Random Fun signs and misc

I always keep a separate post for fun signs and other random things that catch my eye.  Here are some of the ones I got pictures of on this trip: 

From a pub in Edinburgh: Tug and Shove on the entry doors. 

This was not a sign I would expect to see in the center of London, more like along a rocky coast line or something. It was warning not to put something on the railing that would fall into the courtyard far below the railing (see below).  Seemed a little excessive. 

This little speed radar sign lit up with a smile when you were under the limit and a frown when you were over the speed limit.

"Warning: Anti-Climb paint". I'm not sure what anti-climb paint is, presumably it is particularly slippery.  I saw this in several places.  If someone is dumb enough to climb where they shouldn't be, I don't see any reason to warn them that they might slip and hurt themselves, but whatever.

This reminded me of the signs on the roads when street re-paving is scheduled in the future.

"It's TOTOlly easy" - ha!

"This Victorian Radiator is for Aesthetic only"

In a small local artisans market, I found a stall with picture frames made from used whiskey barrels.  They even had a mark that allowed you to trace where the barrel had been used. The ones I looked at were Speyside whiskeys.  The frames were quite thick and heavy!

Day 8 - Edinburgh > York

We got ourselves packed up and ready for the train back south.  After acquiring 3 bottles of scotch, my bag was considerably more full and heavy!  I'm glad we had reserved seats because the train was crowded.  After a two hour journey, we arrived in York. 

Rather than doing Airbnb for one night, I decided to splurge a little and get a hotel.  The Milner York was directly next to the train station - super convenient!  It first opened in 1878 (the year after the current train station was built).  York was very much a rail hub as rail travel grew greatly in the late 1800s.

The hotel was quite beautiful and we had the largest hotel room and bathroom I've ever experienced in the UK.  The walk-in shower was more than 8 ft long!

We dropped our bags and took off to explore the city.  The station and our hotel were just a short 3 minute walk to the river, the city wall, and the center city.

We had tickets for entry to Yorkminster Cathedral at the end of the day, so we wandered through the streets of the old city, stopping to look at whatever caught our fancy.  We stepped into this church, All Saints Pavement (named after the street it was on: Pavement - the first paved street in the city).  This building dates back to the 1300s, but archeological evidence indicates a church was here in viking times, with burials dating to the 900s.  The octagonal lantern tower is a distinctive local landmark.  It is claimed that in medieval times, a lantern was hung in the tower at night to guide travelers through the dangerous Forest of Galtres. The lantern light was enhanced with glass lens that were on display inside the church.

My eyes were drawn to the pretty blue ceiling, but I eventually made my way up front to the pulpit which dates to 1634.  I was startled to find nothing blocking people from stepping up into it (I chose not to). 

There was so much beautiful architecture.  Often you see cities with some restored buildings next to very run down, or modern buildings.  My impression was that most buildings were old and well preserved, or new, but done in an old style to keep a very pleasing look in the center city. 

This building included a sign that [someone locally famous] was born here in 1606 ;)

I absolutely loved the giant gold painted ewe hanging in front of the Golden Fleece pub.

"The Shambles" is a shopping district in the center city with narrow lanes, quaint shops and hoards of people.  It was fun to explore, but I got tired of people pretty quickly.

There were several 'witch' themed shops that were fun.  This was a magic-themed putt-putt golf venue (The Hole in Wand)

We grabbed nutella crepes for a snack.

The Three Tuns has stood for over 300 years.  First licenses in 1782, it was names after the three "tun" barrels which were housed at the rear of the pub, each "tun" held 216 gallons of beer.  In a recent renovation, builders discovered a stunning cache of gold coins hiddne in one of the original wooden beams, the newest of which dated to the time of Charles I (early 1600s).

Merchant Adventurer's Guildhouse (basically international businessmen)

As we did some pre-travel searching for things to do in York, the York Chocolate Experience came up multiple times.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but once we arrived, it became clear that York had a history of sugar confections going back hundreds of years.  Terry's confections was founded in 1767 and Rowntree's in 1862.  The city produces millions of chocolate bars a day, including Kit Kats and Aero bars. I had a hard time picking which bars I wanted to bring back to the family, but I picked the mint one for me!

