The Guinness
You would have thought that after getting a Guinness in
countries such as Moldova, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia then Edinburgh would
be a doddle. Well it wasn't. All we needed was a pub that served Guinness,
oh, and food, and allowed dogs, and was somewhere between the train station and
Arthur's Seat......... After quite a bit
of research we found one, told people who were travelling from different places
and sat back confidently. The only
problem was that it didn't quite work out.
As we battled our way along the crowded streets of Edinburgh and arrived
at the pub we found another dog in residence outside. It was quickly evident that our dog and the
pub dog were not going to see eye to eye so an alternative venue had to be
sought. The stress had definitely begun
to build by now. Oh, and I haven't
mentioned yet that my wife fell coming down Arthur's Seat and broke her
arm! Luckily, very close by was McSorleys
with Guinness signs everywhere. No dogs
allowed though but fortunately we were able to shoehorn into their street
seating area and down a welcome Guinness or two.
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| Edinburgh - my 50th European Capital City. Only two more to go to complete the challenge. |
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| Dylan doing a great job in picking out my next destination - Valletta, Malta. |
Team make up
The highlight of the day for me was being able to catch up
with some great friends who I hadn't seen for a while. As the Guinness began to hit the right spot
the stress began to dissipate. Some of
those in attendance were drinking Guinness for the first time and enjoying
it. Two stalwarts of this Guinness
challenge, Kevin and Ian, who have traveled with me to various Easter European
countries were here and both made epic journeys of their own to be here. Others may not like their names plastered all
over my blog without me checking so shall remain nameless but thanks for being
there everyone. Oh, and our dog Shadow
for making this his first Guinness trip.
Sightseeing
We were actually only in Edinburgh for the day so
sightseeing was somewhat challenging especially with a canine companion. Going up the classic Edinburgh Hill Arthur's
Seat therefore seemed a natural choice.
What I hadn't imagined was that every other tourist in Edinburgh would
do the same. There was some admirable
navigating from one of our party to get us through the heaving streets full of
festival goes and to the base of the hill.
For some reason we seemed to be at the steep side. Not to worry, I'm sure those people using
ropes and crampons are only doing it for the fun of it. Actually, the path was a lot more gentle than
it initially looked. The views from the
summit were great and there was a trig point to keep me happy too.
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| Arthur's Seat - we were not alone |
All we needed o do now was to get down. I know, let's go down the gentle way. Gentle it may be but pretty gravelly too and
Margaret took a tumble whist being distracted by the dog. We weaved our way down slowly and the near
feinting episode didn't happen till near the bottom.
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| The Edinburgh skyline |
There's me getting sidetracked. Edinburgh - what a grand looking city. Full of fine architecture. Full of atmosphere too in August with the
Festival. Must come back again to
explore it more thoroughly.
Food and Drink
This is where I normally write about the fine national
cuisine I've eaten on the trip. So what
did I eat in Edinburgh? Nothing! Not even a boiled sweet. Our plan to have lunch somewhere was naturally
overtaken by events, namely distal fractures of the wrist. After that, Guinness drinking took priority
and before we knew it we had to catch the train. I lie, I think I did manage a third of a
packet of crisps and very nice they were too and Scottish.
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| Harvest time in the Borders |
Getting there and around
We stayed the week in dog-friendly accommodation near
Coldstream in the Scottish Borders, topping in Liverpool on the way up and
Coventry on the way back. What a fine
area the Border region is and no doubt often overlooked by people tearing up to
the Highlands. At this time of year the
Borders is a busy place with harvesting in full flow.
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| Stationary dog |
Outside Edinburgh
From our base near
Coldstream we got to explore the local rolling countryside, forests as well as
the expansive Northumberland coastline and the historical town of
Berwick-on-Tweed. And yes, there was
some fine food too, a meal cooked by some goof friends and some good meals out
too.
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| Our dog Shadow trying to complete the Northumberland coast in a single day |
Quirky Moments
"I'll just pop into this pharmacist to see if they have
a support bandage for my wrist" said my wife in Berwick, two days after
we'd been to Edinburgh. "It's a bit
sore". Sorry, explained the
pharmacist, I think you need to go to the hospital. Where would that be? Next to the long-stay car park we were
already parked in. That's lucky! Thank you EU/NHS. Margaret - born in Ireland, lives in Wales,
injured in Scotland, treated in England. Glad it was this year and not next.
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| Every NHS treatment in Berwick comes with a free seagull. |
