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Shhh…This is Scotland

The cobbled roads, the pristine shops, the freshness in the air, historical buildings that still stand proud, bars, restaurants and cafés all around, and smiling faces with an unfamiliar accent.

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The cobbled roads, the pristine shops, the freshness in the air, historical buildings that still stand proud, bars, restaurants and cafés all around, and smiling faces with an unfamiliar accent – it takes about 30 minutes to absorb the fact that we were not in a Scottish movie set but standing on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

A semi-tiring overnight bus journey from London, possibly because of the bus itself, did not discourage us from walking up to the Edinburgh Castle even before we’d checked into the hotel. A slight technical problem compelled us to – we were there before our check-in time at the hotel.

Walled mysteries
Most of Europe passionately clutches onto its history. And Edinburgh, which relies heavily on tourism, does it twice as much. But it’s not just the appeal of commercial profit that makes the Scots focus on the upkeep of their lands; they are exceptionally proud of where they come from, their history and their clans.

The Edinburgh Castle is a fine example of that. A fortress that sits on top of Castle Rock, history dates the castle to have been occupied as far back as 9th century BC. Various restoration efforts have kept the castle relatively intact and one can walk through the cobbled pathways, understanding the many incidents that unfolded here — wars of Scottish independence in the 14th century, Jacobite Rising in 1745 and much more.  When you buy your ticket into the castle, you can also rent an audio guide that takes you through the details of every room and every important spot.

But some of the most important points to check out are the National War Museum of Scotland, the Honours of Scotland, The Prisoners of War Room and the one with the Crown Jewels. The entry tickets to the museum are priced at GBP16 for adults, GBP9.60 for children between five and 15 years of age, and GBP12.80 for people above 60 years of age.

Edinburgh Museum

Museum junkies would be on a permanent high in Edinburgh; not just the ones that preserve history, the museums in this city keep all sorts of memories intact.
The National Museum of Scotland is no British Museum for sure, but a walk through the hallways of this one would have you wide-eyed nevertheless. Begin with spending a few minutes in front of The Millennium Tower Clock – an over 10mtr of construction in metal, glass and wood. This timepiece, which works its magic every hour, comprises bits of stories of the millennium, and features human tragedies and achievements. Four masterminds were responsible for the construction of this clock – Eduard Bersudsky, Tim Stead, Annica Sandström and Jurgen Tubbecke and the team was led by Tatiana Jakovskaya.

The gallery of natural history is more like a fun place for kids – from prehistoric animals to interactive screens that tell us a thing or two about how the animal kingdom behaves, this is one place to let the five-year-old in you come out. As you walk through the rooms, you will be able to witness various collections from around the world but not all are traces of the primitive. Even evidence of modern cultures of other countries finds room here – from art to jewellery, fashion and more.

Edinburgh Zoo
Opened in 1913, the Edinburgh Zoo is set on 82 acres of land and is about three miles to the west of Edinburgh city. The zoo is home to about 1000 rare and endangered species of animals. A guide is available to take you around as you say hello to giant pandas, bears, koala bears, penguins, white-faced saki and wolverines, among others. The zoo is also home to many birds and ornithologists can make a day out of it. Prices of general tickets are GBP11 for children and go up to GBP57.60 for a family of two adults and three children.

Hello Highlands
It would have been unpardonable if we had to leave Edinburgh before a trip to the magnificent highlands. And while Single Malt trails, a trip to Loch Ness are more popular, we picked The Western Highlands Tour that seemed to be slightly off-beat. There are quite a few tour operators in Edinburgh and it’s best to read up about their tours before making a booking. Going by recommendation, we went with Rabbie’s — a small and exclusive tour operator that would accommodate only 16 people at a time — which offered a trip to the Doune and Kilchum Castle, the town of Inveraray and the Rest And Be Thankful Pass.  We left our designated spot at 8.30am, driving past Stirling Castle to the first stop at Doune Castle.  Built more than 600 years ago, The Doune Castle was built for the Duke of Albany, Robert Stewart, and was later made famous when the filming unit of Monty Python And The Holy Grail shot quite a few scenes here. Driving up a little further, we stopped at a small town called Callander.

For someone who was visiting that part of the country for the first time, everything seemed like a page out of a fairy tale book. Callander confirmed my belief that fairy tales were no myth. A burst of colours behind us, where we parked the little bus, to the perfectly cobbled streets lined by shops, houses and cafés, I wished I were a Scot for a change. We tucked into some hot chocolate, haggis and pie, and began to make our way towards the bus. It was Loch Luibnaig we were heading to. Now Scotland can be wet without a warning, so bringing out the camera at times might be hard. So ‘see’ everything — let your eyes, mind and heart take in every inch of the surroundings because it is here you might learn what unspoilt nature can truly be like. From the loch, we continued to the Braes of Balquhidder, the resting place of Highland outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor, Robin Hood of sorts. From Balquhidder, we made our way through the mountains of Breadalbane before stopping in front of Kilchum Castle, set in the middle of Loch Awe. There’s not much left to see inside of the castle but the enigma of the place is enough to give you gooseflesh. Spending some time exploring the castle, we drove down to the lovely little town of Inveraray, located on the banks of Loch Fyne. While some opted to get off before the castle and home of the Duke of Argyll, a few moved further up and decided to explore the town. Completely functional because of the castle that is still inhabited, the town is a lovely example of 18th century Georgian architecture. Lunching on fish and chips and some more hot chocolate, we boarded our bus to make our way back into Edinburgh, but not before stopping at various lochs and the finally the Rest And Be Thankful Pass, located in Glen Croe. Now the pass came to have its name because travellers who would climb out of Glen Croe would stop to catch their breath on the top and then be thankful for making the trip alive.

The long walks and the rain had us exhausted by then and we were all set to come back to the city. By the time the Rabbie’s bus dropped us off, it was nearly 7.30pm and we were tired to the bone but all excited about what the next day would have in store for us.

Street walking
Princess Street is part of New Town in Edinburgh; the roads are not cobbled but paved and we suddenly felt as if we were in a small lane in London. There were cars, buses, shops everywhere and this is apparently where one goes to experience modern Edinburgh. Stopping over at some of the shops and wondering what to do after that, we trotted back to the Old Town after an hour. Passing by the Edinburgh Library, a goliath of the building, I was told that it was free for people. Most of the times, when students didn’t have much money to entertain themselves, they’d come here to read. Walking past little shops, a large Cathedral (an underground dungeon tour is conducted which starts at this point) and some more bars and cafes — I realised that we’d be leaving Scotland the same night. Making the most of the remaining few hours, we walked some more, looking at every building we could. Most of the old buildings have stood the test of time and witnessed all the changes Edinburgh has undergone. From being a city with very little civic development to welcoming modernity over time — today, it’s a beautiful city that has learnt how to balance its past with the present, relatively successfully.

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