21/3 Hanover Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2DL

The living and dining area

The flight from Paris to Edinburgh was slightly delayed and we arrived almost midnight. But we were glad that we had made prior arrangement with Susan, the owner, to deliver the apartment keys to our hotel in London about a week ago. So it was a long journey from London to Amsterdam then to Paris and finally the last leg of our journey, Edinburgh.

Hanover apartment is a self-catering apartment right in the center of the town and everything is just a few steps away. The location is very convenient that there is no need for public transportation.  All shopping stores on Princess Street, George Street and Queens Street is easily accessible on foot.  Mark and Spencer is less than 100 meters from the apartment and we run back and forth to do grocery shopping.  The apartment is immaculately clean and the one we rented has a reading room with a view of the Edinburgh castle. Although the owner stays in London, the caretaker in Edinburgh is available all the time in case of emergency. I highly recommend this apartment for its location, service and the quality of the interior. http://www.21hanoverstreet.co.uk/

The living room

The kitchen

The kitchen 

Edinburgh is the City of Enlightenment - Scotland

This picture is taken from Edinburgh Castle

Never have I felt so peaceful visiting a place like Edinburgh. The city is neither too big to enable you to navigate on your own nor it is too small to bore your visit. As a capital of Scotland and the second largest city after Glasgow, Edinburgh is endowed with its rich culture, incredible history, legendary romance, fine architecture and home of the prestigious University of Edinburgh. Hence, it is not surprising that tourism is a major business here and its popularity is second after London. In early spring, the city is just nice and not so crowded like summer. Millions of people flooded the city in summer to enjoy the world’s largest Edinburgh Festival. 

We stayed not far from the famous Edinburgh castle, which is pretty close to the Scottish parliament building and The National Gallery of Scotland.  In the evening before sunset we enjoyed rambling all over the city in the cool spring weather. From Princess Street we began our walk across the garden and climbed up the countless stairs to Edinburgh Castle. Arriving on the hilltop, we stopped to catch a breath and our eyes were hypnotized by the panoramic view of Edinburgh city! 

After a short rest and picture taking, we started descending the hills, walking towards the west where the financial hub of Edinburgh’s economy is located. The row of office buildings typified the unique Scottish architecture combining the old and new dimensions. Not only for its great architecture, but Scotland is also well known as the home of the world’s renowned economic scholar, Adam Smith and several other enlightened scholars of the 18th century. On the high street of Edinburgh, Smith’s bronze statute stands proudly and the UK banknotes commemorate Smith, making him the first Scot to be featured on English banknotes. His theory of free market remains in the minds of every economic being. 

“To feel much for others and little for ourselves; to restrain our selfishness and exercise our benevolent affections, constitute the perfection of human nature.” (Adam Smith)

A Picturesque Ruin - Urquhart Castle, Highland, Scotland

The castle's tower

After a brief stop in Glencoe we headed to Urquhart Castle, about 3 km from the village Drumnadrochit. The castle has a panoramic view overlooking Loch Ness. It is rumored that Loch Ness monster (nessie) was sighted in this area.

The castle is opened to public all year and the entrance fee is 7pound. The 8 minutes film show on the history of the castle must not be missed to understand the present state of the castle. Some may think the entrance fee is expensive for a tour to the crumbling walls but think of it as a donation to preserve this historical site and ruins. But if you are not interested in the history, I suppose viewing it from the car park would suffice.

It had gone through a turbulent history of wars and changed hands several times. The English army captured Urquhart in 1296 but was taken back by the Scottish legendary warrior, William Wallace two years after that. The MacDonald captured the castle in 1545. In 1691 the castle was blown up to prevent the stronghold of the Jacobites. Today, the remnant of the castle is owned by The National Trust for Scotland.

From a small jetty near the castle, we took a cruise on Loch Ness and as we moved far away from the ruin, the beauty of the castle is left to our imagination.

A view from the walking trail

The ruined castle with Loch Ness in the background

The little jetty where we took the cruise

The castle ruin

Spring around Urquhart castle

View of the castle as we cruised further

A view on the bank of Loch Ness

Sweet Glencoe in BraveHeart - Glencoe, Scotland, UK

It was such a brief stop at the mountains of Glencoe on our way to Inverness. This is the disadvantage of going with the tour bus. I should have driven to the Highlands and spent more time exploring the beautiful Glencoe area on my own…but I was just too tired! Though it was just a moment, I was awed by the beauty and vastness of Glencoe. It was an effect of glaciations millions years ago which carved the formation of these humongous rocks.

I love history and so I was listening attentively to the guide’s tale of the famous massacre of clan MacDonald in Glencoe. Clan Donald was one of the largest Scottish clans. The Massacre of Glencoe took place in the Valley of Glencoe in the morning of 13th February 1692. Seventy eight MacDonalds were killed because they had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to King William and Mary. Glencoe was one of the locations for the epic movie Braveheart.

Soon we were back on the coach humming to the tune of Sweet Glencoe.