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After seeing the queues yesterday we thought today we’d try and beat them by buying tickets online. Without getting out of bed I bought them on my iPhone, isn’t technology great!

We ended up at a nearby Premier Inn for breakfast, far, far better than the rubbish at the Travelodge.

We trotted up to the Castle and saw the queues were already very long for tickets. Amazingly there were no people at the pre-paid ticket machines so we popped in our code and collected them. We were inside in moments. I should imagine the queues were a good 30 minutes at least.

Inside the castle is stunning. It’s very well laid out and we decided to do our own thing and not follow a guide. Even doing that it was very simple to get around.

Kel seemed to be fascinated by what the canons could blow up. (Probably the Travelodge).

The interior of the Castle has been restored beautifully, I spotted the type of fireplace I would like in our house when we build it.

Possibly one of the most interesting parts were where POW’s were kept at various times in the past, there was a faithful recreation of how it look in the American War of Independence, soldiers were cramped together in appalling conditions.

I’ve uploaded a slideshow of the break as usual.

Edinburgh was lovely, and we really enjoyed it. We would say it’s one of those ‘visit once’ places though, unless you have people to visit there.

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We woke up to a relatively clear morning, it was a bit windy, but blue skies all the same.

After a truly awful breakfast at the hotel (cold food, toaster not working, rude staff, dirty tables - oh and we had to pay more for the privilege) we set off down the street to Holyrood Park. News hounds amongst you may recognise the parliament building from TV recently, it’s where all the dramas concerning the Libyan terrorist have been taking place.

Next it was a walk up to Arthur’s Seat. Part of an old volcano that looms over Edinburgh. It was quite a steep walk, and the wind was very, very strong. Nearly taking us off our feet a couple of times. Once we got to the top it was worth it though as the views were stunning. A lady pointed out you could see the local Homebase in the distance, something I don’t think tourists would be particularly interested in.

After lunch in town we plumped for a bit of commercialism and visited Edinburgh Dungeon, which isn’t anything authentic, just a theme park. It has a couple of rides including a big drop at the end where you’re meant to have been ‘hanged’. There were actors playing various parts throughout and at the very beginning we had to sit in a court room while the judge picked on people. I had already turned to Kel and said ‘He’s going to pick me’ when he did. I had to stand in the dock and be publicly humiliated being charged with cross dressing, at the end I could get off any charges by saying ‘My name is Shirley and I dress like a girley’. What fun.

We were intending to visit the castle next, but the ticket queues were far too long, so we ended up on the Scotch Whisky Tour.

It could have been to experience the culture but the tempting ‘free whisky shot’ sign was the deal clincher really. It was pretty good though and we learnt a fair amount about how it is made and the different flavours etc.

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Despite moving house next weekend, we still had a pre-booked trip to Edinburgh to experience. Luckily the flight was from London City and only took about 1 1/4 hours, so it was an easy journey.

Edinburgh is a very pretty (if slightly cold) place and it’s obvious a lot of money has been spent on it.

Unfortunately we couldn’t say the same about the hotel. Forced to book a Travelodge as it was the only thing available (Bank Holiday and the Fringe Festival saw to that) we were shocked the place was terrible, as we were paying £140.00 a night! First we were stuck in the basement, which was too warm, so then we were moved to a top floor room. The whole place smelled like a hospital and nothing worked.

The one good point is that it was right on The Royal Mile leading up to the Castle.

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