A 3:17 a.m. fire alarm wasn't a welcome start to our day. In a now well rehearsed dress, grab & out, we were first onto the footpath. I remembered Phil. I forgot the camera! The fire brigade didn't show & it was the manager who, after 40 minutes, gave the all clear to return to the building. Scotland's Fire Safety Act isn't specific about the role of the Fire Brigade in such matters.
This morning we returned to the Old Town to discover what lies beneath the Royal Mile. Mary King's Close held the answers. An older town. An underground network of hidden closes (narrow streets) & rooms encapsulated life as it would have been in the Older Town of the 17th century. We learnt about the people who lived, worked and died there. Thousands perished during the 1644 plague that ravaged this community on no less than eleven occasions.
The Museum of Childhood, established in 1955, provided an opportunity for a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Originally the private collection of Patrick Murray, it is now managed by the Edinburgh City Council.
We cancelled our planned visit to Holyrood Park. Instead, we viewed from afar. The park is a mix of rocky crags, sweeping meadows, a lock & the ruins of a chapel. The 275 yard peak is known as Arthur's Seat.
This afternoon we joined a three hour boat tour of the Firth of Forth. A bus took us from Edinburgh to Hawes Pier at South Queensferry where we boarded the Belle Forth, viewed the two bridges spanning the Forth before cruising along the Fife coastline to Inchcolm Island. The 1.5 mile railway bridge was constructed between 1883 and 1890. It was the world's first steel cantilever bridge, an engineering feat of its time. The road suspension bridge opened in 1964. Question surrounds its durability in a marine environment. The construction of a third bridge has commenced.
Today we were feeling the effects of the early morning alarm & holiday fatigue. We both fell asleep while on the bus. How embarrassing!
To a piper's rendition of Amazing Grace, we allowed ourselves time to sit in Princess Park and reflect on our holiday to date & that to come.
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