Edinburgh is such a lovely city - and it's the focus of my brand new illustrated map .
Maps are my favourite thing to create but for some reason this one took forever. Either way, I'm so happy with how it's turned out.
I went to Edinburgh a couple of years ago now but as always I'm a procrastinator so haven't gotten around to post the photos but here they are!
We didn't have the best weather (April 2018) but thankfully it didn't rain too much. I stayed at a Premier Inn Hub which I use quite often if I'm travelling alone. I just love the cosy little rooms and they're also usually a bargain! We flew up to Edinburgh from Exeter, and we got a tram straight into the centre which was super easy.
I love a castle so I had to head to it first. It's not quite as grand as the Tower of London but there's plenty of history to take in and the views at the top are lovely.
Above: View over to Calton Hill and Waverley Station.
Would love to visit on a really clear day!
Above: Canon with Arthur's Seat in the background.
I managed to hit most of the big tourist places.
The writer's museum off the Royal Mile was well worth a visit, especially if you're into books and authors.
After the castle, I wanted to walk the entire Royal Mile. It really is amazing how many similar shops are down here though I had to resist quite a few cute tartan bags.
The architecture porn is definitely at the maximum here. I wanted to draw everything!
Above: John Knox House. Once I got to the bottom, I had a wander around the outskirts of Holyrood and had a look at Arthur's Seat from the bottom. I would have loved to have walked up but I was feeling pretty tired at this point and still needed to walk back up the mile to my hotel.
Another place on my must-see was Victoria Street. It's the first time I came across The Red Door Gallery which when I had a look, decided to make it a goal to get stocked in. It's so great when goals come to fruision! I can't wait to visit again and see my work in there!
The next day, I had a bit of a Harry Potter fan day and headed towards Greyfriars Kirk. The gravestones there are so amazing and gothic, I went a bit snap happy in there. I tried to find all the names from Harry Potter, including Thomas Riddle.
I had a little good luck rub on Greyfrairs Bobby's nose and then we went to the Elephant Cafe where parts of the HP books were written. We had purple velvet cake and it was amazing.
Hope you liked looking through my photo diary and enjoy the map! I'll be posting some more soon as I've got epic wanderlust needs at the moment.