I always love street performers.  This guy was great!

York claims to be the "most haunted city in Europe". Based on a history filled with violent and volatile events that have contributed to its ghostly reputation. "The city's rich and often tragic past, from Roman origins to Viking invasions, the Norman Conquest, and the English Civil war, has left a legacy of ghostly encounters and spectral sightings".  There were walking ghost tours and several stores with very cute miniature ghosts (Maybe 2").  I liked this one with a chainsaw and the one below with the 12 pk of beer. lol.

We finally wandered our way to Yorkminster.  A wedding party was just exciting and the tower bells were ringing like crazy.  We headed inside for our visit and a Tower tour (see separate entry).

After climbing over 275 stairs (21 stories) - we were beat and ready for food.  We stopped in a 'haunted' pub for dinner.  This pub supposedly had 3 ghosts.  We did not see anything, ha. 

 

Day 7 - Arthur's Seat and quick trip to the suburbs

We set out for a hike up Arthur's Seat this morning and as we stepped out the door it started to rain.  We were jumping a bus and decided we see how things were looking when we got to our stop.  If it was still pouring, we'd just find something else to do.  Fortunately, the rain stopped and the sun came out!

We planned to follow the same path David and I took about 7 years ago.  It's much less traveled than the route up from Holyrood.  Unfortunately, there was a sign at the base that said "closed".  A moment later, a lady came down off the "closed" trail and passed us.  I asked her - is there a reason it is closed?  She said not really, its just narrow in places and you have to scrabble.  I  decided we'd risk it and dragged Charlene after me.  The lady's assessment was right, the trail was narrow with gorse growing tight in many places.  There were also some steep scrabbles over steep, rocky slopes.  I think there were trying to shut down the trail completely and nature was definitely helping achieve that!

Back side of Salisbury Crag and the Firth of Forth in the distance.

Further view as we climbed.

Almost at the top. 

The view from the top is pretty magnificent. 

We decided to head back down the main trail with the hordes. 

Looking back at Arthur's Seat from the main trail.

There were not a lot of wild flowers, but there was some pretty heather blooming.  There was a lot of wild gorse, but the beautiful yellow flowers from the spring were mostly gone. 

Ruins of St Anthony's chapel near Holyrood. 

Calton Hill (and Holyrood in the foreground)

We have friends that live outside the city and we were invited to visit them for the afternoon and dinner.  We hopped on a train out of the city and after a few short stops made it to the suburbs where they live. 

Cool suspension bridge for car traffic. 

About a 30 min train ride outside Edinburgh, across the Firth of Forth. 

Our friends had a lovely view from their back windows of some open fields.  They said there are sometimes sheep.  Their house (and others on the street) interestingly sit two deep along the road, so they don't have a drive way or garage at all, just a narrow walk past the front yard neighbor back to their property which includes a front yard (behind their neighbor's).  They just parallel park on the main street. 

 

Day 6 - Calton Hill

We decided to explore Calton Hill which was near us so Charlene could find a place to do her hill training later in the day. It offers a great view of the city and all the way down to the Leith and across the Firth of Forth.   Its a volcanic formation, likely from one of the vents of the volcano that made Arthur's seat. 

I took a video, but not a still photo of the view down the Firth of Forth.  It was carved out by glaciers in the ice ages.  The ocean at one point came right up to the base of the hill, but its gone down quite a ways now 

This is a view from the old cemetary. The Nelson Monument in the distance was completed in 1816 to commemorate the death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Looking across to Arthur's Seat.

Waverly Train Station in the foreground, St. Giles and Edinburgh castle in the distance.

Holyrood Castle just below us. 

Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags (both volcanic)

Nelson's monument

It was windy up top

Construction of the National Monument on Calton Hill began in 1822, with the aim of creating a Scottish equivalent to the Parthenon in Athens. The project was ambitious, aiming to commemorate those who fell in the Napoleonic Wars, but it was left unfinished due to lack of funds.