It has rained on and off all night and still lightly raining this morning putting a damper on doing the Hop on Hop off bus tour of Edinburgh in an open air double decker bus. Here’s hoping it clears up soon. At least one thing you don’t sleep in here the caravan site is a distance from the Edinburgh Airport but the flight path is nearly directly over the site and you hear the planes coming in to land, plus at night you have the rugby field backing onto the site and practise matches.

The rain has stopped and it is another Scottish summers day, cold weather for us took a different bus route today No.16 goes via Firth of Forth around the bay. Part of the route we know from when we first arrived in Edinburgh Richard stopped at the Edinburgh Angling Centre, pleasant views of the bay, boats, harbour and homes on the shoreline.

Today is a rest day touring Edinburgh on a Hop on Hop off bus departs from outside the Waverley Train Station, which you cannot see as it is underground hidden by the Princes Street Gardens.

Love the big double decker buses we took advantage of the undercover front seats by the Guide for the 65 minute tour where you can get on and off at any of the stops over a 24 hour period. Silly me thinking I would have a better view for photos first sat midway in the open air section but little did I know till the second time round Richard had the best view up front.

The commentary was very good and the Guide explained the history of Edinburgh and the attractions we were seeing with a little bit of comedy, was a real relaxing fun day sightseeing. There were fourteen stops in toll where you could get to see the attractions plus you didn’t have to wait long for an Edinburgh Tour Bus to come by as there was one every ten minutes.

First off was the towering Victorian Gothic Scott Monument of the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott at Princes Street Garden where the tour started it is the largest monument to a writer in the world. There were lots of buildings, hotels, museums, gallery’s and streets that were interesting but you can’t take photos of everything only what interests you.

As the tour goes by Calton Hill you see Nelson Monument a commemorative tower in honour of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson and National Monument, then the poet Robbie Burns Monument on Regent Road at the Southerly foot of Calton Hill looking out to Arthur's seat in Holyrood Park, down the hill to the Queen’s official residence in Scotland (missed her by a couple of weeks) Palace of Holyroohouse and gardens. We got off here the second time round for an outside view including the ruins of an old abbey, bit expensive to go inside plus we had enough of the crowds at Edinburgh Castle, in front of the palace is the Queens Gallery.

Across the road is Scotland's Parliament which sits at the foot of Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile in front of the spectacular Holyrood Park and Salisbury Crags. Constructed from a mixture of steel, oak, and granite, the complex building hailed as one of the most innovative designs in Britain today.

Just behind the Parliament building is Dynamic Earth which tells the story of the planet Earth and we have seen something like this in Canada. Next is the Royal Mile a mad house of tourists, the whiskey, cashmere, tartan shops and of course Edinburgh Castle, then a distance away in Old Town where we had lunch yesterday is the statue of Greyfriars Bobby a dog that never left its masters grave for 10 years and is buried in the church just behind the Inn.

Just around the corner is Grassmarket the former sight of public executions the round stone is still there. I wonder if the people who are sitting on it know the history. Last photo was at Charlotte Square a statue of Prince Albert in memory of Queen Victoria’s husband.

To end the day we had a yummy lamb shank with vegetables for a late lunch at a Weatherspoon pub before a walk down Rose Street which I thought back in 1987 was a lane of pubs but times have changed. Said our goodbyes to Edinburgh and just made it for the No.27 bus back to East Lothian to the caravan site for an afternoon cuppa.