Edinburgh, Scotland
Overnight the Endeavour entered the North Sea and arrived this morning on a sunny and blustery day in the Firth of Forth, bound for Leith and Edinburgh. Edinburgh, home to 500,000 people and the devolved Scottish parliament, is the third capital city of this voyage.
After a leisurely morning sailing up the Firth of Forth, we slipped through the sea lock and entered Leith Docks where we tied up alongside – no Zodiac journeys today. Here we had our first view of the Royal Yacht Britannia; the destination for a reception for guests this evening.
After brunch, Steve Blamires (Historian) gave us an entertaining talk detailing the extraordinary history of the Stone of Destiny, which is the coronation seat of Scottish kings. We then departed for the nearby city of Edinburgh. Our city tour took us first to the Museum of Scotland and then on to Edinburgh Castle.
Among the exhibits on display in the museum is the stuffed body of ‘Dolly the sheep’ – the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. This scientific breakthrough was made just outside Edinburgh in 1996, although ‘Dolly’ died prematurely of age related complications, casting doubts about the reliability of the cloning procedure.
From a lofty perch on the remnants of a 350 million-year-old volcano that dominates the local landscape, Edinburgh Castle offers commanding views of the city, the Firth of Forth and the distant Kingdom of Fife. In the castle, we had the opportunity to view the Scottish Crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny and to speculate on the authenticity of the latter.
In the evening guests attended a champagne reception and tour on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Britannia is now permanently moored in Leith Docks after her retirement from serving the British monarchy for nearly 50 years.
Overnight the Endeavour entered the North Sea and arrived this morning on a sunny and blustery day in the Firth of Forth, bound for Leith and Edinburgh. Edinburgh, home to 500,000 people and the devolved Scottish parliament, is the third capital city of this voyage.
After a leisurely morning sailing up the Firth of Forth, we slipped through the sea lock and entered Leith Docks where we tied up alongside – no Zodiac journeys today. Here we had our first view of the Royal Yacht Britannia; the destination for a reception for guests this evening.
After brunch, Steve Blamires (Historian) gave us an entertaining talk detailing the extraordinary history of the Stone of Destiny, which is the coronation seat of Scottish kings. We then departed for the nearby city of Edinburgh. Our city tour took us first to the Museum of Scotland and then on to Edinburgh Castle.
Among the exhibits on display in the museum is the stuffed body of ‘Dolly the sheep’ – the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. This scientific breakthrough was made just outside Edinburgh in 1996, although ‘Dolly’ died prematurely of age related complications, casting doubts about the reliability of the cloning procedure.
From a lofty perch on the remnants of a 350 million-year-old volcano that dominates the local landscape, Edinburgh Castle offers commanding views of the city, the Firth of Forth and the distant Kingdom of Fife. In the castle, we had the opportunity to view the Scottish Crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny and to speculate on the authenticity of the latter.
In the evening guests attended a champagne reception and tour on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Britannia is now permanently moored in Leith Docks after her retirement from serving the British monarchy for nearly 50 years.
