Day Sixty-Two - 11/11/2012 - Edinburgh, Scotland

     After an early breakfast with the rest of the EAP students who stayed the night, I ventured back to Princes Street to return my kilt hire. Instead of the usual route, we walked behind some of the buildings on pedestrian streets. Edinburgh is in the process of building a tram system due to finish construction by 2014 (incidentally the same year the country plans to move for independence), so many of the streets are closed as they are fully or partially excavated. We walked the area around St. Andrew's Square which was surrounded by construction. A massive fluted column stands at the center of the square, outfitted with a figure of Henry Dundas, the first Viscount Melville, and called the Melville Monument.  The Square itself was built in 1772, surrounded by expensive residences forming part of New Town.  David Hume, the famed philosopher, live in the southwest side.  From there we walked down George Street, passing by small pubs, restaurants, and shops, before rounding the corner to Hector Russel on Princes Street to return the kilt.  They come highly recommended, but expect to spend a little more.  You will get a traditional eight yard kilt out of it, sized appropriately, complete with shoes, sporran, and other accessories.  After that was done, we ventured back to St. Andrew's Square and stopped briefly at a modern glass dome of a coffee shop to check the maps. I was able to connect to The Cloud: (To The Cloud!) Scotland's free, semi-extensive public WiFi. From there, we headed north (but down) Scotland street, towards a private garden, and eventually to King George V park, which was quite small and half-converted into a car park. It had been used as an athletic facility in the days of the King, featuring an elaborate multi-man rowing pool known as the Great Sea Serpent.  Sadly, that became a car park.  Then we walked up Eyre Place to Cannon Street, past the Canonmills to Inverleith Row. The Canonmills are so named because the Augustinian canons of Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh operated a mill here, lending the suburb its name.  There is one building, aptly named Canon Mill, that survives the village period from the sixteenth century.  This street brought us to our final destination for the morning, the Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh.
     We entered the Botanicals from the east, near the Scottish Heath Garden.  Heath refers to the shrubs forming the base of most vegetation in Scotland.  This garden showcased various plants and their ancient as well as modern uses. Heather, being abundant, was put to many different uses such as making mattresses, baskets, brushes, yellow dye, thatch, rope, served as fuel for fire, and somehow, a flavour for beer.  The Heath Garden connected to the Rock Garden into which we next ventured. This section of the Botanicals had many small bridges and rocks with associated mosses and other plants. Scotland has many alpine flora that subsist mainly on rocks.
     Walking out of the Rock Garden, we made walked past the John Muir Grove, featuring some famous redwoods to another part of the garden termed the Chinese Hillside. This section featured plants from the Southern region of China that were endangered and grown here to protect the species. This hill had an intricate waterfall with several crossing bridges that proved quite lovely and relaxing.
     From the Chinese Hillside we walked up though the inner circle of the gardens and to the Fossil Garden, next to the glasshouses. The gardens charge no admission save for the glasshouses which host collections of plants not able to survive the outdoor climate of Scotland. The majority of the garden, however, is free and quite impressive. The Fossil Garden was more of an exhibit of one extremely large fossilized tree, dating some 320 million years old.
     From the Fossil Garden, we walked to the Queen Mother Memorial Garden, planted in 2006 in honor of Her Majesty The Queen.  Directly across from the Memorial Garden is a huge hedge, standing about three metres tall and over 100 years old. Along the green plots formed by the divisions of the hedge are a number of student gardens from local primary schools in which each student is given a square foot to grow food: potatoes, tomatoes, and the like.  On the other side of the hedge, opposite the student gardens, young children played with their parents in huge piles of fallen autumn leaves, happily chasing each other around armed with bundles of foliage. Meng had a stand off with a very large squirrel.
     We exited the gardens from the main entrance on the west perimeter of the gardens. The visitor centre was recently remodeled and houses the gift shop as well as an exhibit following the life of a single oak tree to give some perspective on the uses and lifespan of lumber and trees. The Royal Botanic Garden proved a pleasant escape from the city that could be explored in just over an hour.
On the way back from the Botanicals, we walked up Arboretum Place to the River Leith Walk, which was regrettably under construction, but diverted us to the Rocheid Path which ran along the river as well. This left us by Tanfield house, and we returned to St. Andrew's Square via Scotland Street, the way we had come. Around this time I began to realize that, while most cities I have visited have a historic district, Edinburgh boasts historic buildings spanning a few kilometres in every direction.  The New Town, built in the 1800s formed the backdrop for the day's adventures.  But those parts of High Street new Edinburgh Castle formed the Old Town, which has suffered its fair share of fires.  The West End completes the city centre, viewed as the cultural centre compared to the economic (New Town) and the historic (Old Town).
     We met up with Melina and Andrew at Calton Hill, just east of Waverly Station and along Waterloo Place. To get up the hill we had to ascend three flights of stairs, followed by a steep incline, and finally, the hill itself. Out of breath, we met up with our friends and walked around the hill for some breathtaking views. Unobscured by parapets or people, these views exceeded those from the castle I visited yesterday. We walked by the Dugald Stewart monument, a circle of pillars enclosing around a vase serving as tribute to the philosopher who was a professor at the University of Edinburgh.  We passed the City Observatory but it was closed. A little ways down the hill, a Portugese cannon rests, aimed at the bell tower of the Balmoral Hotel at the intersection of Waterloo Place and North Bridge. The cannon was the last of its brethren, surviving melt down for metals during World War II. Near the center of the hill is the National Monument, a Parthenon-esque collection of columns in a rectangle with one side open. At this point, Andrew and Melina left for their train to Glasgow and we ventured down Regent Walk, offering some views of Holyrood Abbey. We passed by St. Andrew's House, the headquarters of the Scottish Parliament, and into the Calton Burial Ground. The cemetery contained the grave of David Hume, the famed philosopher, known for his work on empiricism.
     After saying goodbye to Andrew and Melina, we returned to the hostel to recharge (literally, our devices were running out of charge). As it was already dark at a little past half four, we headed just across the street to Joseph Pearce, a pub on Elm Row. We ordered a platter that was to come with their famous meatballs but sadly they were out and instead came with bread and oil, roasted potatoes, chicken satay, king prawns, and olives. I also got a chance to try Belhaven's St. Andrew's Ale, brewed in Scotland, calling itself the "Home of Golf".
     We got to sleep early in preparation for the next day's early train ride.