Edinburgh; Tuesday, 18 December, 2001

From the moment that I left the terminal building at Edinburgh I was aware that I had probably not packed enough warm clothing. It was rather cold. The sky was so clear and so blue that the only two things it could be were a baking day in the Mediterranean or a freezing day in the Arctic

I caught the airport bus into town and arrived just gone midday with more that an hour before I could check in I caught one of the open toped buses to see the city and foolishly decided to sit upstairs (in fact all the times I used open top buses I sit upstairs no matter what the weather - I think I need help!)

Stunning views of the centre of Edinburgh, the castle, the royal mile and the palace of Hollyrood. By the time the tour was complete I could check in at the hotel.

I then wandered around the city looking at some of the sights and then visited the Scottish Whisky Heritage centre. An interesting tour of how Scotch whisky is distilled (as opposed to Irish whisky - see Dublin you're probably thinking I have an alcohol problem by now) which starts with a small tasting session and finished with a slightly larger tasting session and the discovery of what is my Water of Life - Highland Park whisky.

Back to the hotel to freshen up and then back to the castle to go on the Adam Lyle (Deceased) Ghost tour (with Jumpaoooters). A fun and irreverent tour of the old town with a few grisly ghost stories checked in for good measure.