All things Edinburgh are on my mind, the castles, cemeteries, gardens, waterways, and architecture. Yesterday it was waterways. I joined a bus tour to The Three Bridges crossing the Firth of Fourth, the water that divides Scotland, the lowlands from the highlands, and that connects Fife and Edinburgh. The first bridge, for the railway, was completed in 1890, and is still in use for trains. The other two were completed in 1964 and 2017, for cars and buses, and I think for pedestrians. Both bridges were opened by Queen Elizabeth, 53 years apart to the day. A segment of transportation history before our eyes, or shall I say, over our heads.
The bus left us off at a little village where we boarded a 'cruise' boat ready to take us on a 90 minute sight-seeing tour under the bridges. Highlights for me: the Edinburgh skyline featuring church spires, Arthur's Cap and the castle from afar; up close, seals lounging on a little rocky island and an old Augustinian abbey. (No photos of skyline or seals.)
A little observation on silence. The boat tour had a piped in commentary, which was informative and specific to what we were seeing. On the bus we were given ear phones that we could use at our discretion. I listened on the way. Interesting information for sure, but on the trip home I was exhausted from all the chatter, all the extraneous commentary, which felt like noise.
The bus left us off at a little village where we boarded a 'cruise' boat ready to take us on a 90 minute sight-seeing tour under the bridges. Highlights for me: the Edinburgh skyline featuring church spires, Arthur's Cap and the castle from afar; up close, seals lounging on a little rocky island and an old Augustinian abbey. (No photos of skyline or seals.)
A little observation on silence. The boat tour had a piped in commentary, which was informative and specific to what we were seeing. On the bus we were given ear phones that we could use at our discretion. I listened on the way. Interesting information for sure, but on the trip home I was exhausted from all the chatter, all the extraneous commentary, which felt like noise.