Traveling Sola Gratia: Moved by Martyrs, Our Ireland and Scotland Journey, Part 7

Day 8

It’s a travel day. We’re flying out of Shannon Airport to Edinburgh, Scotland. While a bit sad to be leaving Ireland it’s also exciting to finally see Scotland.

With a 10:55 departure we were told that we only needed about an hour and a half to check-in and clear security so we left our B&B in Galway just before 08:00. Navigation gave an arrival of about 09:10 so that seemed good. I got a bit nervous driving through Galway as traffic was horrendous and it took quite a while to reach the M16 motorway. Nevertheless we got there with no problems, checked in the car with no scratches I might add. Yep, didn’t even bushwhack it once, and it turns in a circle really well too. Also.

So we flew into Edinburgh on Aer Lingus. Their revenue model is cheap fares plus baggage fees, seat fees, fees to eat, fees to drink, you get the idea. There were some unhappy people checking bags and discovering they were overweight. I knew all of that and had already paid for us to have heavy bags so the gate agent was nice and allowed us to check our carry-on bag for free. Well done, sir.

On arrival we were met by our driver, Stephen “Steve” Dunn, a fine Scotsman and a great driver. It doesn’t hurt that he was driving a Tesla Model S. What a sweet ride!!

Princes Street, the location of our hotel Murcure Edinburgh City Hotel, is restricted to taxis and buses so he dropped us off on a nearby side street and we were in the hotel within 1-2 minutes. Our room was ready early so we were able to check-in and head to our room briefly before hitting the streets again. It was around 14:00 at this point so we headed up the hill towards the Royal Mile.

Scott Monument

Very prominent across from our hotel is the Scott Monument. This is a massive monument in honor of Scotland's Sir Walter Scott. Massive.

And likely some long-lost cousin of mine as my maternal grandmother was a Scott.

We were pre-booked on an Underground Edinburgh tour at 16:00 so we had some time constraints to consider. First thing was food.

I had some advice to visit Deacon Brodie’s Tavern and we stumbled upon it as we got up the hill. Good

place and good timing. It was really busy for mid-afternoon but we found some seats on the 2^nd floor (1^st floor here). The story of Deacon Brodie is quite interesting. Apparently he was an honest cabinet-maker and deacon of a trades guild by day and a thief by night. Ended up, well, at the end of a rope I believe. He is supposedly the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll.

The food? Average.

From there we headed towards Mercat Cross where we would meet our tour guide. With almost an hour left before the tour, we were able to stop and see St. Giles’ Cathedral.

St. Giles' Cathedral

St. Giles’ Cathedral is the High Kirk of Edinburgh and is currently associated with the Church of Scotland. In the 16^th century it was in the center of the Scottish Reformation and notable reformer John Knox was a minister here.

The cathedral isn’t special on the outside to be honest. Perhaps I’m a bit jaded from the great cathedrals of Ireland. Nevertheless it didn’t disappoint on the inside. Quite lovely.

Besides a statue and plaque for John Knox, there was a tomb for another reformer, Archibald Campbell, Marqvess of Argyll. It was quite moving and reminded us of the martyrs who have fought for what we now have and take for granted. I will post the photo but the inscription may be hard to read. Here it is.

BEHEADED * NEAR * THIS * CATHEDRAL * AD * 1661

LEADER IN COVNCIL AND IN FIELD FOR THE REFORMED RELIGION

“I set the Crown on the King’s Head

He hastens me to a better Crown than his own”

From the cathedral it was less than a minute to the Mercat Cross for our underground tour. Mercat is another word for market, just as kirk is used here for church. The Mercat Cross is a former platform in the market that was used for important proclamations and a place where caddies could be hired in the 18^th century as guides for the city.

Our lovely guide was Margaret Ann with Mercat Tours. She was very good at her job, transporting us back to the late 18^th century in Edinburgh. The underground we saw was actually a series of rooms that were created under the South Bridge around 1788. The stone bridge had a series of arches that were divided and used by merchants primarily, although the seedier side was also discussed. It was quite interesting and a hidden part of Edinburgh that most people don’t know exists.

After the tour we headed back towards our room. As we had a late lunch we just stopped at a store and bought some sandwiches to eat. It was around dusk, so 6:30-ish and the lights of the city were becoming prominent.

Pretty, pretty lights.

So instead of resting I headed back out for a late night photo shoot.

First I went up Calton Hill and took photos of the city from there. It’s a great overlook of Princes Street and much of the older district. Unfortunately it kept spitting rain on me even though the moon was visible.

View from Calton Hill

From there I worked my way down Princes Street and past our hotel hoping for a better view of the castle, didn’t really find it. The moon was right above part of the castle and made photography very difficult.

Anyway it was great fun. More pictures below from my phone.

Another big day tomorrow. Lights out.