With January being my second last exam leave ever, I decided it was best spent in a totally new city. Somehow I managed to convince my boyfriend’s whole family to come to Edinburgh at short notice. We found a beautiful Victorian Airbnb and packed our rucksacks. Here is what we got up to.
Dean Village
We only had two nights, so we headed somewhere on our list as soon as we arrived. Dean Village is the city’s former milling location, and is now popular for the picturesque Water of Leith Walkway. If you climb to the top of the village, you can find Dean Cemetery and Dean Bridge. We walked around, snuck in to a few houses, and then went to collect the keys to our flat.
Calton Hill
Our second day was spent climbing as many heights as we could find. We walked east from the flat and arrived at Calton Hill. This was number one on my list because of its appearance in Sunshine on Leith, which I’ve watched so many times I’ve lost count. On top of Calton Hill you can find the City Observatory, Nelson Monument, Dugald Stewart Monument and the National Monument of Scotland. It also has super pretty views of Holyrood park and palace.
Holyrood Park
Next we crossed a few roads and arrived at the foot of Holyrood Park. A few hours of climbing took us to Arthur’s seat – the highest point in Edinburgh. I didn’t actually make it to the top for fear of blowing away. But the others can vouch it’s worth climbing to. In the following photos you can see the views from the rock I clung to for dear life.
We spent the rest of our time snaking around various locations I plotted on a map, including the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle, St Giles Cathedral, Scott Momument, Princes Street Gardens and finally Lovecrumbs for coffee and cake. I also got to meet @louise_eaton of Instagram after three years of following one another. We walked 15 miles every day for three days. I’m still aching. But it was totally worth it.