Edinburgh at Festival Season

[cessna152towser]

The Castle Esplanade by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Edinburgh is not one of my favourite places, especially at festival time when it goes crazy, but it would have been unfair not to let our young German guest see Edinburgh while she is in Scotland. Here we are on the Castle Esplanade, defaced as it is at this time of year with those ugly grandstands for the military tattoo.

St. Giles Cathedral by cessna152towser, on Flickr
St. Giles Cathedral, with some people who wanted to be in the frame.

Barrage of Old Costumes by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Conronted by a barrage of people in historic costumes.

Man With Bird on his Head by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Man with a stuffed bird on his head is a hit with the kids.

Deacon Brodie's by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Deacon Brodie's Pub, a favourite drinking den of court lawyers (attorneys). The High Court, Court of Session, Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Courts are all within a short walking distance.

The Royal Mile by cessna152towser, on Flickr
The Royal Mile is manic at this time of year!

Down the Royal Mile by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Another busy scene on the Royal Mile

Kilted Trio by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Plenty of kilts around, here's a trio.
More to follow shortly

[cessna152towser]

Array of Kilts by cessna152towser, on Flickr

Furry Face by cessna152towser, on Flickr

Lion on a Lead by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Some of the displays in the shopfronts on the Royal Mile

John Knox's House by cessna152towser, on Flickr
John Knox's House.
More to follow shortly.

[cessna152towser]

Victoria Street by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Victoria Street, leading down to the Grassmarket and Cowgate.

Royal Bank HQ by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters
More to follow shortly.

[Jackson]

Alex, nice pix and good of you to show the young lady around. Especially meaningful to me since we were just there a few weeks ago. We walked the Royal Mile, Victoria Street, the Castle, even shopped at Simply Scottish. My wife picked up a couple tartan scarves and I got a Cameron kilt pin. Way cool!

Jack

[cessna152towser]

Holyrood Palace by cessna152towser, on Flickr

Queens Gallery by cessna152towser, on Flickr
The Queen's Gallery, with the Holyrood Abbey Sanctuary building on the left.

First Minister's Residence by cessna152towser, on Flickr
The Governor's House is the former residence of the governor of Calton Jail and is now the Official Edinburgh Residence of Scotland's Prime Minister Alex Salmond.

The View from Waverley Bridge by cessna152towser, on Flickr
A view from Waverley Bridge, showing the horseshoe curve of the coastline. The conical hill in the background is North Berwick Law. Not sure about the black cow on the top of the new building but I think it is a sculpture.
final instalment to follow.

[GMan]

I can tell that they take the term festival to heart.

[cessna152towser]

Princes Street by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Princes Street is dug up for laying tram lines. We would have had a look at the shops but the only way through was either to cross back over to the gardens side of Princes Street or go all the way up South St. Andrews Street to St. Andrews Square before we found a crossing point.

The Best Thing in Edinburgh by cessna152towser, on Flickr
Having walked all the way from Princes Street to St. Andrews Square we were now almost at the bus station so we decided against any further attempt to access the Princes Street shops.
Edinburgh is not my scene but the tourists love it which is good for the Scottish economy.
As far as I am concerned the Best Thing in Edinburgh is the bus which will take us home to Hawick in the beautiful Scottish Borders!

[nloken]

Lovely pictures, Alex! Thank you for sharing! You truly make me want to make the trip and see more of Scotland. I can't believe I never found the time to go up north when I lived in Bedfordshire....

[Cecil]

Your picture sure brings back our visit to Edinburg at the end of May. They were still putting up the stands. We enjoyed the Royal mile. Got to hear all the story of Mary's close. Hope to get back next year or for the 2014 Home coming gathering with my clan.

[tulloch]

Alex, it is wonderful to see the world through your eyes. Great photos. Thanks.