Sláinte Mhath to Edinburgh

First of head to the bottom of the page to play the Lone Piper. Its a bit scratchy but should get you in the mood. Then head straight back up here and read the blog. Oh the meaning of "Slainte Mhath" and how you say it will be reveled further within the blog.
Enjoy

On the way via Bus from London to Edinburgh

Hmm thought this was quite funny remind me not to bye food from there.
Anyway this was taken at an intersection on the way out of London.

Bridge and River 1

Mellow Yellow Fields

Bridge and River 2, Newcastle

Bridge and River 3, somewhere close to Edinburgh.

During this long bus ride of 9 hours...... yes!
But never again.
I wrote this poem called O to the Hills.

O to the hills
To the hills unseen
So flat this land until

So flat this land until
I arrived in Scottish land
Tis many hills now be seen

I read this to a couple of Scottish folks I meet and mentioned it sounded
like the poetry of Robert Burns.

For dinner this evening I sat down to a taster of "haggis" although I know whats in this it tasted very fine and spicy. It reminded me of shepherds pie. I had an early night as I knew for sure that the next day was going to be adventurous. Where I was staying was at the High Street Backpackers. This was a 12 century building in Blackfriars Street of the Royal Mile in old Edinburgh. Good backpackers and comes highly recommended.

First day in Edinburgh

This is just a snippit of the amount of photos taken of Edinburgh.
On count there where 320 photos to go through.

Onboard the Maid of the Forth

The Forth Bridge

Inchcolm Island

Oops

Oh no go a way. Dam I walk into another nesting site.
Got shite on in a big way. Apparently that's good luck.

Window Edinburgh Castle

Guard Edinburgh Castle

Well another eventful day when on a cruise from South Queensferry out into the Firth of Forth.
Not only taking in the magnificent sight of the Forth Bridge but stopping of at Inchcolm Island and exploring the ruins of an Abbey 12c I think. It was very eventful especially when you try to explore beyond the Abbey. It was nesting season and the local seagulls were rather aggressive.
After that I headed back to Edinburgh and explored the Castle for the first time. On the way back I fancied me a pint and ended having many with this guy call Kenny.
This is where I learnt about Slainte Mhath (pronounced slawn'-cha-va) is a Gaelic phrase meaning "good health to you"

Another thing I learnt was the at 10 pm each evening the bells would ring. This is an indicator during the medieval times for the people to throw there poos and wees out the window onto the street. Crazy but thats what happen.

Monarchs, Mountain and Malt a day trip out of Edinburgh

Robert the Bruce, Stirling

The William Wallace Monument, from Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle

This Castle was use in the Monty Python the Quest for the Holy Grail
You know the one with the French taunting the English Knights.

Local Legend "Hamish the Hairy Highland Cow"

Boats on Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond

Glengoyne Distillery

If you are ever in Edinburgh get on the Heart of Scotland Tours. Our driver was Bill, he if I must say after meeting Hamish the Hairy Highland Cow looked very similar. Bill was most amusing and very knowledgeable about stories and history of Scotland. We left Edinburgh about 9am and heading to Stirling. Along the way Bill told the story of William Wallace and the important figures and events surrounding this time. After Stirling Castle we headed to see Hamish for 5 mins then on the road again towards Loch Lomond. Unfortunately due to road works we had to take a diversion. What ever the road was this one was ok. After a drive through Rob Roy country and the story about the infamous man and his adventures we had a brief stop at the Loch then it was onto Glengoyne Distillery. A nice wee tour and a sweet taste of a single malt wiskey certainly made the end of the journey exciting.

Last night and day in Edinburgh

King Arthur's Seat

Edinburgh sunset

Looking North

Edinburgh Castle

Hours before leaving and after visiting the Scottish National Gallery
I walked out to hear this lone Piper playing this tune.