Edinburgh, Scotland (Tourist Office), on the the south bank of the Firth of Forth,  is 405 miles north of London, 197 miles north of York, England, and 46 miles east of Glasgow, Scotland.  It's attraction to tourists is second only to London in the UK.  One reason is the large number of festivals and other events that take place there. In addition, it  is an attractive city, with many Georgian and medieval buildings, Edinburgh Castle on a hill overlooking the city and a number of major museums.  Two areas within the city, Old Town and New Town, are listed UNESCO World Heritage sites. Old town spreads out southward from the castle hill along a main street, the Royal Mile and was the first area to experience rapid population growth between the 15th and 17th centuries.  New Town is on and behind Princes Street below the castle hill on the north side and was built in the 18th and 19th centuries for the overflow of population from Old Town. Princes Street is a main thoroughfare and shopping street seemingly full of busses bringing people in and taking them out of the city.  It is also the location of Princes Street Garden, a large public park in the very center of the busiest part of the city.

 

Most of Edinburgh Castle was built in the 16th century and is worth a visit.  The structure itself is interesting, containing the Royal Palace, the National War Museum of Scotland and other buildings well worth inspecting.  Its position on the hill offers almost a bird's eye view of the entire city and the Firth of Forth.  And it is the site of many happenings.  On the day we were there a military band in ceremonial dress from Oman was playing (see photo on right).  The Military Tattoo, featuring displays of military bands, takes place there every year as part of the Edinburgh Festival. 

 

We visited the National War Museum in the Castle. Scotland has a very long military history which is well described and explained in this museum. We also visited the part of the National Museum of Scotland that formerly was called The Royal Museum.  This is a fascinating museum where you can see the Wylam Dilly, one of the first steam locomotives ever built and used, a display about Dolly the first cloned sheep, and an array of early scientific instruments invented by Scottish scientists who led the Scottish Enlightenment.