Our Final Day
Easter Monday, and our final full day in Edinburgh. We didn’t have a lot planned, so I went out for a walk along and around the Water of Leith.
Before that though, we had a breakfast appointment. We’d (I’d) booked us a table at Urban Angel on Hanover Street. I seem to remember one of our number ordered something they subsequently didn’t eat. I was later assured this wasn’t anything to do with the place itself though.
Back at the plot, I remember that what I ordered wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It’s also one of those places that insists on not using the “£” symbol on their prices, like it isn’t really money. For me it was a decent place, but maybe not worth the amount of money required to go. I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore though. Edinburgh is a buzzing capital city, and in such places, privately owned and operated places that cook everything fresh are always going to cost a lot.
To the Walking
The kids initially said they were going to have another go at the Galleries, but on later quesitoning they couldn’t be bothered, so they just went back to the hotel. I didn’t.
I walked west through my old haunts in Dean Village and on to Dean Cemetery, where I started my geocaching for the day. There was a set of labs that required me to go find five tombstones of fairly famous people. I don’t remember who though. Not that famous……
From here I headed downhill towards Stockbridge. Thankfully the rain had slowed up a bit by this point.
At the bottom of the hill (or, at the bottom of the steepish bit) I got to Inverleith Gardens. I don’t think I came here when I lived in the city. It’s pretty much just a big open space. However it had a few Wherigo caches in it, so I had a go at those.
Gardening
Over in the Royal Botanic Gardens there was another set of labs, so clearly I had to do those. Again, I never came here when I lived in Edinburgh. What was I doing all that time. Oh, I remember. I was enjoying myself. I was 25 when I arrived, so my hobbies didn’t include horticulture.
Anyway, the Botanic Gardens were good. It was made rather impressive by the fact that all the rhododendrons were in flower. The place was a riot of bright colours.
I was getting a bit pooped by this point, so I grabbed a cold drink and a snack from a place in the gardens and sat down for 15 minutes. The weather was still grimy, but at least it was dry by this time.
Moving On
I wasn’t 100% sure what to do for getting home, but eventually I was tempted by 3-4 geocaches along the course of the Water of Leith. I walked from the Botanic Gardens upstream past Stockbridge and the Dean Bridge before emerging back into the daylight again on Belford Road, right next to where I used to live.
I’d made a fairly modest 19 geocache finds, but I wasn’t too bothered. Time was moving on and we had an appointment at the same Italian restaurant we’d used earlier in the weekend. It was good again, although the company was a bit quiet. I think the kids had about had enough.
Maybe I had too, except I’d got to get in my car and drive us all home the following day. A task which I completed successfully.
