As I have ascended farther up the northern hemisphere of our planet I’ve had to say goodbye to warm weather and sun drenched days. I've entered a new phase of my journey where I can no longer waste away a day lazing on a beach. Instead I’ve had to figure out other things to do and as a result I’m becoming more of a tourist than ever before. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

One cold morning sitting here on the futon of Lucy’s 4th floor apartment I decided to Google Edinburgh to see what I could do. I’m still not very interested in visiting monuments and learning much about history, although it’s all very interesting and nice to look at it goes against the pledge I made at the start of my travels. This journey is to be purely for relaxation, pleasure and to fulfil my interests. Sightseeing, monument searching and all the other typical tourist stuff can wait till I’m older and can afford to be chauffeured around by a tour guide while not eating like a backpacker. So what to do?

 

One of my interests is nature and the environment and being that Edinburgh is built atop an old volcano makes it a perfect location to explore. First on my Google list was Calton Hill.

 

After about a 40 minute walk up the hill into the city and then down the other side a bit I came to Calton Hill. Walking through the gate I stopped to take a photo of the stairs leading up the hill and heard something strange. Reaching the top of the stairs the sound became more obvious, some old homeless looking guy was singing at the top of his lungs. I had to film it!

 

Calton Hill is one of Edinburgh's main hills, set right in the city centre. It is unmistakable with its Athenian acropolis poking above the skyline. Itoffers an awesome view of the city and I picked the perfect day too. It wasn’t warm but it was a relatively clear day. From the top of the grassy slopes you get a panoramic view of the city. I could see out to the sea on one side and all the way out to the highlands on the other.

 

On top of the hill is an old roman looking structure that doesn’t seem to serve any purpose. The tall columns look completely out of place but nearby are similarly out of place structures as well as two observatories and a cannon!  Taking in the view I noticed the ruddy-coloured cliffs of Salisbury Crags and the undulating slopes of Holyrood Park, which I guessed was Arthurs Seat. I’d read something about it briefly on Google but it hadn’t really stuck. I decided I had to reach the top of it.

 

A day or two later I set out, my destination was Arthurs Seat. I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take or if it even was Arthurs Seat, but I knew it would be a bit of a trek so I stopped off at a deli and bought a bottle of water and a snickers bar.

 

After walking about 40minutes and passing by Calton Hill and the parliament building I was at the base of the craggy cliff. The view of the sheer cliff and the way it seems to poke out reaching for the sky was awesome. It’s quite strange to walk a few hundred meters away from city streets and be faced with a mountain.

 

I began the hike up the cliff when I noticed the mountain on the other side that was obviously taller. I had thought it was much further away and so something I would do on a separate day, but it turned out to be only a short distance across so I changed my mind and headed for that. It's higher after all.

 

The march up was by no means easy but wasn’t a very difficult climb either. I stopped every so often to try and capture the view with my camera, but my bad luck with photography continues and the sunlight seemed intent to interfere. The camera lens is also too small so I couldn’t quite capture the whole view, or someone would walk right in front of the scene anyway..

 

Whenever I go hiking, whether it be through the Amazonian jungles, or these Scottish highlands, I always wonder what it must have been like for the first person to walk here. To know you are the first person ever to set foot here or there must be an amazing and humbling experience. I always try to let myself get lost in the moment and soak up the experience but I guess with tourism you can never really escape the fact that, more often than not, you have to share this experience and are by no means the first to do so. Even still, I was really enjoying the views and cool fresh air.

 

I set my camera on a rock every so often to get a picture of myself hiking along, It makes me wish I could have someone here with me to hold the camera!

 

Passing by a few slow climbers and over tumbled rocks I finally reached the summit. At one edge was a white cement marker and behind it up a pile of boulders that formed the peak of the mountain was another. I climbed the last few boulders to reach the peak and was almost blown off by the strong gusts of wind. It was crazy windy up there! The air felt thick as it zoomed by and I felt as though I could fly off at any moment, if only I had wings.

 

After sitting on the edge for about 10 minutes staring directly down to the streets below, then out to the city and ocean beyond, I moved back to the summit where it was a little less windy. 3 Aussie guys climbed up and after a while of taking in the view asked me to take their picture. I then had them take mine. Figuring it was Arthurs Seat I had to get my picture taken sitting on the seat. Which is the photo below.

 

The walk down the mountain was very quick thanks to the gentle slope. Having drank most of my water I needed to relieve myself and found what I thought was a suitable spot, little did I know the bushes were all thorns and minimal leaves! I got stuck getting in and out of the bushes but managed anyhow. I thought I had been discreet enough but moments after emerging from the bushes a dog came running over toward me, I thought he wanted to say hello but went straight past me and to the bushes, crazy dog.