Just a quick note: there are 3 blogs under Newport not just 1 for the 3 different days we spent there and in the surrounding areas. Yesterday we left a sunny morning in Newport for a stormy Edinburgh. We braved the heavy rain and slippery alleyways to eventually find our hostel with magnificent views of Edinburgh Castle above us.

Our first taste of Edinburgh was a "Ghost and Torture Tour". We began with a walk around the Royal Mile, Cowgate and the small alleys off it. It was very educational: we learnt of the origins of the term s***faced, about the old ways of human waste disposal - out the window onto the street at 10pm. All part of the great Scottish sense of humour, this was the time that pubs closed. So foreign visitors would leave pubs at 10pm looking for a bed for the night and would be met with quite the surprise from up above, hence the term mentioned above. We also got the chance as a group to spit on the special heart shaped stones on the Royal Mile, it's supposed to bring good luck. And on our way home afterwards we were sure to walk around it!

Next was to venture underground. The old South Bridge off the Royal Mile is now below ground, with the top converted into shops, offices and pubs. It was all pretty silly apart from: the torture museum with real relics of this charming part of history (I felt pretty ill after some of the descriptions of their use); and when they spread us out in a pitch black chamber underground, talking to us quietly, building the mood, then people popped out screaming and gave us all huge frights as we couldn't see anything or anybody. In our fright we all groped through the dark and grabbed the nearest person we could find, just to be sure we weren't alone!

Today was jam packed. We set off first thing to climb Arthur's Seat, a 824 ft high summit overlooking Holyrood Palace. We followed other walkers up "Radical Road" around what we thought was Arthur's Seat only to realise on getting around it to the top of the road that it went right back down before ascending up to the real Arthur's Seat. It had been hidden by the Salisbury Crags and was much much bigger! So, already feeling very tired, we followed the path onward, heading back down only to drag ourselves all the way to the top on a pretty uneven set of tracks and steps. Not only did we very much earn our ice creams back down the bottom at the Palace, but the views were truly worth it. The unimpeded views across Edinburgh, the Forth of Firth and beyond were magnificent from our perch atop Arthur's seat. The Palace and Edinburgh Castle looked suitably prominent and imposing. It was also great being up there with so many people equally excited and exhausted, many even came up with small children and dogs. It seems like the place to be for locals and tourists alike.

After our much earned ice cream we entered Holyrood Palace, where the Queen had been only days before. We've been joking that the Queen has been copying our itinerary as she visited the Palace, Edinburgh, Stirling Castle and the Highlands at the same time as us only in different order. The Palace is different to the dark stone and fortified look of Stirling and Edinburgh Castles. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside, but the Private Apartments, Dining Room and function rooms were very richly adorned. And while the rooms became steadily more grand and intricate as you neared the King's bedchamber, we found the Great Gallery (covered with 110 portraits of all the Scottish Kings) and the dining room most impressive. We also saw the remnants of the Queen's Garden Party, with tents still up. She must've forgotten to invite us...

We used the tourist bus city sightseeing to get around, giving us the opportunity to see a bit more and have an audio guide to listen to with great stories. So next was the bus to Edinburgh Castle. It's a great walk up to the Castle, with the stands being built for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The Castle is very imposing and we had been admiring the great view we had of it from our hostel. Unfortunately our arrival at the Castle coincided with the onset of a storm. The tour guide was cancelled and we were only able to see the insides of the castle. We got pretty soaked but inside we did see the Scottish Crown Jewels which were magnificent.

We also met some lovely people at our hostel and had a lovely night out comparing stories.

I also got to have dinner at The Elephant House where J.K. Rowling spent time writing the early Harry Potter Novels which was great.

It's been a great whirlwind!