Day 16 - Scottish Tour Part 1b

I stayed overnight in a Hostel called the Art Roch. This was my first time using a hostel, and for the most part it was fairly positive. I chose a more private accommodation, so I only had to share with 3 other people instead of a possible 17. Showing up and discovering the lockers for valuables require a guest to have his or her own padlock was a bit of a nuisance, so at least a few hours of my time in Edinburgh were spent hunting around in shops for a padlock so I could ditch the unfortunate weight of items in my backpack.

A word of advice. NEVER go travelling anywhere without a useful backpack. I foolishly chose to leave no less than 3 backpacking bags at home, and opted for my small, silly, stupid green school bag. Dumb, dumb, dumb!!

Calton Hill



I never made it here the previous time I was in Edinburgh 6 years ago. Conveniently, it happened to be next to the shopping centre where I found a Locksmith to purchase my padlock.

The National Monument at Calton Hill


This was never completed. The information sign also refers to the monument as "Edinburgh's Disgrace" because of it.

Arthur's Seat




The view almost from the top. I took many photos from the peak, and they actually aren't all that interesting. If you want to experience some extremely strong winds on a nice day, I suggest coming here. At the very top, I had a hard time holding the camera still because of the wind.

Craigmillar Castle




I like this castle. While this castle is a ruin, it is still in decent shape, and the walk from Edinburgh city centre is fairly pleasant. Unfortunately I couldn't poke my head into rooms of the castle without incurring the wrath of roosting pigeons.

The streets of Edinburgh