10:30 am. Edinburgh Waverley Bridge.
I'm on the tour bus that takes me to South Queensferry. There I'm boarding the Forth Belle for a Forth Bridges Boat Tour, which also makes a stop at Inchcolm Island.
About the Forth Bridges Cruise Bus and Boat Tour:
Getting to South Queensferry from the centre of Edinburgh is easy on the Forth Bridges Cruise Bus!
Enjoy the grand sights of Edinburgh AND a sightseeing tour on the Forth Belle with its famous road and railway bridges!
Join us on a boat trip on the Forth Belle and enjoy unrivalled views of the Firth of Forth and its magnificent bridges and islands!
The tour bus leaves from Waverley Bridge and takes you direct to Hawes Pier at South Queensferry where you board the Forth Belle. Bus journey times are approximately 25 minutes each way.
More info here:
www.forthtours.com/sightseeing
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| On the tour bus. Edinburgh Waverley Bridge. |
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| Edinburgh New Town impression taken from the tour bus. |
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| Edinburgh New Town impression taken from the tour bus. |
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| The Forth Belle at Hawes Pier, South Queensferry. |
11:30 am. On board the Forth Belle. I'm lucky with the weather. It's breezy but bright with a nice blue sky and fluffy white clouds. And here are the pictures I took from the boat.
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| Forth Road Bridge, Firth of Forth. |
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| Forth Road and Forth Rail Bridge on the right. |
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| Forth Road and Forth Rail Bridge on the left. |
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| The two Forth Bridges. The Forth Rail and the Forth Road Bridge. |
More info about the Bridges:
Forth Rail Bridge:
Forth Road Bridge:
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| View of Edinburgh from the boat. |
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| View of Edinburgh from the boat. |
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| Seal basking in the sun. |
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| Small rocky island near Inchcolm Island. |
Arriving at Inchcolm Island. It has quite a history:
Inchcolm (from the Scottish Gaelic "Innis Choluim", meaning Columba's Island) is an island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. Repeatedly attacked by English raiders during the Wars of Scottish Independence, it was fortified during both World Wars to defend nearby Edinburgh. Inchcolm now attracts visitors to its former Augustinian Abbey...
It was supposedly visited by St Columba (an Irish missionary monk) in 567, and was named after him in the 12th century. It may have served the monks of the Columban family as an "Iona of the east" from early times...
A hogback stone, preserved in the abbey's visitor centre, can be dated to the late 10th century, making it probably Scotland's earliest type of monument originating among Danish settlers in northern England...
More background info about the island can be found here:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchcolm
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| Abbey on Inchcolm Island |
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| Abbey on Inchcolm Island |
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| Abbey on Inchcolm Island |
Some more photos of the sea taken from the boat and the boat itself:
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| The Forth Rail Bridge. |
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| The Forth Rail Bridge. |
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| The Forth Rail Bridge. |
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| Close up of the Forth Rail Bridge. |
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| Close up of the Forth Rail Bridge. |
1:15 pm. Back at Hawes Pier, South Queensferry.
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| View of the First of Forth and the Forth Road Bridge from Hawes Pier, Queensferry. |
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| The Pillars of the Firth. Forth Rail Bridge seen from Hawes Pier, Queensferry. |
1:45 pm. Back in Edinburgh.
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| Scott Monument, Edinburgh. |
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| Fleshmarket Close. |
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| Fleshmarket Close. |
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| Fleshmarket Close. |
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| Street Lamp. Fleshmarket Close. |
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| Street Lamp. Fleshmarket Close. |
About Fleshmarket Close:
If you recognise the name you're probably an Ian Rankin fan. Fleshmarket Close is the 15th of his Inspector Rebus series and a suitably creepy name for a thriller.
In actuality a flesh market was a butcher's market - and in previous lives this particular close was home to an abattoir, a fish and a vegetable market.
I love its sense of atmosphere - I can easily imagine its steeply sloped floor streaked and slippery with blood; the stench of meat and crushed cabbage leaves under foot; the tall walls pressing in as the crowds shouldered past each other on market day.
Source:
From Darcy to Dionysus: A Writing Repository
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| Cockburn Street, Edinburgh. |
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| Cockburn Street, Edinburgh. |
I then went to to meet me friend Cid. We've spent the evening walking round the old town, chatting, eating Haggis and enjoying plenty of wine.
I have put together a
map of the whole tour which you may find helpful if you are planning a Scotland trip too.
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www.a-picture-a-day.com for more photo galleries.
2 comments:
Thanks for the link. I love your pictures from around Edinburgh, I feel guilty now that I haven't paid enough attention to my surroundings. I photograph as well as write (weddings and portraits as averse to street and landscape - though I've a few Scottish landscapes here: http://cocoarose-photo.blogspot.com/search/label/Landscapes) and am in awe of what you have achieved here. Just put a link to you on twitter! I will also do so from my blog.
Wow. Thank you so much again!! I guess being in love with Edinburgh, or in fact the whole of Scotland helps :)
I know what you mean about not paying attention to your surroundings. Happens to me too. I live 5 min (walk) from one of the most beautiful beach in the south and yet I rarely go there, despite me always wanting to live by the sea.
Visited your cocoarose blog. Your photography is amazing! Your emotions come through in every single shot.
Thank you also for the tweet and the link. Looking at the stats and knowing someone viewed makes my day!
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