Friday, February 18, 2005
Trip To Calton Hill
The weather was more bearable today; cold but bright, so Laura and me headed up to Edinburgh. I left a parcel in Rob’s car last night and so we met him on a break so he could give me it. On the way along Princes Street the Police and Paramedics were attending a scene. Somebody had been hit by the airport bus. The delays looked quite extensive running from the West End of town.
After we left Rob we popped into the Guide's Shop and Laura got her badges book. She has been wanting/needing it for a while so she can get stuck into her Brownie badges.
Then it was off to Calton Hill. Laura has been on at me for ages to go up the hill so it had been a long time coming as we walked round past the Playhouse and up Royal Terrace. It was a nice wee walk up the hill, if not knackering as well, but well worth it when we got to the top. The sky was cloudy but it was still clear enough to see for miles.
The hill faces onto Arthur’s Seat and from the viewpoint you get a fantastic aerial view of the east and north of the city; the rooftops, tenements, high-flats and cobbled streets between. You can look right down on top of the High Street, the new parliament building, Holyrood Palace and the Scotsman building. Eastward gives a great view down into Leith and the Hibernian football ground dominates. Northwards and in the distance, the Forth Rail Bridge is clearly visible. I got video footage of the lot and took digital photos from the recording.
We brought packed lunch to eat as a picnic when we got to the top of the hill. Picture us with freezing wind blasting in our faces as we munched on our sandwiches....
Here's some pics:
Click to enlarge
A flash-storm of hailstones soaked us through and froze us to the bone so by the time we got home we were very glad to see the fire on and a change of clothes.
Gail was home briefly before going on a work night out so I made her dinner on coming in and ran her a bath. When she was out me and Laura made pizzas and watched Shrek 2. By the time she was sorted I was ready for bed myself and as a result, couldn’t summon the will or the energy to write a single word.