Big plans
Today we had a plan. We were going ot make the most of the Historical Passports we purchased by visiting at least two sites—Craigmillar Castle and Lilinthgow Castle. We also wanted to go back to Edinburgh. Now Lilinthgow is a bit outside of Edinburgh so this time we waited in the queue for the ticket counter to find out how to get there most economically. It turns out that when you buy a ticket to a destination, it is also good for route. So all we had to do is buy the same tickets we had been buying and get off at Lilinthgow. Then, we could get back on the train and end up at Edinburgh. What a deal. Even better, we were just on time to get a train and we were off straight-away.
However, for some reason the train didn't “feel right” to either of us. This was probably because we have been reading, sleeping or talking, on the train and not looking out all that much. It turned out that the train would take us to Edinburgh, but it did not stop at Lilinthgow. We could have gotten off and gone back a couple of stations, but we would have spent some time doing that and we were worried about spending that much time so we just went on to Edinburgh.
When we arrived, we wanted around the train station a bit. Laurie wanted to use the bathroom but we didn't have the proper change. We went up to the tourist information center to find out how to get to Craigmillar Castle. Turns out there were several buses to take and we found our way over to one after getting a bit lost first.
It wasn't for the worse however, first, we saw our second bag pipe player. Next, we found the Tattoo store and decided to get the video for the Tattoo. Unfortunately we will miss it because it sold out almost 2 months ago and it doesn't take place until after we leave. The video is really good, but I am going ot try to exchange it because it seems to be somewhat damaged. Sometime we will have to come back to see the Tattoo. It looks like a really amazing event.
We got an all day bus pass for £2 we could ride around as much as we liked in Edinburgh. Now there are several bus companies and if we had been more thoughtful, we should have chosen First because it also runs here in Glasgow and we might have been able to use the all day pass to get home the same night—but we aren't certain it would have been honored in any case. A side note, we later met some friends of our friend Franklin and they remarked that as good as the public transportation is, locals complain that there isn't a unified transportation system as there is on the continent so you can't take a bus to an underground, etc. Rather, each are separate and so a journey adds up sometimes. Still, transportation is so much better than it is back in the US.
We found the bus and after a short wait we were off to Craigmillar Castle. We rode the bus in a direction we hadn't been previously. Eventually a couple of locals realized we were looking for something and asked if we needed assistance. They told us to be patient that the bus would get us there shortly. Sure enough, a few miles up the road, the man said to get off at this stop and ask the people at the stop how to find the castle. There were a couple of women there, who had very think accents and were obviously not wealthy. We asked them where we would find Craigmillar Castle and they sort of just laughed. This didn't exactly give us comfort, nor was it helpful. On the apartment building other side of the road we saw a sign for “Craigmillar Court”. This was obviously a low-income housing project of some sort ironically named after a castle. There appeared to be something up on the hill that could be a castle so we headed on. In a block o so we saw an entrance to “Craigmillar Gardens” and we entered thinking it might get us to the castle, or at least closer to. We took a dirt road/hiking path to where it terminated at some kind of recycling plant. Now this was very odd indeed! We followed a path somewhat toward where we had come from, but up the hill for about half a mile. This couldn't have been the way we were intended to go, but we were determined to see the castle. Eventually we found Craigmillar Castle.
Like Dumbarton Castle, this is not one of the major spots to see. Even in its heyday this wasn't a major locale. As with most of the places we visited, the signage was good, although none of the castles or historical sites have included a brochure with the cost of admission.
The Castle is treated almost as a local park would be in the US. We met some kids who were having a great time protecting this castle from all manor of dragons and dangerous knights.
Seeing castles in varied condition gives an interesting perspective into how they are built. For example, several Craigmillar bedrooms were outfitted with several “latrine closets”. These were plumbing free because they emptied right onto the wall of the castle. No doubt this, would be a security measure—who would scale this castle wall?
As we left we found our way to the bus the way we should have come in the first place. It turns out that the well-meaning person on the bus had told us to get off a stop or two early.
Next we went to the ticket office to get tickets for the Tom Jones concert which will be held at Edinburgh Castle right where the Tattoo is held. This should be a spectacular show next Friday. Next, we intended to go back to the National Gallery as we had only seen the ground floor and there are at least three more to see. However, it was getting late and we were tired again from all the walking. We had a drink and wanted around Rose Street which is a nice pedestrian path. Laurie found a ring she linked at a street vendor while I investigated an Internet cafe. Apparently the rate is variable based on how busy they are. When I popped in, it was like £1.50 for an hour. Along the way we saw some interesting things. There were a group of women celebrating a 40th birthday . You have to see for yourself.
We continued enjoyed more of downtown for a bit , grabbed dinner, and waited for a bit waiting for a comedy show just down the corner from the train station.
The show was very interesting. The food in the club/bar seemed pretty good, although we didn't try it since we had already eaten. The comedians gave us a bit of a hard time for being American, but they gave some English a much worse time. In fact, the only comedian to touch upon current events was a gay American comedian from San Francisco. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the headliner finished his act because the last train was at 23:30. We made it home fine, although we had to take a cab because the bus service had terminated for the evening.
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