After a photography-centric 72 hours in London, we caught a train to Edinburgh – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We booked well in advance to take advantage of a fare promotion, so we paid about C$200 for two tickets. There are lots of online discussions re: whether it’s better to fly or take a train from London to Edinburgh. In fact, we had that conversation with our friends who joined us in Scotland (from London) two weeks later. But for us, it was the right decision – less expensive, lower carbon footprint, more relaxing, more scenic and the option to process photos for the 4.5 hours we rolled along the tracks.

The rest and relaxation on the train paid off once we exited Waverly station. We faced a steep stair climb to get to our hotel, which was close enough to the train station that we didn’t even consider catching a taxi or Uber.

Less than 10 minutes after making it to the top of the stairs, we were checking into another Wilde Aparthotel. As advertised, our one bedroom apartment had a view of Edinburgh Castle. After we unpacked a few essentials and opened a window to cool the place down, we headed out for an early supper, followed by an exploration of Calton Hill.

Calton Hill

Calton Hill, a park with great views of the city and several monuments, was one of our photography objectives for our time in Edinburgh. It did not disappoint! In addition to our phone cameras, we carried our OM System cameras. Mine was mounted with a fisheye lens, Mr GeoK had telephoto. Some of our results:

The (Unfinished) National Monument

Nelson Monument

Views from Calton Hill

Walking back to our hotel, we detoured past the W Hotel, aka “the golden turd,” which we’d spotted from Calton Hill. It’s definitely a contrast to everything else in Edinburgh. ;( From ground level, though, it’s hard to see what all the fuss is about. As of the date of writing, W Hotel is up for sale, along with part of the connected shopping centre.

Our walk back to the hotel also took us down colourful Victoria Street, one of the most Instagrammed locations in the city. We walked this street at least 6 times during our Edinburgh stay, and I didn’t come away with a single, truly-satisfying photograph. 🙁 Step count for the day ~ 20,000.

Day 2 – Edinburgh Castle

Our first paid attraction in Edinburgh = Edinburgh Castle. We monitored the weather forecast in the week or so before arriving, and then booked advance tickets for the opening time slot on a day when rain was forecast. We still had to stand in line for admission, but only in one queue, skipping the ticket queue on site (plus it might have been sold out for the timeslot we wanted if we just showed up hoping for rush entry).

Once the gates opened, the line moved fairly quickly. We headed straight for the Great Hall and some of the other areas we’d read get very busy as the day goes on.

The Castle grounds grew increasingly crowded. After a couple of hours, we were ready to get away from the masses. But you could easily spend a half day here, especially if you look for specific details or visit the on-site museums. For example, Mr GeoK started collecting photographs of downspouts – much more pleasing to the eye than the extruded, powder-coated aluminum ones that are standard in Canada!

With a “free” guided walking tour of the Royal Mile booked for 1 pm, we opted for a slightly early lunch. It was a bit of a walk to get to Bonnie Burrito, but well worth the effort. Plus we went past the National Museum of Scotland, which turned out to be one of our favorite photography spots in Edinburgh.

Royal Mile Walking Tour

There are a few “free” walking tours to chose from. We used Google and other reviews to choose one that seemed a good fit for our time frame and interests. It was well worth doing. We learned interesting facts, including the national animal and flower of Scotland, history of the Scottish crown (vs the British crown), a bit about the Old Town and New Town (that together make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site), and gleaned some recommendations for restaurants and other sight-seeing stops.

We parted ways with our group shortly before the end of the tour, as our route took us past our hotel and we were ready for a break. Of course we thanked our guide, explaining the situation and slipping him a few £10 notes. It didn’t matter they were a mix of British and Scottish notes – both are accepted here! 🙂

Circus Place

Another photography destination we came upon while trip planning = Circus Place, a very pretty residential street. So after a bit of a rest break, we headed out with fingers crossed it would stop raining. Our route took us past other highly-Instagrammed locations.

