I woke up very late on my fourth day in the UK after drinking far too much the night before. The plan for the day was that I would explore Edinburgh while Dan finished up some work. On my agenda was Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars Bobby, and Greyfriars Kirkyard. After packing my bag into the car, I headed for the other side of the city.
Edinburgh Castle
I wandered down into the valley between downtown and the castle and found myself in a park. Unfortunately, there was no obvious (legal) way to get to the castle from there, so I backtracked back up to the downtown area and crossed over to the old part of town via one of the bridges. The arduous climb to the castle made it clear why they had chosen that spot for its construction so long ago! I made my way through the castle gates, paid for my entry, and began experiencing all the wonderful sights.
It took me around two hours to get through the entire castle; I ignored the audio tour for the most part, but I did spend quite a bit of time looking at the Scottish crown jewels. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take any pictures.
Dan’s girlfriend, Sharon, had told me that I should seek out Greyfriars Bobby, so I decided to do that before I left for Glasgow. Here is a summary of story of Greyfriars Bobby:
Bobby belonged to John Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a night watchman, and the two were inseparable for approximately two years. On 8 February 1858, Gray died of tuberculosis. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Bobby, who survived Gray by fourteen years, is said to have spent the rest of his life sitting on his master’s grave.
In 1867, when it was argued that a dog without an owner should be destroyed, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir William Chambers—who was also a director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—paid for a renewal of Bobby’s licence, making him the responsibility of the city council.
Bobby died in 1872 and could not be buried within the cemetery itself, since it was and remains consecrated ground. He was buried instead just inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard, not far from John Gray’s grave.
Following my map, I made my way toward Greyfriars Kirkyard to find statue and the grave of Greyfriars Bobby. As this is the older part of Edinburgh, I found myself walking again along beautiful narrow cobblestone streets. After a short trek, I managed to find what I was looking for!
Greyfriars Kirkyard is a beautiful place and a short walk from downtown. I highly recommend that you head over and take a look if you’re visiting Edinburgh.
Soon after, I met up with Dan and we packed into the car and started the drive toward Glasgow. Traffic was awful and it took us far longer than it should have, but eventually we pulled into a car park in Glasgow. From the car park we walked about a mile to our hostel, made our beds, and chatted with a few of the fellows we were staying with. They tipped us off to check out the bars on Byres Road, so we left the hostel to find food and beer. The rest of our evening was largely uneventful; we wandered between a few pubs, drank some local beer, and ate greasy takeaway. Through a great deal of luck we found our way back to the hostel and collapsed for the night.
