Journeys›Photograph

A Few Late September Days Around Edinburgh

·Musselburgh, United Kingdom·#travel#autumn#architecture#city-break#edinburgh#scotland
View from a train of a coastal town with a beach, pier, and houses under a partly cloudy sky.

First of a few days around Edinburgh, staying out in Musselburgh, and the train up hugged the coast most of the way — at one point a whole town spread out below the window, beach curving to a breakwater, before the line cut inland.

In the city the castle runs the show. It was there above the National Galleries on Princes Street, there again over the trees from the gardens by the Ross Fountain, on its rock from every angle we tried. The Scott Monument sits right in the middle of things, Gothic and soot-black against a sky that stayed clear all day, and up the street the Balmoral's clock tower flies the Saltire next to the Union Jack.

Ended up in the Grassmarket, pub tables full on the cobbles by afternoon — The Last Drop, Maggie Dickson's, names that trade on the square's gallows history. From there up Victoria Street, the curved climb toward George IV Bridge, bunting strung across between the colour-block shopfronts. A sign on the red corner shop claims you can't take a bad picture of the street, and nobody on it seemed to be testing the theory very hard.

A city view with a prominent church tower and trees stretching to a distant sea under a blue, cloudy sky.A grand historic stone building with a clock tower and an equestrian statue overlook a city street with a double-decker bus and pedestrians.A tall, dark Gothic monument with a white statue beneath arches stands against a clear blue sky, with a distant castle.A grand castle sits atop a hill behind classical buildings, with a park and people walking in the foreground under a clear blue sky.A stone castle with multiple buildings on a steep, rocky hill, surrounded by trees under a clear blue sky.A multi-tiered ornate teal fountain with classical figures and a bird stands under a clear blue sky, with a church spire and trees in the background.Historic stone buildings line a street with cafes and pubs, as people walk and dine at outdoor tables.A curved cobblestone street lined with colorful shops and old buildings, with people walking and flags strung overhead.

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