop that I did consider visiting was The Witchery, which was a high end restaurant. But I read mixed review about the place. Some said it was good, others said it was a ripped off. Doesn't really matter, I wasn't interested in spending so much money one a single meal, especially when my husband wasn't the best companion to enjoy such a meal with. But I was surprised they also have a shop nearby, and since it was just a shop, I did went in to check out what was on sale there. 

It was a lovely looking restaurant. I guess if I have unlimited money, I wouldn't mind dining here. But everything I do with my money these days are all a carefully and intentionally calculated expenses. Sure I could YOLO from time to time, but I need to justify it, and I just couldn't justify having dinner here, or paying 60pounds a person for an afternoon tea at the castle. Heck I can't even justify the cost to have an afternoon tea at E&O in Penang, which might cost maybe 30SGD?

A last notable mentioned, a Museum of Magic and Witchcraft. It was a small private museum that I was interested in visiting. I've even stepped in once. It cost 5pounds to visit, and the internet review said that it was small but filled with artefacts for those who was interested in this subject. The time I stepped in to visit, they had a private event on and I wasn't allowed in until 1.5hrs later. So I decided to browse around the gift shop instead. What was on sale didn't interest me, especially the books on sale. It felt more like a casual touristy themed place instead. How should I put it, I felt like the books sold weren't sincere in their curation. And just because of that, I decided not to visit the museum after all, lol. Interestingly I did came back with a book on Witchcraft, bought at the Harry Porter themed shop at Victoria Street It cost me 30pounds! And I love the book. I have still yet to read it. But it was a solid buy for me :)