Scot-free in ‘Scotch’ land

To drive or not to drive…….or……to fly or not to fly: that was a million dollar(or Pound or Euro)question for us when we  were drawing up the itinerary for the England to Scotland journey. Advises were aplenty to take the road so as to not miss the scenic beauty of the landscape en route. We also knew the nightmare to drive away from central London through the dense traffic was not worth the pound! After the celebrations of my wife’s ‘Golden’ birthday on the Thames in a decked up cruise-which we would have missed owing to the maddening traffic, not one of us were ready to take a chance to sacrifice the  relaxation of a vacation. The scale tilted in favor of Air….. ultimately we flew .

Earlier, in London, we were fortunate to have a detailed tour of the Buckingham Palace since the Queen, was holidaying in Scotland. As is the Queen, so is the (citizen) tourist. We followed her-‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ to Scotland!!

We alighted in Edinburgh  with our companion who was going to be with us throughout the tour-our Umbrella. After the brief formalities of hiring a self-driven car was completed, we headed to the main city in a plush sedan in the ‘sunny’ afternoon! With Sundar Pichai assisting us, it took us under an hour to sight the magnificent castle situated on a hillock. We parked the car in the designated slot-you would have anticipated a small deviation here-I will not fail you !!!! Any western country for that matter has the same breed of town planners. They are one segment of people whose foresights are impeccable when it comes to the welfare and convenience of the citizens-not one place have I seen, be it in USA or Canada or in any of the vast European countries that I have travelled, a place devoid of parking space for various kinds of vehicles that carry the unstoppable stream of tourists-I am not referring to the woes of parking in downtown areas by office goers though! The parking lot in the foothills is a product of one such fore-thought. A fully automated multi-level lot easily accessible from the Castle is the last thing I would expect in the place bursting with tourists!

Continuing from where I left, we walked through the rugged-tiled platforms, climbing fleet of steps on a sloped terrain, After some hip churning climbs we were on the top of the hillock-the entrance to the mammoth Edinburgh Castle.

We joined the hundreds of visitors who flow in across the drawbridge, through the massive wooden gate-suddenly we feel that we are part of the medieval history. The entrance opens to a cobbled lane that leads us to the cannons perched on the walls of the fort with the panoramic view of the town below.

One can visualize the vantage position the fort is situated in. The one o’clock cannon we are told, fires an ear-splitting time signal at 1pm except on Sundays, Christmas and Good Friday. Histories were made, Histories were re-written, H.i..s…t….o…..yawn……..no no, I am not getting into any of those serious stuff….nothing of the past…The crux is, how the past is preserved for the posterity is the astounding matter. I could see many of the tourists who had good knowledge of the Gaels lineage were in a state of ecstasy as and when they moved to different buildings that were dotted inside the Castle. The highest part of the Castle is crowned by a tiny Chapel-this twelfth century structure boasts as the oldest surviving one in the whole of Edinburg.

As good sense prevailed, we all had carried the umbrellas from the car. It was raining intermittently. Suddenly from nowhere a Bagpiper in full Highland attire of Red Ramsay tartan and the signature cashmere fine woolen knitwear and the classic cap appeared.

With his enthralling music, I was transported to a different plane-I was lost in thoughts-I was lost in the world of my one and…and…Alas! I was lost in the crowd. All I could see around were the unfurled umbrellas, rain jackets…..all looked the same. It was getting dark and panic started gripping me. The highest state of Spiritual wisdom dawned in me –everybody looked like my family member! At last I could hear somebody yelling at me-I knew! Unmindful, I joined them-my own family. As usual I took the blame of not going along with them (who can say it is the other way around!!)I thanked my stars to be back with my clan!

The weather was awesome-moist chill breeze stroking the face. Instead of climbing down the stairs,we decided to take a circuitous route through the by lanes converging to the Royal Mile! In the pamphlet, I gathered in the airport while booking the car, I read about the Royal Mile-the name sounded interesting-What interested me most in reading further was that it is a natural formation of volcanic rocks which has now become the main thoroughfare.For academic interest(?!!),Scotland boasts the highest numbers of extinct volcanoes that have not erupted over millions of years.

The row of shops in the Royal Mile displaying array of Scottish shawls and other Men’s and Ladies Kilt were thronged by tourists-as is common nowadays across the places of interest, the Chinese outnumber others. After some quick shopping and gulping down Scottish brewed coffee with fresh pastries and cookies along with lip smacking authentic pastas and pizzas we decided to go on a stroll to explore the town. I tried to figure out the place where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lived……. What?…..Who??……Hmmm… he is the creator of my favorite, famous fictional detective ‘Sherlock Holmes’. I drew a blank☹-probably I need “SH” to trace out the house for me!! Edinburgh is the birthplace of the fictional fantasy Harry Potter penned by Ms. J.K.Rowling.

All the roads were cobblestoned and it took us efforts to walk safe-the terrains with steep ups and downs soon took off the steam of our enthusiasm…We decided to head out to our Airbnb,but not before detouring through the road leading to the palace in which the Queen Elizabeth II was holidaying. Our Airbnb was a 3- room apartment with a fully stocked kitchenette, situated behind the Scottish giant superstore Sainsburys. The glutton in me woke up with a villainy grin….the next one hour saw the kitchen working overtime-the result : a sumptuous Southern Indian dinner. Our tummies were very happy, though now I feel sorry for having made my wife toil in the kitchen thousands of miles away from home.

The eyelids started drooping automatically after a good dinner and the over packed activities we had from dawn to dusk. The thought of the busy schedule that awaited us the next day was enough for me in not counting the sheep! We would be exiting the capital of Scotland and move towards the exciting highland.

Till I lace up for the next….

J.Ram