Victoria's Voyage

It’s only been a few months but it feels like forever since I went to Croatia, so, naturally, I’m psyched to have left Grimsby behind again for a new adventure up in Scotland. Yesterday we took a long drive up the east coast of the UK, stopping in the small town of Alnwick on the way.

It’s definitely a pretty place, even though there isn’t a vast amount to see and do. Still, there’s some cute buildings and quirky shops, and a castle that served as part of Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films – Though we didn’t actually go inside the castle for all the massive crowds of families with children (Even the notion!)

After this short stop to stretch our legs and such, we continued up to Edinburgh, taking in the beautiful countryside along the way until we reached the park and ride car park. Getting the bus wasn’t the easiest, but one of the great things about visiting another English speaking country is that at least we could ask. We finally got on the right bus, but then we didn’t really know exactly where to get off, so we did the natural human thing – got off at the stop where everyone else was.

Stepping off the bus, we were met with bustling crowds and a bright and cheery atmosphere, and it helped that the weather was absolutely gorgeous too. We wandered through Princes Street Gardens, watched a bit of the street entertainment in town for the Fringe Festival, before heading into the main shops and finding a pub for a refreshing beverage to recharge with.

We soon departed the city centre for my cousin’s house in nearby Kirkliston, where we’d be staying for a couple of nights – and it’s the cutest, quirkiest house I’ve ever seen, full of mismatched colours and incredible home-made paintings – and two adorable cats! I think it’s always nice catching up with family who live away and that you don’t see often, and it’s a reminder of all the different lifestyles that can be experienced.

This morning we had a slow and easy start, preparing to meet my brother and his girlfriend from the train in Edinburgh. It’s unfortunate that things played out this way, as the beating sun was definitely gone when we got up, replaced by relentless rain. Still, we’d saved most of the sightseeing until today so they could join us, and now we just had to live with the decision and make the most of it. Sometimes, how much enjoyment you have doing something depends on your perspective and frame of mind. If you think positively and laugh about unfortunate things like the weather, you’ll soon find you can cope relatively well. And thankfully it was showers, so we did get some dry spells too!

Since we didn’t have very long and so we could only do limited stuff, we decided it would be a disservice not to head up the Royal Mile and visit the castle.  It’s a pretty large place, built into a hillside on the rocks and consisting of several different layers of walls and buildings. There are great views across the city, as well as a number of accessible rooms and museums to visit, so if you plan on spending a considerable length of time there, it’s definitely worth the ticket price.

We ended the day in a local bar, before heading back to Kirkliston, where we spent a great evening catching up and having many human rights and animal cruelty debates.