The drive to Edinburgh was fast on the motorway, although we did get some more rain, heavy at times. Mike directed us in to our guest house using his iPad maps that have come in so handy.

Streets of Edinburgh

We ended up driving through downtown Edinburgh at rush hour, but we survived and found the next delightful home for two nights. We have had some truly wonderful housing at guest houses and small hotels. In Edinburgh our home is the Kingsway Hotel, a Rick Steves recommendation, and it is a good find.

Edinburgh Castle

The next morning was our big Edinburgh day, so we hopped a bus up to the Royal Mile and hit the castle first. There are a variety of sections and exhibits, but one particularly interesting spot was in some great hall where there was a demonstration of medieval musical instruments.

Playing the ‘racket’

There was a jolly fellow in period costume working his way through a whole selection of instruments, describing them, playing them, and singing along with the medieval tunes. Very fun!
Shopping in Edinburgh was lots of fun, especially after we found The Woolen Mill, a good quality wool and twede shop. We spent money there. And Don got fitted for a kilt in the ancient tartan of his clan. James, his fitter, was a charming fellow who seemed to make the whole fitting experience a fun event. We all had a good time at the Woolen Mill!

Royal Scots Dragoons museum- modern army battles the bots

After some good serious shopping, it was time to have a farewell dinner with Don, who would be leaving in the morning for a day in London before heading home. We found yet another delicious meal and shared so many of our stories from the trip.
The next morning it was raining, so we decided against doing more shopping in town and instead headed out to visit Stirling castle, in, of course, the town of Stirling.

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle was the seat of the Scottish monarchy for hundreds of years. There was a whole series of King James’s who ruled from Stirling, and Mary Queen of Scots moved into the castle at one point and had her son live in the castle since it was deemed safer when he was younger. Most of the kings did their own renovations and redecorating. In particular, James V and James VI each made extravagant changes including a lavish palace and a grand hall.

Recreations of the Stirling Heads

There is a famous series of carved heads that were part of the ceiling in one hall. At one point the ceiling started to fall from the weight of all the carvings, so it was removed and all the heads were dispersed and given as gifts around the country, Eventually, the wife of one lord decided to track down the heads and bring them back to the castle. She tracked down all but two out of probably 50 or so. They had a great display of all the recovered heads. Long story short, there’s a ton of important Scottish history involved in Stirling Castle!
After the Scottish monarchy quit using the castle as their homebase, it became a military castle and most of the buildings were pretty much gutted. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that people thought they ought to restore the castle and booted the troops out. It was quite an interesting place.

Earliest known ‘football’ found at Stirling Castle

We finally hit the motorway so we could return the car to the airport. We were staying at the Travelodge so we dropped the bags off first, then topped off the gas tank and drove to the rental place. Our plan had been to then take the shuttle back to the hotel from the rental place at the airport. As we drove from the hotel to the rental place, we realized that we were just practically across the street from the hotel! So no shuttle needed, and we knew we could easily walk to the airport in the morning instead of paying 2 pounds per person for a shuttle to take us such a short distance.
The rooms at the Travelodge were just fine, but the ‘restaurant’ at the Travelodge was grim and totally unappealing so we went across the street to the Ramada for a decent dinner. Then to bed early for our morning flight to Germany.
In 8 days we traveled just under 600 miles on the left side of the road, tasted over 40 single malt whiskies, and ate many, many great meals. It was hard to say goodbye to Scotland, but more adventures await!

One of many whisky tastings