Firstly I have to apologise to any blog follower, who would like my entries to chronological in line with my travels. I'm afraid that I've broken that rule once already, and I intend to break it again. As with a number of things in my life, I'm a bit behind with this travelogue, and I'm doing an entry about a short period at home, whilst it's fresh in my mind. I have been home for a short period of time and now I'm going away again.
I wasn't mad keen to come home, and I was spending time in NYC with people that I am very fond of. But there were a number of things for me to do in the UK. I needed to help my brother with something and also there were a couple of work things to attend to as well. Whilst many aspects of my job (see our website at http://www.fec-ltd.com/) lend themselves well to remote working. There is - I think - no substitute for a bit of face-to-face contact with colleagues from time to time.
The first few days back in the UK were a bit manic. But after a couple of days the primary reason for coming back was dealt with. I do like being back in Edinburgh. The following Sunday, my mother an I went for a very familiar walk. We live in a Southern suburb of Edinburgh in flats (locally know as tenements) built just over a century ago. There are many advantages to living there, but one of them is that for keen strollers like us there are lots of nice, green places to walk to easily.
So my mother and I trotted for about ten minutes to the foot of the blackford hill. Then it's a short climb to the top. It was a clear, cold, crisp early March day. And from our elevated position the views were - despite their familiarity - wonderful. Laid out ahead of you (and for your pleasure) there is the beautful city: the castle on the crag, with it's tail forming the Royal Mile; Calton Hill with it's folly; many a church spire; Arthur's Seat (another hill) looms large, almost as if it is peacefully keeping an eyey on what us Edinburgers are getting up to.
Then further you see the Firth of Forth (the estuary), the two bridges and the Kingdom of Fife. On a Clear day like that day, you can see the Ochils and sometimes even Ben Lomond. I think that walk and that view is one of the many reasons that my mother chooses to live in Edinburgh, and I know what she means. You might be interested in the aerial photo:
http://www.multimap.com/maps/#map=55.92266,-3.210391632&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:55.92218:-3.21039:16EH10%206AHEH10%206AH
A few days later I decided that the weather was far too nice to be indoors (I work from home, so it's nice to get out and about at lunch time). So I decided to travel a bit further to the Pentland Hills. I should have cycled there, but we're a bit of a haphazard family so there were some logistical problems to do with this and I ended up driving. That took about twenty minutes.
It was another lovely day. Bit colder and with a thin layer of snow on the ground to re-inforce that notion in my head. I suppose that the view are in some way similar to my previous vantage point. Once again, you're looking due North towards the Kingdom of Fife. It's a fairly steep climb for five hundred yards or so on a good path and then you emerge out of the woods to this fabulous view. You might be interested in the aerial view, once again:
http://www.multimap.com/maps/#map=55.89141,-3.257951532&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:55.89984:-3.25795:16EH13%200QDEH13%200QD
The Pentland Hills are to the South of Edinburgh, and there is a road the A702 which follows them (more-or-less) due South toward Biggar ("England's big, but we've got Biggar") and eventually Carlisle. Although these hills are not high, they are very popular with Edinburgh folk, due to the good views and sheer close proximity to the town. I spent quite a lot of time mountainbiking on these hills with mates, when I was a teenager. All of this made me want to walk over the hill to Flotterstone and get a bus home. But I had work to do, so I lingered for a while on a seat, and then sauntered back down the hill.
There are some aspects of Edinburgh that I really do not like. I sometimes feel that the part of the town I live in is full of retired people with nothing to fill their time with, but an objectionable attitude (to everything). I sometimes feel that long outdated and negative aspects of British culture (that have all but disappeared in other parts of the UK) live on here. I strongly suspect that one of our neighbours genuinely feels that she is better than us purely because she lives in a main door flat (Her front door opens straight on to the street, rather than onto a stairwell). That attitude seems bizarre to me.
But I love Edinburgh despite all that because it is a culturally rich place. The art, music and literary scene is strong here. The scenery is fantastic (just walk around the town), and it holds many memories for me. I've even been known to enjoy the lively pubbing and clubbing scene.
A splendid town. If you don't live in Edinburgh, I would strongly encourage you to travel to here.
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