Getting to Know the World: Visiting Scotland

Living in Canada you get used to having to travel for a long time if you want to leave the country. That’s not so much the case living in England. Over here you can fly for an hour and be in a place that is totally foreign. A few weeks ago was my reading break from UEA and I was determined to get out and see someplace new, even if it was only for a few days.

My flatmate and I decided on Edinburgh, Scotland because it was close enough that we could just go for the weekend, and because I love a good Scottish accent. The train from Norwich took about five hours, and we only had to change trains once in Peterborough. We booked through Trainline, if you’re interested, and it was actually a lot easier to get there than we thought it would be. I’ll be honest, I had some pretty high expectations for how stereo-typically Scottish I hoped Scotland would be, and I wasn’t disappointed. The first thing we saw when we got off the train was a group of men coming down an escalator sporting some very dashing kilts.

We happened to go on Remembrance Day weekend, which meant that there were events happening on every corner, and more than a few pipe parades.

Other than the Remembrance Day events, we went to the Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish National Gallery, the Palace of Holyrood House, and the Holyrood Abbey.  They were all beautiful and if you’re ever in Edinburgh, I would definitely check them out.

We left Edinburgh on Sunday afternoon and were home with plenty of time to get a good sleep before the start of a new school week. It was a great place to get away for the weekend, and to learn about a country I have been interested in for so long.