Taxis, Trains, and Travel

Today was a travel day.

We cleared out of our apartment just before 10am and took a taxi to the train station. The train was scheduled for 11:36, but as soon as its entry appeared on the board they were saying to expect it at 11:42, and that’s pretty much exactly when it arrived. If only Via rail could be so informative; on the Day Not To Be Remembered (July 29-30 28-hour travel day), Via was something like 20 minutes late with no announcements.

The train was essentially the same one we were on before – it started at London King’s Cross and ended in Edinburgh, with about ten stops along the way including York. The countryside was beautiful, and a Scottish passenger sitting across the aisle from us pointed out a couple of sites when we approached Scotland: the actual border, as we crossed a bridge, and Lindisfarne, site of the first Viking raid. We passed Edinburgh Castle just before the train station.

We took a taxi from Waverley Station to our cottage/apartment; the driver apologized for taking us a slightly longer way around, but there was a lot of bad traffic and police presence, possibly for Somebody Important visiting (though he had no idea who).

We picked up food for the next two days at a small grocery about three blocks away. On the way home we caught a glimpse of Arthur's Seat.

 

We had a nice dinner at home, which was a welcome alternative to the huge restaurant meals of the last few days (which were good -- no complaints about quality). We’re still working on plans for when to do what, but the highest priority is to spend much of tomorrow at Edinburgh Castle.

Edit: here is Margaret's blog about the same day.