Eventually, we reached our objective. The rain made for richer paint and flower colours.

Unfortunately, rain also made for gray, blah skies. Just for fun, I used one of our photo editing software programs to replace the sky in one of my photos. We thought Circus Place was picturesque under a gray sky. The AI sky replacement shows how much more lovely it would be with a proper sunset going on. 🙂

Princes Street Gardens

After stopping for margherita pizza at a restaurant between Circus Place and our hotel, we headed back to our Edinburgh home via Princes Street Gardens. Coming from Canmore/Calgary, where we had a lot of snow in May, the lush greens and vibrant flowers seemed almost tropical! Step count for the day ~ 23,000.

Day 3 – Scottish Parliament at Holyrood

After a takeout breakfast from Preacher’s Pattiserie, we headed out into a foggy morning, determined to photograph the modern Scottish Parliament at Holyrood building before our 10:30 time slot at The Chocolatorium.

The Scottish Parliament at Holyrood is at the bottom of the Royal Mile, about a 30 minute walk from our hotel. We took more than a half hour to cover the distance, stopping frequently to frame images of foggy Edinburgh.

Our longest pause was at the Canongate Wall, just around the corner from the visitors’ entrance to the Scottish Parliament building. It’s set with twenty-six stones, from all around Scotland, representing the nation’s diverse landscape and going back millions of years. Every stone is inscribed with a quote – words about the land and the Scottish people – selected to share advice from the past and hope for the future. Here are two that I especially liked:

When we approached the visitors’ entrance, we noted the 10 am – 5 pm visiting hours (Monday – Saturday) and decided we’d hang around long enough to have a quick look inside before rushing off to make chocolate. But with plenty of time before we could go through security and have our bags scanned, we headed around the other side of the building for more photography.

Exterior Photographs

We also crossed the street for more photography at Discovery Earth, which we’d noticed while exploring Calton Hill. Through it’s glass doors, I spotted Gaia, by UK artist Luke Jerram. I didn’t know it was in Edinburgh at the time. Rather, I immediately recognized the scale and style from having seen Museum of the Moon at Contemporary Calgary back in 2020, just before COVID-19 swept the globe.

Interior Photographs

Finally, the visitors’ entrance opened and we headed inside the Scottish Parliament building.

Being tight on time, we headed straight to the legislative chamber. We found it visually beautiful, with lots of natural light, blond wood, steel and clever details.

Reluctantly, at 10:20, we tore ourselves away to hustle up Canongate for some chocolate making!

Given the depth and breadth of Scottish history (recently popularized by Daina Gabaldon’s Outlander series and the streaming series of the same name), the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood is strikingly modern. The building’s website includes a high-level history explaining why, with the option to delve deeper if interested.

The Chocolatorium

Relatively recent devotees of quality, bean-to-bar dark chocolate, we couldn’t miss out on the #1 voted food experience in the UK – the chance to make our own dark chocolate bars at The Chocolatorium. We booked these tickets a few months in advance, as spots are limited. Our group of 12 played cocoa trivia, sampled milk vs dark chocolate, moved into the maker room where we each made a large chocolate bar (choice of milk or dark, choice of mold and choice of add-ins/toppings), then finally into the tasting room where we could sample as many of the more than 40 types of chocolate bars as we wanted. 🙂

We took our chocolate bars away with us and enjoyed them over the next few days. I made a dark chocolate Ogopogo (Canadian cousin of the Loch Ness Monster), with peppermint and golden sugar add-ins. Unfortunately, it turned out less than perfect as I didn’t coat the mold before carefully placing my add-ins.

St Cecelia’s Hall – Concert Room & Music Museum

Our next planned stop after making chocolate bars was the National Museum, which we planned to tour before our late lunch reservation at Makars Gourmet Mash Bar. However, our walking route took us past St Cecelia’s Hall, home of a concert room and music museum. It had a modern glass and cut metalwork exterior and a quick look at Google Images showed a beautiful, intimate concert room. We figured we’d make it a very brief, impromptu photo stop. More than 90 minutes later, we finally left the building, hustling to make it to the restaurant on time.

