Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Yacht Britannia

ENGLAND – in April! We should be certified, however we did survive fairly good temperatures of 45-60 Fahrenheit (7 – 16 Celsius) and what may be more important very little rain. We arrived at London Heathrow after a really good flight from Dallas, customs and immigration were easy thanks to the fast-track pass they gave us on the flight. Shuttle bus to the car rental where we picked up the Insignia station wagon, lots of room and diesel engine for better mileage. We set off up the M25, onto the M40 and the M6/M55 to Blackpool, where we stayed the night – closest place to pick up Mum the next morning – just over 230 miles after not much sleep on the flight over, good job I had a co-pilot – who didn’t nod off this trip.

After we picked Mum up the next day we set off for Leith, just on the coast outside Edinburgh, Scotland where we checked into the all-new ultra-modern Premier Inn – automated check-in and the machine also created the electronic keys to our rooms – technology. This part of the trip was another 200 plus miles – good job I don’t mind driving.  Once we freshened up we went to see my cousin Douglas and his wife Audrey, just across the Firth of Forth in Dalgety Bay – I hadn’t seen them in about 50 years, sometime in the mid 1960’s. We had a wonderful time – a great dinner of melon, salmon and then trifle, catching up a little on the last 50 years, then their son Peter turned up with his daughter Sophie. The evening was over so quickly and it was time to get back to the hotel in Leith.

The next day was all go – Edinburgh Castle, the views from the ramparts over the city are quite amazing, Princess Street, the City and the Firth of Forth in the distance is just one example. The inside and outside views of the castle go a little way to understanding how it survived from the 14^th century.
A view that can easily be overlooked (no pun intended) is the Soldier’s Dog Cemetery with some headstones going back to 1840. It can’t be reached by visitors – just have to look for it over the wall by Mons Meg – a huge cannon with a 20 inch diameter barrel.

A walk down the Royal Mile to St. Giles church where we had lunch and then a quick taxi ride to the Royal Yacht Britannia for a really great end to the day with tea in the Royal Deck Tea Room. The yacht is incredible, the bridge is immaculate, and like the engine room you could eat your meal off the floor. There is even a garage with a Rolls Royce on board.

The State Dining Room is incredible – we had to keep reminding ourselves this was a yacht, until we got to the crew quarters. We have many more photographs than we can show here so we hope you get a feeling of the sheer grandeur of the Royal Yacht, and the ruggedness of Edinburgh Castle.