Edinburgh

Our main reason for going to Edinburgh was to attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Most of our time was spent doing Festival things but it's a beautiful city with plenty of other attractions. Our AirBnB flat was in the center of the city, right on the Royal Mile, and about a block away was J.K. Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Alley.

Edinburgh Castle

The castle is a sprawling place on one of the city's highest points, its most significant landmark. We went on a tour, seeing and learning about different parts of the Castle which dated from different eras; the Castle gates, the Lang stairs, Mons Meg (an enormous cannon), the Scottish crown jewels, the National War Memorial, and many other things. The views, the architecture, the history, it's all very impressive.

Edinburgh Military Tattoo

For the weeks the Fringe Festival is going on, there are other events in the city, including the Tattoo. Military bands moving in formation and traditional Scottish dancers are essential parts of the show but there are other kinds of performers from around the world, dramatic lighting, and firefworks. We didn't attend but it takes place in a stadium erected next to the Castle at the western end of the Royal Mile and every night it ends with a band including dozens of bagpipers marching out of the stadium and stopping right outside our flat.

Haunted Graveyard Tour

Ghost tours aren't of much interest to me but my wife enjoys them and they're very much a thing in Edinburgh. Tours come in many forms, the one we went on was in one large graveyard, not traipsing all over the city, and didn't involve corpse paint or period accents, our guide was simply good at telling the tales, mixing the macabre with some humor.

Arthur's Seat & Holyrood Park

Edinburgh Castle is built on volcanic rock and the city's other literal high point, Arthur's Seat, is a large hill of the same stuff. Arthur's Seat makes up most of Holyrood Park. There are many paths to choose from around, along the sides, and straight up, it all depends on whether you want to stroll, hike, or climb. My route was more of a climb on a beautiful clear morning with a fantastic view. Residents are lucky to have such a sizable green space within the city.