Included in our program fees was a 4 day trip to Scotland (granted, 2 of the days were spent driving, so it was really only 2 days we spent in Edinburgh [pronounced Ed-in-bura]). On the way there, we travelled through the city of Richmond and had a 2 hour lunch break there, so we got a chance to explore the Richmond Castle. We stayed at the University of Edinburgh, Pollack Hills, which is just outside the city center of Edinburgh. After arriving the first evening and settling into my room, I walked into and around town with 3 other girls, just to explore and get a feel for the city.
On Friday I started the day with a walk/hike up to Arthur’s Seat, which is a large hill that overlooks the city and the ocean. Thankfully it decided to start raining when we got back to the bottom. We arrived at the Scottish Parliament and I walked around with 3 others and explored the public areas. This was a very interesting building architecturally, because it’s very modern artsy and not what you would expect from a Parliament building in Great Britain. In the debating chamber, the backs of the gallery chairs were in the shape of Scotland!
After eating lunch, we went to the National Museum of Scotland where a fellow from Cambridge specializing in Medieval Scotland showed us around and told us the meaning behind some of the medieval artifacts. It was a neat museum, which detailed the chronology of Scotland, starting with the oldest at the bottom and the most recent at the top. I preferred the top half of the museum to the bottom half and especially liked watching a short documentary where Scottish individuals were interviewed about various topics. There was also a very neat glass exhibit, with beautiful works of art constructed entirely from glass!
We ate dinner, looked at the front of the Edinburgh castle, and walked back to Pollack Halls. That evening, the Cambridge staff had arranged a Scottish dance for us, called a Ceilidh, which was akin to Scottish line dancing. There was a very good band dressed in kilts, comprised of 3 people, one on drums, one on fiddle, and one on guitar. They instructed us on how to do the dances and played some excellent music. Although it got a little hot in the room after some epically long dances, it was really really fun and I’m so glad I got a chance to experience Scottish dancing!
On Saturday I signed up for a hike in the Trossachs, which they called the Scottish Highlands in miniature. This hike took a while, but was totally worth it because of the absolutely beautiful scenery! It was definitely an adventure, as many times it seemed the only path there was was from people ahead of me in the group. My shoes got very muddy and wet (I put them in the washer when I got home from Cambridge…I didn’t realize you could wash shoes!) and it was a very taxing experience, but I really feel like I accomplished something and had a great time getting to know people better on the hike and challenging myself physically. They warned us heavily before the hike about bringing a waterproof top because it usually rains, but we got extremely lucky and it didn’t rain on us once!
After returning and showering, I went with some friends to a restaurant called The Elephant House, which is where JK Rowling wrote some of her early Harry Potter novels. Our table had an excellent view of Edinburgh Castle and it was a fun experience, especially going into the bathroom, which was covered with Harry Potter graffiti.
On Sunday we drove back to Cambridge, by way of Fountain’s Abbey. We had another 2 hour lunch break here and we got to see the ruins of Fountain’s Abbey, which were very nice. Overall, it was a really fun trip to Scotland!
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