Day 4: Leeds to Edinburgh

These late nights are really starting to catch up to me. We keep staying out way past our bedtimes. Fortunately, tomorrow night we can go to bed early.

We left Leeds this morning and headed north and covered roughly 222 miles.

Our first stop was in Durham. It's a pretty little town and it's also a very steep one. They built it on the top of a hill, surrounded on three sides by a river, to deter invaders. I would have made a horrible viking. I would have taken one look at the hill and said "screw this" and walked away. I didn't do that today, I hiked my ass up that long, steep hill, which then turned into another hill (shorter and not so steep) and finally a third "oh my god this is fucking steep" hill which levels out at the top next to a Castle and a Cathedral. The climb might have been worth it for the Cathedral. It happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an example of Norman Architecture While I wasn't allowed to take photos inside, I got some nice shots from the outside:

If you look closely, those stones on the lawn are actually grave markers.  Once I came back down the hill(s), I found mom and dad who'd opted to check out the market area and have lunch. I grabbed something to go, headed for the bus and we were off again.

Our next stop was a little town called Heddon on the Wall to see one of the best pieces of Hadrian's Wall that still exist. The wall was stared in 122 AD and runs for 73 miles across northern England. I stood on a wall that is roughly 1896 years old. Talk about history! While no one seems to know why he built the wall, my favourite theory was that it was to keep his army busy so that they couldn't get in trouble or better yet, decide to rebel. 

Next up, we crossed into Scotland! Made a quick stop at the "Welcome" sign - it was a little windy and the Australians on the bus in the seats behind me complained they were freezing. It was roughly 16C and there was a pretty good wind so I'd say it felt like 14 or so. The border is in an area called "The Scottish Borders" (go figure). Way back when the Scots used to go into England and do raids, this is where they brought their loot back to. 

Our final stop was a Jedburgh to see the ruins of an Abbey. Apparently the sucker burnt down or nearly burnt down a couple times and by 1871 they decided it wasn't safe to use anymore.  Probably a smart decision. We also got to have a little snack break, which involved either a shot of Scottish Whisky or a glass of Ironhorse, which is a soda popular in Scotland. We got a delicious tea cooking too, similar to a Viva Puff, just more awesome.

We finally arrived in Edinburgh where we got to rest for just shy of two hours. We had our first optional excursion this evening and it was a Scottish Dinner and Show at a place called Presonfields. There was a peacock wandering the grounds and a piper played us into dinner.  He also piped in the haggis. It was a lovely 4 course meal and a fun show with highland dancers, Scottish singers and the piper. Yes, I ate the haggis. Yes, it was delicious. Very rich though. I would have it again in a heartbeat. When we left the show, it was before 10pm and it was still kind of light out. Took me a moment to realize how far north we are. That explains it.

Haggis!

All in all it was a great day. I'm certainly getting my steps in everyday (or so my fit bit tells me) but this lack of sleep if for the birds! Tomorrow morning we off for a city tour with a local expert and he's going to take us on a tour of Edinburgh Castle! Afterwards, the three of us are going on the second optional excursion to Rosslyn Chapel. Dan Brown and Templar Knight fans should recognize the name of this one. It's then free time in Edinburgh for the afternoon and hopefully an early night!

Speaking of which, it's 11:24 here and I need to be up at 6:30!

Good night,

Sarah
XOXO