Where to eat: The strawberry house.
What to see: The Alnwick Castle where Harry Potter 1 and 2 were shot. The Barter Books shop which is built on one of the oldest platform stations of the world. It has HUGE collection of books on sale. Must visit for booklovers.
How to reach: We went by a National Express bus from Edinburgh. I think it cost us 17 pounds for a return ticket. Its approx a 2 hour drive from Edinburgh. Once again do NOT sleep during the bus ride. You might just miss the bridge under which the flying car flew. :)
I am a huge Harry Potter fan. So instead of going to Glasgow from Edinburgh I decided to instead go to Alnwick to see what the real Hogwarts was like. Reality check, Hogwarts exists only virtually. The closest design of a building like that is a school in Edinburgh which the driver showed us on our way. But if you keep your expectations real, the castle in itself is beautifully built. The countryside is never ending and very well maintained. They also have archery games, Harry Potter tours, magic shows and owl shows inside. The rooms inside the castle dripped of luxury. I just prayed if I could own just one tiny corner of that castle. It is actually the official residence of the Duke of Northumberland.
We tried our hands at archery and saw a Hedwig lookalike in the owl show. We tried jumping around in the lawns where Harry Potter learnt flying to no avail. There was also this another area inside the castle. I think it was the Dragon’s den or something. It was Easter time and there were people dressed up in medieval clothes and kids running around with brilliantly painted Easter eggs. There was also a bewitched tunnel with never ending mazes and gory surprises. Having a super scared Aditi with me made it even more fun.
The streets of Alnwick are cobbled and reminded me of all the fairy tales with pictures of people walking up and down. It is a small and beautiful town and although I’m sure UK has more beautiful towns, the castle made it special for me.
Our return bus to Edinburgh was late by an hour and Aditi utilised her time by running circles around the bus stand, a part of her weight loss program. :) I guess the cold weather played a part too... ;)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Edinburgh
Summary:
How to reach –RyanAir if u can get cheap tickets, else take the train. If you have to take a bus, try Mega Bus, its cheaper. If you can take a car from london, nothing beats tht.!!
Where to stay – Budgetbackpackers Hostel. www.budgetbackpackers.com, 14-15 pounds a night for a bed with breakfast
Things to do – Edinburgh Castle, Day tours to Lochs/Inverness/Isle of Skye, Nelson’s monument, Princes street for high end shopping, pub hopping, the cemetery, underground midnight ghost tours, go for live concerts if you find any. Take the free guided tours conducted by the youth hostels, camera obscura, whiskey tasting session.
Must eat/drink – Haggis, Scottish Ale (for guys, the girls at the bar are generally super hot ;)), scotch whiskey of course (Carry back miniatures if u can), doner kebabs with fries - i loved them
Carry woollens and an umbrella, it was zero degrees at night even in April.
I was in Scotland in April last year with two of my friends from college. We did a three day trip covering Edinburgh and Loch Ness while one day we travelled to Alnwick to see the real Hogwarts. We had booked a flight to Edinburgh on Ryanair from our college in Poitiers, France. Had got tickets for 5 euros due to our super sexy timing and my maadu instinct. RyanAir keeps coming up with these promo fares and you need to check on their websites almost daily to grab the right price. If you get a 5 euro ticket, take it; chances of it being cheaper are very rare.
I saw the Scottish landscape from a height of 15000 feet and it took my breath away. It felt like those fairy tales; fluffy clouds below and never ending blue above. Interspersed with the greens and the browns of the mountains. As the sun played hide and seek with the clouds, I could see the lochs (that is what they call lakes here) shimmered below me. I dont think it gets more beautiful than this. We got down at the airport and finished our immigration formalities. No complications at all, we were done in around 5 mins. Aditi, got her currency exchanged at the airport counter which was more expensive than normal rates. Would suggest carrying your pounds from your home country to avoid the currency risk. There is an airport shuttle (tickets are bought on board or just outside the bus, keep exact change if possible) which drops you at the Waverley station on the bridge connecting Old Edinburgh and New Edinburgh. We got down there and tugged our luggage along to reach our youth hostel, the BudgetBackpackers which was near the Grassmarket area in Old Edinburgh. Please do the bookings early since these places get full a month in advance.
Now I haven’t experienced too many youth hostels but Budgetbackpackers was better than anything I had imagined. Every wall of it dripped with Scottish sarcasm and humour and the place was buzzing with life. The beds were around 14 pounds a night with breakfast included. The best part about this hostel was the awesome location. All good spots were within walking distance and the hostel conducted guided tours free of cost almost everyday. They also organised bar crawls where they took you to the coolest bars in town and got you good discounts too. Apart from that, the hostel was complete with facilities like a cinema/tv room where you can see a movie of your choice and games room where you could play pool, etc to bide free time. Even after you have checked out, you can still leave your luggage in the locker room for a very nominal charge (one pound or so). There is a fully equipped kitchen facility for those who wish to cook their own food.
