Approaching Edinburgh from the north, along the Firth of Forth

During the first half of our time in the British Isles, Edinburgh has been our point of return.  It’s the place we first put heads to pillows in the UK, it’s the place to which we returned after our sojourn in Ireland, and it would be our final stop post-Iona and Findhorn before heading south over the Scottish border to Northumberland.

The bluffs are all that remain from an ancient volcano

As we approached the city by train after a long journey from the north, our eyes found familiar landmarks and it felt a bit like we were coming home.  Our hosts at Aonach Mor, Fiona and Tom, were waiting for us, and so, too, was a warm and gorgeous spring evening. After four hours on the train, we needed to stretch our legs, and Fiona told us that nearby Holyrood Park would be just the thing.  Encompassing the remains of an ancient volcano and peppered with evidence of habitation from ancient times, the park was alive with runners, walkers, cyclists, and hikers heading every which way, squeezing every last drop of solar-induced joy from the spring day’s waning light.

Looking north toward new portions of Edinburgh from our perch at Holyrood Park

Kai wanted in the worst way to climb one of the high bluffs that rose up hundreds of feet at the center of the park, but we hadn’t the time for such an excursion.  So we settled for a more accessible hilltop, the site of a fort in days of yore.

Looking west toward Old Edinburgh

From our perch on high we watched the setting sun touch every steeple in the city beneath us, and the feeling of that place was utterly transformed. The gray-stoned, serious city where John Knox had preached his fiery gospel, took on the air of a young lad in love for the first time.  What a gift it was to add the memories of that final evening to those we’d already collected at this marvelous city!  Farewell, dear Edinburgh!