Day 13: Leeds - Edinburgh

Early start this morning. Wake up call at 6:15 to shower and pack for our second day on the tour.

Headed to York for a few hours. Beautiful city with a majority of the old city wall and city gates still intact. Investigated Clifford’s tower which is all that remains of the castle of York.

After a couple of rest breaks, we made our way to a small section of Hadrian’s Wall in Newcastle. The section is only a few hundred metres long and only a couple of feet high, but it was neat to see it anyway.

From there, to the border to Scotland where the air is fresher and the water sweater! Stopped off at Jedburgh to have a break and to take some photos of the 12th century abbey destroyed by King Henry VIII.

Got into Edinburgh Capital Hotel at about 17:45. This gave us a little over an hour to freshen up before heading off to the city for dinner and the Tattoo.

The bus dropped us off on North Bridge street and everyone went their separate ways to find dinner. Elisha and I had already scoped out restaurants and bars on our earlier visit, so bucked the trend and walked down the Royal Mile away from the castle.

Found a lovely pub not too crowded and sat down to pork chops and vegies. I wont mention anything of the cabbage I ate but the meal was wonderful.

Joined the crowd of approx 8000 people heading up to the castle to the Tattoo. The atmosphere was full of excitement and anticipation for a great night.

Found our seats were precisely in the middle of the row so Elisha and I headed up separate entry stairs. When we got to our seats, it was to find that we had to seat our bums on seats that would only take 3/4 of them. It was a little squishy but we managed to put our coats on and place a garbage bag over our legs by passing, back and forth, our possessions.

Just as the MC started announcing the special guests, it started to rain. It was only light at first and we were told earlier that the weather should be find for the night.

Yeah Right! They must have been looking at the weather forecast for Dubai as the rain didn't stop. In fact, by the time the tattoo started (21:00) the rain had steadily increased until it was pouring and was still going when we got back to the hotel. I soon found out my coat is not water proof. It is not the best feeling having trickles of water running all the way down your back into your arse crack!

But the spectacular of the Military Tattoo was amazing. I've watched the tattoo since I was a child, but to sit there, even in the rain, and to watch it live really was amazing.

In my opinion, the best of the tattoo was both and equally the King of Norway guards and the New Zealand marching girls. The precision of both was amazing and the snap of shoe on ground or the thwack of the guns is incredible. And to think all that was done in the pouring rain, really shows the skill of the performers..

On top of the performance of the performers are the special effects. The light show displayed on the castle walls is fantastic. Images are displayed on the uneven walls but look like they are on a flat surface.

Of course the ultimate highlight has to be the lone piper. From up high in the batteries of the castle, a single, lone piper plays. The sound carries with such emotion it is incredible.

Leaving the tattoo was a funny experience. With so much rain, everyone was wet, head to foot. As Elisha put it, we were "a walking parade of penguins" as we tried to waddle our way down the Mile towards the waiting bus.

All in all, regardless of the rain and discomfort, the night was fantastic. I would recommend anyone to go see the tattoo. In rain or fair weather, it is an amazing spectacular.