We went on a day tour to Loch Ness with Haggis travel company on the first day. They are the best for youth. The buses are a cool yellow color and our guide was brilliant. The Scots have a brilliant way of telling stories and we enjoyed the day tour thoroughly. Cost was around 30 pounds with a picnic lunch included. He also stopped midway to show us a beautiful waterfall, the Forth bridge and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain of UK along with some other sites. Dont sleep on the bus, the view is brilliant. We also took the midnight ghost tours which are best enjoyed if you are drunk. Else you might find it a waste of your money. The coffee at the Elephant House was brilliant, this is where JK Rowling got the inspiration to write Harry Potter. There is an Oz pub which looked good and we also went to the Frankenstein Pub where they serve absynth cocktails. Don’t forget to try the Scottish Ale and the local delight, haggis (it’s their national dish). Fish and chips make a good midnight snack, you will find plenty of shops open till 11pm. We were told to play a little safe at late hours so we did not go out beyond midnight anywhere. Carry a swiss knife with you all the time cos the drunk guys can get aggressive. An average meal at any decent restaurant would set you back by around 10 pounds at least. Also see the Edinburgh castle and the Nelson’s monument. The unfinished Scottish Parliament is another beautiful place to see. The hostel guys will take you around the other tourist spots like the Greyfriars cemetery, etc. Do try and walk the entire length of the Royal Mile though. It has the Edinburgh castle on one end and the Royal palace on the other (the official residence of the monarch in Scotland) and is a brilliant way to discover Edinburgh. Other nice places to visit are the Camera Obscura and the simulated whiskey tasting museum. I would suggest going for a real tasting tour if you have the time and money though.
Bon Voyage!
How to reach –RyanAir if u can get cheap tickets, else take the train. If you have to take a bus, try Mega Bus, its cheaper. If you can take a car from london, nothing beats tht.!!
Where to stay – Budgetbackpackers Hostel. www.budgetbackpackers.com, 14-15 pounds a night for a bed with breakfast
Things to do – Edinburgh Castle, Day tours to Lochs/Inverness/Isle of Skye, Nelson’s monument, Princes street for high end shopping, pub hopping, the cemetery, underground midnight ghost tours, go for live concerts if you find any. Take the free guided tours conducted by the youth hostels, camera obscura, whiskey tasting session.
Must eat/drink – Haggis, Scottish Ale (for guys, the girls at the bar are generally super hot ;)), scotch whiskey of course (Carry back miniatures if u can), doner kebabs with fries - i loved them
Carry woollens and an umbrella, it was zero degrees at night even in April.
I was in Scotland in April last year with two of my friends from college. We did a three day trip covering Edinburgh and Loch Ness while one day we travelled to Alnwick to see the real Hogwarts. We had booked a flight to Edinburgh on Ryanair from our college in Poitiers, France. Had got tickets for 5 euros due to our super sexy timing and my maadu instinct. RyanAir keeps coming up with these promo fares and you need to check on their websites almost daily to grab the right price. If you get a 5 euro ticket, take it; chances of it being cheaper are very rare.
I saw the Scottish landscape from a height of 15000 feet and it took my breath away. It felt like those fairy tales; fluffy clouds below and never ending blue above. Interspersed with the greens and the browns of the mountains. As the sun played hide and seek with the clouds, I could see the lochs (that is what they call lakes here) shimmered below me. I dont think it gets more beautiful than this. We got down at the airport and finished our immigration formalities. No complications at all, we were done in around 5 mins. Aditi, got her currency exchanged at the airport counter which was more expensive than normal rates. Would suggest carrying your pounds from your home country to avoid the currency risk. There is an airport shuttle (tickets are bought on board or just outside the bus, keep exact change if possible) which drops you at the Waverley station on the bridge connecting Old Edinburgh and New Edinburgh. We got down there and tugged our luggage along to reach our youth hostel, the BudgetBackpackers which was near the Grassmarket area in Old Edinburgh. Please do the bookings early since these places get full a month in advance.
Now I haven’t experienced too many youth hostels but Budgetbackpackers was better than anything I had imagined. Every wall of it dripped with Scottish sarcasm and humour and the place was buzzing with life. The beds were around 14 pounds a night with breakfast included. The best part about this hostel was the awesome location. All good spots were within walking distance and the hostel conducted guided tours free of cost almost everyday. They also organised bar crawls where they took you to the coolest bars in town and got you good discounts too. Apart from that, the hostel was complete with facilities like a cinema/tv room where you can see a movie of your choice and games room where you could play pool, etc to bide free time. Even after you have checked out, you can still leave your luggage in the locker room for a very nominal charge (one pound or so). There is a fully equipped kitchen facility for those who wish to cook their own food.
We went on a day tour to Loch Ness with Haggis travel company on the first day. They are the best for youth. The buses are a cool yellow color and our guide was brilliant. The Scots have a brilliant way of telling stories and we enjoyed the day tour thoroughly. Cost was around 30 pounds with a picnic lunch included. He also stopped midway to show us a beautiful waterfall, the Forth bridge and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain of UK along with some other sites. Dont sleep on the bus, the view is brilliant. We also took the midnight ghost tours which are best enjoyed if you are drunk. Else you might find it a waste of your money. The coffee at the Elephant House was brilliant, this is where JK Rowling got the inspiration to write Harry Potter. There is an Oz pub which looked good and we also went to the Frankenstein Pub where they serve absynth cocktails. Don’t forget to try the Scottish Ale and the local delight, haggis (it’s their national dish). Fish and chips make a good midnight snack, you will find plenty of shops open till 11pm. We were told to play a little safe at late hours so we did not go out beyond midnight anywhere. Carry a swiss knife with you all the time cos the drunk guys can get aggressive. An average meal at any decent restaurant would set you back by around 10 pounds at least. Also see the Edinburgh castle and the Nelson’s monument. The unfinished Scottish Parliament is another beautiful place to see. The hostel guys will take you around the other tourist spots like the Greyfriars cemetery, etc. Do try and walk the entire length of the Royal Mile though. It has the Edinburgh castle on one end and the Royal palace on the other (the official residence of the monarch in Scotland) and is a brilliant way to discover Edinburgh. Other nice places to visit are the Camera Obscura and the simulated whiskey tasting museum. I would suggest going for a real tasting tour if you have the time and money though.
Bon Voyage!
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