Edinburgh 2016

We had such a lovely time last year in Edinburgh we decided to return. The same hotel was booked up but we still managed to stay in the Murrayfield area, namely Murrayfield Hotel. Very comfortable well decorated hotel and the Cmas decorations were exactly my taste. The decor was mostly Paris grey with some distressing of woodwork and the Xmas tree had old fashioned decorations. The staff were very friendly. The only down side were the old windows that were rottenthat allowed in all the traffic noise and anything else that could get through the use holes in the frames. However it was still cosy simply because the heating was blasting. Must cost them a fortune in fuel.

We did not go to the usual places such as the castle and Royal Mile as we had been there and done that many times. We did do some shopping to satisfy J in Princess st which is something I do hate us have to persevere. We walked for miles which would be normal for us but we did use the public transport which is so reasonable at £4 for a day pass. We returned to our favourite little cafe, Jacobs at the hay market and found a few others. We also got to meet up with our nephew Mark who we discovered was leaving in January to go to Australia for a couple of years in a new adventure.

Christmas time is the best time to visit Edinburgh. We enjoyed the Christmas markets for the atmosphere and food although didn’t seem as good as last year or is that because nothing is ever as good second time round.

We thoroughly enjoyed a six mile walk along the river to Leith where we paid a visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia.. I have always had an interest in the tOyal family as a child probably. In the same way children can have an interest in Mickey Mouse,something out of reach of our way of life although not quite a fantasy. It was nice to see where they could relax and feel at home but sad they no longer have this as castles and palaces must be so impersonal.

I often think I was born into the wrong era and would have been more fitted to Edwardian times but then again going by my genealogy I would not have been middle class and life would have been so tough I likely would not have reached this age and wandered beyond our town let alone another country.

The Queens bedroom was much plainer than I expected but expressed the need for normality and very much in keeping with what my grandmother would have chosen, whom I always thought looked very much like the Queen.

This was my favourite roomwhich was the largest and I felt it was a cosy sitting room where I could almost picture the family relaxing together chatting and playing games.

Craig millar castle despite being roof less was amazing to explore and you just felt you had drifted back to the time of Mary Queen of Scott’s. It was a definite bus journey away but not too far from the main town in fact just three mi,es from Edinburgh castle or Holyrood palace as the crow flies.