Why’d we stay so long? First off, the concert room was a treat to photograph. St Cecilia’s was the first purpose-built concert hall in Scotland when it was completed in 1763. Originally commissioned by the Edinburgh Musical Society, the building was designed by Scottish architect Robert Mylne, who also designed Blackfriars Bridge in London.

Over the centuries, it was owned by a church congregation, was the site of the Edinburgh School of Arts (now Heriot-Watt University), a Freemasons’ lodge, a warehouse, a school and a ballroom. The University of Edinburgh purchased the building in 1959. In 2016, the building underwent extensive restoration and renovation, reopening as a 180-capacity concert room and public music museum.

The second reason we stayed so long is John, a passionate volunteer with extensive knowledge of the keyboard exhibit. He offered to show us through the large collection of historical keyboard instruments. We learned a lot! And since my parents are both musicians (Mom played the piano for more than 60 years before arthritis put an end to it), I picked up some interesting facts and photos to share with them.

National Museum of Scotland

After a delicious lunch followed by a short stop at the Museum on the Mound (history of the Bank of Scotland, information about coins, tokens and currency), we finally headed to our second main photographic objective of the day.

We’d already walked past the National Museum of Scotland several times, particularly taken by the architecture of the 1998 addition – the Tower Entrance.

Exterior Photographs

Interior Photographs

Once we finally made it inside, Mr GeoK was keen to locate the Science and Technology Galleries, with the suspended airplanes.

Coming from Canada, with no buildings that we’re aware of inspired by London’s Crystal Palace (circa the Great Exhibition of 1851), we were intrigued. But as is so often the case, I found other parts of the Museum more photographically interesting than the one the caught our attention during the trip planning phase.

For example, there is the rooftop terrace, with strong architectural elements combined with elevated views across the beautiful skyline.

We used the Tower Entrance, and I was struck by the clean lines and curves inside this space. It’s only after we returned home and processed our photos that I noticed the water staining on the ceilings and walls.

For me, the most beautiful space to photograph = the Grand Gallery, originally constructed in 1886 and completely redeveloped from 2006-2011. Inspired by London’s Crystal Palace, it’s a striking space, with beautiful light, lines, details and (of course) exhibits. I made extensive use of my fisheye lens here, as well as ultra-wide mode on my phone camera.

Millenium Clock Tower

We primarily focused on the architecture, not the exhibits. But passing through the gift shop on our way out, a postcard depicting the Millenium Clock Tower caught Mr GeoK’s attention. So we turned back and asked directions to make a photographic study of the intricate wood, glass and metal masterpiece, a collaboration between five master makers: Tim Stead (furniture maker), Eduard Besudsky (kinetic sculpture) Annica Sandström (glass artist), Jürgen Tübbecke (clockmaker) and Maggy Lenert (illustrator).

According to the Museum’s website, the Millennium Clock Tower “echoes the form of a medieval cathedral, standing just over ten metres high. It marks the passing of time but is also a summary of the best and worst of the twentieth century. The intricately animated construction comprises four sections: The Crypt, The Nave, The Belfry and The Spire.”

By this time, we were ready for a rest break. But next visit to Edinburgh, we plan to give more attention to the substance of the museum, not just it’s form. 🙂

Dean Village

Early evening, we headed out to photograph another location that came up during our pre-trip planning – Dean Village, founded as a milling community in the 12th C. With beautiful stone buildings, more modern buildings designed to look old, some colourfully painted buildings and a flowing waterway, it’s definitely picturesque.

But it was a stretch of the Water of Leith Walkway that we really enjoyed – a chance to stretch our legs surrounded by nearby nature! And, unknown to us, a physical link to one of our planned stops the following day.

Step count for Day 3 ~ 26,000.

