The capital of Scotland, Edinburgh is a city famous for Hogmanay, haunted hallways, and haggis! Every summer the city population swells as thousands of tourists arrive for the Edinburgh International Festival, a world reknowned arts festival featuring acts from across the globe. Around the main event other festivals have sprung up, including a film festival, book festival, jazz festival, the military tattoo, and the hugely popular Edinburgh Fringe Festival. True to form the weather on Saturday was miserable - windy, grey, with generous amounts of rain to complete the picture! However, we managed to wander round town and get a feel for the city centre - it's quite small and compact and can be walked across in under an hour. We stayed in the Marrakech Hotel on London Street, but I couldn't recommend it - good location though. Sunday saw the weather improve, so we hiked up Arthurs Seat, a hill overlooking central Edinburgh. Although only 250m high, the 360 degree views are well worth the climb. Arthurs Seat is essentially in the heart of the city - it's about a five minute walk off the Royal Mile, and a popular spot for runners and dog walkers. The day we climbed was overly windy, and standing at the summit was nearly impossible - it was definitely a case of hold on to your hat!
