On Top of The World

Edinburgh- Take 2

 

In which Amanda and Laura attempt to climb that very famous mountain/hill known as Arthur's Seat, overlooking the majestic city of Edinburgh.

 

It turns out that neither of us really knows why it is called Arthur's Seat. Or how to climb it, for that matter. Perhaps it was the seat of a giant named Arthur, perhaps it has to do with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, wikipedia knows as well as I do at this point. It turns out the real reason for climbing this mountain/hill (I'm just going to go ahead and go with mountain on this one to make myself feel better...) was part stubborness and part foolish romanticism. You know, in the book, One Day, where they climb to the top of the hill (mountain) and everything's going to change in the future but just for that one day they're together etc. etc. 

 

Reportedly this mountain is a "relatively simple climb" and takes "approximately 40 minutes" to reach the summit. Well, not on my watch...We did not take the "east approach" recommended to us, mainly because we did not know which direction east was and we saw a bunch of people going up the side of the hill and followed them. A prudent start then, to our brave enterprise...

 

An hour or so later, we realize that we are on one side of a very circular path around the mountain underneath some rocky craggs which are not in fact Arthur's Seat. Pause for refreshment break and some much needed guacamole. Stare at the guy who must be at least 65 sprinting past us up the treacherous rocky mountain path like it's his day job. Regroup. Continue up the path in the direction of what we now believe to be Arthur's Seat, keeping our spirits up by singing any song that has to do with flying, mountains, soaring, etc.

 

Eventually we did in fact reach the peak of Arthur's Seat. By this time what was predicted to be a "mostly sunny" day in Edinburgh had soaked our heroes through with rain. For this we can only blame the BBC Weather update. I have to admit the view was pretty awesome from on top of that misty cloudy hunk of rock. For which I was glad, even though we did climb it in the most roundabout way possible.

 

As we descended from Arthur's Seat we did in fact come across the "east approach" which involves a staircase built into the side of the hill with a handrail....Not that searching for handholds in the slippery wet rock wasn't fun, but next time I climb that mountain I will be doing so via the eastern approach. At the very least I will be bringing a compass.

 

At the end of the day all was not lost. Eventually feeling/dryness returned to my fingers and toes and nobody ended up having to pee in the wilderness due to getting completely lost, which is always a plus. Perhaps by taking the unorthodox approach and "making our own path" we were simply forging our own destiny, which is something I feel the Scottish would highly approve of. At least that is what the movie "Brave" has led me to believe...

 

There was so much inspirational singing that took place over our brief but blissful time in Edinburgh so it is hard to pick just one song to summarize this post with. But I am going to have to go with that songstress of heartache and whimsy, Miley Cyrus...

 

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side

It's the climb

-Miley Cyrus' songwriters