Scotland

I meandered today from Wooler in northern England to Edinburgh. Along the way I stopped at Coldstream and Traquair House. In Coldstream I had a look at the small and uninsipring town museum. Traquair House was much better. It is Scotland's oldest continously inhabited house, starting life as a royal hunting lodge. It is packed with interesting items accumulated by the resident noble family over the last few hundred years. I arrived in Edinburgh in the late afternoon. In the evening I walked into the old town. Edinburgh is spectacular. It is packed with grand stone buildings and there is not a 60s era concrete box to be seen. It is fantastically coherent and atmospheric. The photo is of Edinburgh castle. This is my first foray to Scotland since my first and not entirely successful trip here 12 years ago. I am really looking forward to a couple of weeks in Scotland.