From October 2005 through to February 2006, I lived in Edinburgh. Edinburgh is one of the great cities of the world, with fabulous views around every corner, and a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Old and New Towns. Although the New Town is all very nice and neatly laid out, I prefer the Old Town, with its narrow little wynds and closes.
Obviously the thing that dominates Edinburgh is the castle (side note: the best way to arrive in Edinburgh for the first time is by train, as it brings you in right alongside the castle)
Edinburgh also sits right next to the Firth of Forth (with Fife on the other side…yes really)
Although the winter has been relatively mild so far, it can get cold – these next few shots were taken one morning when it was -7°C, and I decided to go for a run…
This is the skyline I see every day – Salisbury Crags/Arthur’s Seat on the left, the castle on the right. These shots were taken on the same morning:
In the 19th century, they decided to build a Parthenon replica on top of Calton Hill. They raised some money, and got started. Unfortunately they ran out of money and stopped after raising only 12 columns (the Parthenon has 47). It has become known as Edinburgh’s Disgrace. Every now and then someone will talk about completing it, but people quite like it as it is:
Although the dark can be pretty relentless over winter, Edinburgh is pretty good to spend winter in, at least as far as British cities go. There’s plenty to do – here’s some shots of the All Blacks vs Scotland game
You can also go ice skating, or on the Big Wheel
The German markets also set up, so we started getting ready for Austria by drinking some Glühwein
These two are from when a few friends were in Edinburgh
