Edinburgh: castles and cashmere


On a chilly October weekend, some friends and I took a train from London up to Scotland to stay a few days in beautiful and history-packed Edinburgh. We did our level best to hit all the highlights in the city. On our first day we took a walking tour


and admired St Giles Cathedral, a gor- geous Gothic structure; the Heart of Midlothian, a paved heart that everyone spits on for various reasons from taxes to sports, so you should never touch for health and safety reasons; David Hume’s lucky toe; and J. K. Rowling’s morbid in- spiration for Tom Riddle in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Having gained our bearings, we set off for Edinburgh Castle and took in the history of royalty. My favourite part of


18 FOCUS The Magazine March/April 2020


the castle housed the regally named Stone of Destiny, a rather large block of stone that has been used in coronation cere- monies for centuries, among the crown jewels. Te other memorable area was the small room where King James I was born; it was strangely sweet with his painted ini- tials intertwined with his mother’s on the ceiling. Shopping on the Royal Mile was the


next order of business and I touched more cashmere than I knew existed in the whole world. After a bit of treasure hunting, I even managed to find my family’s tartan! Afterward, we visited the cosy Deacon’s House Cafe for a warm treat – their short- bread and tea truly hit the spot. However, the best part of our trip was


yet to come. Bright and early the next morning we boarded a bus to a hidden gem of a wildlife experience, Highland Safaris, and it was a pleasure from start to finish. Once we arrived, our energetic guide launched into an explanation of red deer and their history in Britain as we passed around velvety antlers and com- pared the weight of those antlers to ones that had fallen at different times of the year. After excellent instruction, we were told to grab a mug of deer feed and file out the back door as our guide called the wild herd of red deer that wisely lingers close to the barn for just this rea- son. Separated by a wooden fence, we ten- tatively reached flat hands full of food through the slats as the does and stag


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