After a long, drawn out 12 hour journey which included three stops and a nap in the back of my car, I arrived in Edinburgh in time to have a stroll, dinner and end the evening with an ice cream from Crolla’s.

Luckily for me the place I was staying at, the Victoria Park Hotel was around a 10 minute walk from The Shore which is a coastal area in Leith. It’s full of bars and restaurants and you can find some bars and restaurants on several boats (which I didn’t realise until after I’d eaten).

I didn’t plan to stay out for long because I was exhausted, so a stroll in some fresh air was enough for me, along with a stop off at pizza express and an ice cream to get some energy from the sugar levels that I needed. Or at least that was the logical excuse I told myself to justify getting an ice cream. Although lets face it, none of us need an excuse or validation when it comes to treating yourself to an ice cream. Otherwise when you think about it, why was the dessert option invented?

Before getting ready to see what Edinburgh had to offer, I tried my first haggis when I had a traditional Scottish breakfast at the hotel. I’d seen haggis before but never felt inclined to try it. It tasted nicer than it looked and I put this down partly to the spices which adds to the taste. It’s not something I’d order voluntarily but if it’s part of something I’ve ordered, I wouldn’t be asking for it to be taken out like I would with pickles.

My first stop for the day would be Edinburgh Castle. I’ve always wanted to see it, can’t think why. I know a few people who’ve been to Edinburgh and haven’t heard a bad word about the place. I’ve always thought of the Castle as the crown jewel of the City. I took my time and walked to the Castle. I like to walk around any place I visit because it gives me a feel for the surroundings and the general vibe of the place. Everything I had planned could be done in the day and was in close proximity.

The most interesting thing for me about Edinburgh Castle is the Prisons of War exhibition. This was recreated to offer a glimpse of life for prisoners. Among the prisoners included a 5 year old drummer caught at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

It’s all well and good looking at the Castle from a distance but you don’t appreciate how big the Castle is until you start looking around. There’s a lot to look at, not to mention the views you get from the top of the Castle. There’s enough in there to fill your time.

After getting my fill of the Castle, the next stop would be next door at The Scotch Whisky Experience. There are several packages you can get on the tour, the main difference of each package and price is being many whiskys you got to try.

I opted for the sensible one whisky option. I couldn’t tell you what flavour it was or what it was called. All I remember is that it took me twice as long as everyone else to drink a small glass. I don’t drink anywhere near as much as I use to so my tolerance level is pretty low.

The tour itself it good, you start off by going on a really slow car barrel ride. Along the way you’ll pass footage and pictures of historic landmark moments as a narrator takes you through each of them. As good as it is to start the tour with the car barrel ride; it takes what feels like an eternity.

After the barrel ride you’re taken into the blender’s sample room. We’re given something that resembles a beer mate which has the scent of different whisky flavours which you can smell and choose which one you want to try.

The lights then dim and it essentially becomes a theatre where we watch some more history on whisky and scotch and which regions of Scotland they come from. The film goes over how it’s made. The best part was how the table was used as a prop as part of the presentation. Coloured spot lighting is used and projected on to the table, the effects was like something you’d probably get out of a Harry Potter film.

Lastly we get taken next door to the Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky collection room. The best way I can describe it is that it probably has enough whisky bottles to keep Scotland going for a few generations.

At the end of the tour the glass you sampled the whisky in is given to you. I ended up giving mine away to a busker outside. I thought he was going to ask me for money but instead he pointed at the box the glass was in. I didn’t mind giving it to him; it saved me carrying it around. I probably would’ve ended up breaking it out of being clumsy.

Last thing I had planned was a trip to Arthur’s Seat. This is the main peak of several hills which forms most of Holyrood Park.

Arthur’s Seat is 251m above sea level and from bottom to top it’ll take between 20 – 30 minutes to hike depending on your walking pace. The first 10 minutes of the hike is a mission, during the first 10 minutes there will be times where you’ll question whether hiking to Arthur’s Seat will be worth it and question the choices you’ve made in your life.

To answer the first question, yes it was worth the hike. You get a beautiful panoramic view of Edinburgh but admittedly I don’t think I really appreciated it for the first 10 – 15 minutes after I got up there because I was too busy recovering from the climb.

I stayed for about an hour, relaxed, soaked it all in before walking back down. The best thing about walking back down is the little effort you have to put into it, just let your weight and gravity do its thing and you’ll be back down in no time.

I was surprised by how quickly I managed to do everything. It’d just gone past 5pm and I was done, lucky as well as the climb took it out of me. I had a spare full day to do whatever and play it by ear. I spent the majority of it just walking around Edinburgh’s Old Town and doing whatever I fancied at the time.

Usually I have something planned or an idea of what I want to do. One example I can give about is my last day in Rio de Janeiro where I did the Christ The Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain tour on the same day I flew to Salvador. As you can imagine I woke up really early to pack and check out, store my luggage, did the tour. I somehow managed to get back to the hotel to collect my luggage and get to the airport despite nearly getting lost on the way back. It was nice change to have nothing planned and do whatever.

In the evening I walked past Edinburgh Castle and noticed how nice it looked at night. Naturally I wanted a couple of photos but as expected there were other people there doing their shots. I’m usually happy to wait until I get a clear shot and this moment was no different.

About 10-15 minutes passed and there were 2 people right up at the front Castle, even though I was far away they were still visible in my shot. So what did I do? I went up to them and offered to take some photos for them in the hope they’d leave after taking them. Before I took any photos I got talking to them, Sharon from Canada and Aude from France, both of them were travelling around the UK.

Instead of doing a quick photo and hoping they’d shoot off, we end up talking for a while before Sharon kindly takes some photos for me before I did the same for her and Aude. They left and I stayed for a bit longer to get a clear whole of the Castle.

As I begin to make my way back to the hotel I hear my name being called out, it’s Sharon. Initially I planned to go back and chill but end up talking to Sharon and Aude while they waited for their couch surfing host Dave. They invited me to join them at the pub but I declined because I didn’t feel like going. We continue chatting until Dave turned up, and then continued until they decided what pub they were going to.

After being asked a second and a third time, I changed my mind and joined the three of them for a quick pint. Dave took us to the Sandy Bell’s pub which has live traditional Scottish music (I assumed it would be someone with bagpipes). I tried a Timmermans strawberry beer which tasted a lot nicer than I thought it would, until then I’d never known a beer to come in different flavours.

The live music was some locals playing instruments I’d never seen or heard of before. I couldn’t even tell you the name of the instruments. I would’ve shared some photos but the pub had a sign asking people not to record or take photos while the band was playing.

All checked out and ready for the next part of the Scotland trip which was a 45 minute drive to Glasgow. I ended up driving with Sharon and Aude because they were hitch hiking to their next destination. I can’t remember where it was. All I remember was that it was a place which was easy to get to from Glasgow and a fairly regular route for commuters, and it would easier for them to hitchhike from Glasgow.

Granted I’d only met them the night before but they seemed harmless, friendly enough to invite me for a pint and good to talk to. You can also call it my good deed of the day.