National Museum of Scotland

This was my last destination. It should have been my first. Great collection of everything from Egyptian archaeology to Natural History, via industry and science. With a modern extension including a collection devoted to Scottish history. All around a great airy Victorian Hall. I liked everything about it, the collections, the accessibility of it all for families and grown ups, the architecture new and old. And the roof terrace with views across the city.

Holyroodhouse

This is the Royal residence in Edinburgh. Striking palace, once meant to be a fortified castle but then much altered to be a residence suited for gracious living. No photos allowed of the interior, but frankly this was largely disappointing. Mostly the rooms are wood-panelled and covered in tapestries. But unfortunately tapestries fade with time, some colours more than most, and especially flesh tones. The result tends to be a dull green tinge. And to stop further fading low light levels are required, making dingy rooms even dingier.

Having said that, its certainly well worth a visit, finishing with the romantic ruined abbey attached.

I also managed to take in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee exhibition which had just opened this weekend at the adjacent Queen's Gallery. This is formed out of a selection from the royal collection, broad enough to be really engaging and small enough not to allow the attention to wander. Very satisfying overall.

But opposite the Gallery is the Scottish Parliament. A true eyesore. Trust me this picture in no way conveys the full ugliness of it. Pottering around Edinburgh one thinks yes this could be the capital of a nation,  a real State. Then you see the Assembly. And realise its like giving money to a feckless teenager. It only takes some unscrupulous grown up to flatter them and they will squander all their money on some costly bauble which will just turn out to be a pile of crap. They already have, and this is it. Awful, already horribly dated and of course many times over budget.

Sunday in Edinburgh

Now if how one feels on a Sunday morning is inverselly proportionate to how much you enjoyed Saturday night, then I had a great Saturday night. but it was  beautiful day and I felt a duty to do some sightseeing, so off I went up Calton Hill. This basically has a series of monuments to various Scots, plus an observatory. It just looks really good, from afar and close up. And luckily for my hangover, its not too steep a climb. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

From the hill I then aimed for the New Town, first diverting into the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The Scots don't seem to have quite got the idea of a portrait gallery in that it doesn't exclusively contain portraits. Having said that its diversion into for example a gallery of sporting paintings does make it a more entertaining visit so I would hardly hold that against them. And a lovely 19th century decorated hallway/atrium is the real highlight of this place, with its mural of famous Scots all round the room.

Then on through the New Town. This is the opposite of the Medieval, organic Old Town. This was planned, straight streets with posh squares at either end, a great piece of Georgian architecture and town planning. A genuinely beautiful version of high density housing. Modern planners take note. The Scottish National Trust own one such house and present it very well although the room attendants are rather over exuberant. They don't risk you failing to ask a question. They are in telling you all about anything interesting (or less than interesting) in their rooms.

Contrast the old town, more organic, romantic with lots of little side alleys coming off the spine of the Royal Mile.

Now, people talk about the New Town and the Old Town as if they are the two parts of Edinburgh. But there is a third part, Dean village, once an industrial area bit now an ever so atractive little village down by the river. The river walk is known as the Water of Leith and its a beautiful walk on a sunny day. And this was sunny day.

If one pops up from the river at the right point (which I didn't quite manage at my first attempt) one coes up at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. A fairly impressive collection in an impressive mansion. Actually its across two mansions.