Edinburgh Dungeons/Ghost Tour
On September 19, 2010 I went on the Edinburgh dungeons and ghost tour. It was a very thrilling evening. The tours are one of the greatest attractions in the gothic city of Edinburgh. The tour lasted a couple of hours, and proved to be one of the scariest and most entertaining things I have ever done before.
The first part of the tour consisted of the tour guide taking us to a couple of different sites about ground, and giving us a brief history. During the eighteenth century there were many witch trials in the city of Edinburgh (A lot like what was going on in the United States at the time). She explained the process of how the citizens of Edinburgh would accuse witches while we stood in the middle of the old graveyard in town. She explained that there were many different tests that were performed on people accused of being witches. One of these tests was that they would nail their thumbs to their knees and throw them into the ocean. If the person floated then they were a witch and if they sank then they died a witch. Many of the tests that were run were very illogical, and it was very interesting to hear how people used to think.
The highlight of the tour was being able to go underground to the dungeons. This underground set of caves was used in many different ways throughout Edinburgh’s past. At one point it was used to keep all the criminals, and later was used as a place where the homeless could live. In the great Edinburgh fire of 1824 over one hundred people died in the caverns bellow the town. All of the stories that were told were meant to scare the people on the tour. The tour culminated with the boys and the girls being separated and placed in one large part of the cavern. The tour guide turned her flashlight off and it was completely dark. She began to tell us that the part of the cavern we were standing in was the most haunted of any other part. After about ten minutes of hearing ghost stories a couple of people dressed as witches jumped in to the room we were standing in and scared everyone. There was mass chaos with the girls and guys all running around in the dark. It was a horrific moment.
The ghost tours of Edinburgh are one of the largest attractions in Scotland. So much of the culture in Edinburgh revolves around a dark gothic theme. It was incredible to get a glimpse into this side of Scottish culture.
Arthur’s Seat Hike
On Saturday, October 9, 2010 I hiked Arthur’s seat with my wife. It was an amazing hike. There are many different ways to reach the top, but we decided to take the easiest; the east end of the hill where a grassy slope rises about Dunsapie Loch. Although we fell a few times walking up because of the slippery grass, we were able to successfully make it up to the highest point of the peak. It took us a whole afternoon to complete the hike. We were not hiking the whole time; we stopped at the top to take pictures, relax, and enjoy the views.
Arthur’s Seat is the main peak in a group of hills right behind the Scottish Parliament. From where I sit in my office, I can see the trail up to the peak. Many people claim that the name of the hill comes from a myriad of legends pertaining to King Arthur. The hill was formed by an extinct system of volcanoes from the Carboniferous age. This means that Arthur’s Seat is approximately 350 million years old. The elevation of the hill is 823 feet. It was incredible to be able to be on top of the hill looking down on the city and the ocean.
From the top of the peak my wife and I were able to point out all of our favourite places in Edinburgh. From pubs that we enjoy, our apartment, the Scottish Parliament building, the football stadiums, and shopping centres we could better orient ourselves with where we were walking every morning to get to these places. It was incredible to be able to see what the beautiful city of Edinburgh looks like from above.
Hiking Arthur’s Seat with my wife was one of the best experiences I had during my time in Scotland. Living in a working city can sometimes get overwhelming. It was very nice to be able to be above all of the chaos observing peacefully on top of Arthur’s Seat.
