Happy Hogmanay!

Firstly, I wanted to start this weeks blog by Wishing you all a Happy new Year and all the best for 2019!

This New Year we decided to do something different for the new year celebrations and head to Edinburgh’s World-Famous Hogmanay Festival

Hogmanay is the Scots word for the Last day of the year and is one of the most wonderful ways to celebrate the bringing in of the New Year

Having planned well ahead for this trip due to tickets selling out but more importantly as the festival is visited by people from the furthest corners of the globe, accommodation can be very difficult to Secure in the Centre – We decided to stay at a B&B outside of town which was a charming Edwardian Style house in the Murrayfield area around 2 Miles outside of the Centre – We even enjoyed a hearty Scottish Breakfast on New year’s day.

A Must Do in Edinburgh – On New years eve we had arranged a Castle tour of the historic fortress that overlooks the city and looks wonderful lit up at night, our Tour guide Melanie gave us a real in-depth insight into the castle itself which to this day is still active with a Barracks Block and Military History Museums. The castle tour is well worth pre-booking with a guide however there is the option to walk around with an Audio Guide and spend your time exploring the castle grounds.  The castle is also the origin of the one o clock gun, which can be heard daily at you guessed it, 1 pm to signal to the ships in the Firth of Forth and nearby Leith.

Following our Castle Tour, we joined Thousands for the Torchlit Procession which marks the start of Hogmanay, Led by Bagpipers, Samba Bands and even a mobile fire show, The walk lit up the whole of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, past the Scottish Parliament to Holyrood Park with Live entertainment, food stalls and a lovely firework display from Calton Hill.

During our tour of the Castle the previous day we could see they were setting up around the castle for the Hogmanay Fireworks display which was incredible when the clock struck 12 and brought in the New Year with a Bang and a very loud Chorus of Auld Lang Syne, we watched it from the street party on Princes street which gives you a full view of the castle itself and when you watch the display on the TV it really doesn’t do it justice.

We really enjoyed our Trip to Edinburgh and would return here in the future.

Once again a Very happy and Prosperous Year to you all

Eliza x