My first full day in Edinburgh began with a long sleep-in, but I still had plenty of time to do what I wanted to do for the day.

On my bus trip into the city the previous evening, I had noticed a few shops along the way that I really wanted to check out, so I decided to simply walk from the University into the city. The shop that I really wanted to look at was a store that specialised in old vinyl records. They had an old Bowie LP in the window! Unfortunately the shop was not open when I walked past, so I had to skip that and move on. I then passed a second-hand bookstore which beckoned me in. Inside I picked up a collection of the comic strip adventures of the 5th Doctor that had appeared in Dr Who magazine - these strips featured artwork by Dave Gibbons among others, so that was a nice find.

I continued into town, stopping at a cafe to have breakfast (sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs and toast with a nice cuppa). After a nice walk, I reached the Royal Mile again and made my way up towards the castle to start my tour of the grounds. Having been there the previous evening for the Tattoo still did not prepare me for the magnificence of the place. This is a huge castle and it offers some incredible views of Edinburgh and the surrounding land (and water).

I wandered around the grounds of the castle, checking out as many of the vantage points as I could. I went onto the battlements facing north and west in order to see the views. I climbed up onto one of the wall sections that offers a great view down onto the esplanade where the Tattoo is performed. There is a large cannon on one of the upper sections called Mons Meg, which was capable of firing shots up to 2 miles away. It was used in battle against the English and was last fired in the 1680s when the barrel split.

I went inside the old prison, which was an experience, considering my height. Part of the prison runs within the outer wall of the castle, so it has a curved roof section to follow the wall's construction - this section has a considerable drop onto the rock below, so breaking out would have been very dangerous.

I was about to enter the part of the castle that contained the royal apartments and the Scottish Crown Jewels, when the guide suggested that I might want to wait, as the 1 O'Clock gun was about to fire. For those who don't know, every day at 1pm, a cannon fires a single shot from the battlements of the castle. This was apparently used by the navy ships to set their clocks. There was a considerable crowd gathered for the firing and, as the time approached, everyone started to get very quiet. The soldier who had been charged with firing the cannon (a big modern howitzer!) approached his position, took hold of the firing trigger and, at precisely 1pm, fired the gun. BOOM! It was loud! I have only ever heard these things firing on TV or in film, but to hear it in real life was certainly an experience.

I then returned to the tower to go through the royal apartments, which was an interesting, albeit smelly, journey. The rooms are furnished as they were during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI/I, so they look suitably regal, however the carpets and wall hangings are starting to get a bit musty after all these centuries and the smell was starting to get to me a bit. Considering who these rooms were for, the living space was actually quite small and the king or queen would have had precious little space for themselves.

The journey end with a trip through the room which houses the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny (also called the Stone of Scone). This was the only part of the tour where photography and video was forbidden. The crown, sword and scepter are sealed inside a large clear case and look their age, which gives them a special air. The Stone sits at the other end of the case and looks for all the world like a block of stone with two rope handles. Nothing to really distinguish it from any other stone...except that this is the stone that is placed under the throne when the new monarch of the United Kingdom is crowned.

That was where my tour of the castle came to an end, so I made my way out of the grounds and back down the Royal Mile to head over to York Street, where I was due to see the first of the comedy shows that I had pre-booked - John Robertson's Nifty History Of Evil. I have seen several of John's shows and they always make me laugh a lot. The chance to see this show was one that I could not miss.

I made my way to York Street and was informed that the show area was not open yet, so I went into the pub upstairs and grabbed a cuppa while I waited. At the appropriate time, I made my way downstairs to the room where John would be doing his show. To call this room a closet is generous. There was seating for about forty people at most and John has a very small stage to work from. However this only seemed to make his usual manic performance more extreme and his show was very, very funny.

Afterwards, I made my way back up to the Royal Mile to find a place to grab a bite to eat and check out the Forbidden Planet store that I spotted. I had never been in one of their stores and, after going inside, I was left wondering what the fuss was about. Maybe the stores in London will be better.

Unfortunately for my plans for the evening, I started feeling very tired after I had dinner at a nearby pub. I headed back to the University on foot, hoping that the walk might wake me up, but by the time I reached my room, I was knackered. I lay down on the bed for a quick nap and woke up at about 10pm, having missed my second pre-booked show (John's live version of The Dark Room). I was disappointed to have missed it, as I enjoy the show and I was looking forward to maybe catching up with John afterwards. As I still felt tired, I decided to give in and simply grab a good night's sleep.

Tomorrow would be another full day...