Kilometres Walked : Monday – 12.6, Tuesday – 3.4, Wednesday – 10.9, Thursday- 17

Thursday 17th August, 2023.

With no rain in sight on Monday morning we took the opportunity to climb Arthur’s Seat. Arthur’s Seat is an ancient volcano which is the main peak in a group of hills in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park. Holyrood Park is a 650 acre park in the middle of Edinburgh behind Holyrood Palace which was a former 12th century royal hunting estate. With many varied walking trails there is something for everyone to escape the city yet only minutes from the city itself. With fabulous views over Edinburgh and across to the sea it was a wonderful way to start the day.

After heading back to the flat for lunch we spent the afternoon wandering about and visiting the museum to see the Lewis Chessman pieces. We had wanted to see the ones that are in the London museum but that room was being renovated so we missed out but luckily enough 9 of the pieces are at the Royal Museum of Scotland. The Isle of Lewis Chessman are a group of distinctive 12th century chess pieces made of walrus ivory. They are very intricately carved and it’s hard to believe they are several hundred years old.

Tuesday didn’t quite turn out according to plan. After querying with Airbnb in regards to not being allowed to use the central heating at night in our apartment by our host, things went a little haywire. Airbnb contacted our host in regards to this and he kind of went a little crazy. So they offered to move us to new accommodation but as it was so incredibly busy due to the festival we knew it was a long shot. Anyway by the end of the day after dealing with our crazy host we ended up packing up and heading back to Newcastle to Lucy’s. Airbnb were great and refunded our money and we received a voucher to use elsewhere as well. And quite frankly with how busy it was in Edinburgh we weren’t to bothered about the whole thing.

So now we have booked a few nights further down the coast in England so we can do a few beach walks🥾 before heading back to London for the journey back to Australia. It’s hard to believe we have only 2 weeks left.

We’ve had a lovely few days at Lucy’s catching up and going for some nice big walks around Jesmond and Newcastle enjoying the architecture and parks before heading off on the last little leg of our journey.

And lots of Gi Gi cuddles🥰