Day 4 – Colinton Tunnel

To reach Colinton Tunnel – a sight that was on our “maybe” list – required a short walk from our hotel to a multi-route transit bus stop, about a 25 minute bus ride and then another 15 minute walk.

We caught the bus at Usher Hall, arriving early enough to take a few photographs of this well-done mash-up of old and new:

Imagine our delight when a red, couble-decker bus pulled up for our route. Of course we rode up top, right at the front!

On the far end walk, we again enjoyed the many shades of green – a welcome contrast to the May snowfall back home.

Colinton Tunnel is a disused rail tunnel, now the site of Scotland’s largest historical mural, along the Water of Leith Walkway. Chris Rutherford led the art team that brought Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1885 poem “From a Railway Carriage” to colourful life in the tunnel.

We came away with more than 100 photos, using a mix of cameras and lenses, including a fisheye, a wide angle with a small amount of zoom, and our phone cameras. I think the phones and the wide angle lens produced the best images.

This site warrants its own blog post, which I’ll link back here once I get around to it. Meanwhile, here are a select few images to encourage you to make the effort to visit.

Jupiter Artland

We had tentatively planned to visit the Scottish National Galleries of Modern Art for the rest of the day. But I also had Jupiter Artland on my radar and we were more than halfway there. When I mentioned it to Mr GeoK, he did a quick search on Google Images and agreed to a change of plan. Looking back, it would have been better to travel to Jupiter Artland first, stopping at Colinton Tunnel on our way back into central Edinburgh. Then again, Jupiter Artland has opening hours, while Colinton Tunnel is open 24/7.

Anyhow, it took another two buses and almost an hour to reach Jupiter Artland. Along the way, I had time to purchase admission tickets to take advantage of an advance purchase discount from the website.

What is Jupiter Artland? For me, it’s the ideal mash-up of nearby nature and art (mostly sculpture)! We came away with more than 200 photographs from our half-day exploration, so a separate blog post going into more detail is in the works. I’ll link back to it here, once published. Meanwhile, here are some highlights, including just a few of the more than 30 sculptures.

Entrance

In addition to selling/checking tickets, the entrance gate staff member hands over a printed map to help you navigate the grounds via the extensive network of footpaths. The map also provides a very short blurb about each sculpture, including the title, name of the artist(s) and one or two factoids.

Rivers

The Cells of Life

Weeping Girls

Hare Hill

Since we hadn’t planned in advance, we ended up having lunch at the on site Cafe Party. I was fine with the menu items, but Mr GeoK had a bit of trouble finding something to his liking. We both enjoyed the peacock that visited us!

And since the entire sculpture garden is set in expansive nature, there were plenty of birds and flowers to provide a mega-dose of nearby nature.

Our bus ride back to city centre was more direct. lasting just over half an hour. I would definitely include a return visit to Jupiter Artland on any future trip that includes time in Edinburgh! Step count for the Day 4 ~ 20,000.

Our last night in Edinburgh, we dined at Howie’s on Victoria Street, recommended by the guide for our “free” walking tour a couple of days earlier. We book a reservation to take advantage of the 2 course, early dining special pricing. In addition to Bonnie Burrito and Makars Gourment Mash Bar, it was one of our best meals in Edinburgh.

After that, it was time to get organized to do some laundry the next morning, then pack up and catch a train to Inverness, for the start of a week of guided hiking in the Wildes of Assynt.

Final Thoughts (aka things to remember on a return visit)

• Our one-bedroom apartment at Wilde Aparthotels Edinburght was well-situated (quick access to Old Town, ready access to small grocery stores/restaurants, with on-site laundry facilities and lots of room to spread out);
• Spend more time exploring the exhibits at the National Museum of Scotland
• Explore the entire Water of Leith Walkway, possibly by bike
• Return to Jupiter Artland (hopefully the colourfully tiled pool will be open)
• Hike Arthur’s Seat
• Visit other museums and galleries, including the Scottish National Galleries of Modern Art