Mortonhall estate, Southern Edinburgh 🌳

I spent a lot of time watching highland cattle eating, sleeping and even making a poo. I was hoping to see more so I continued to walk into the Mortonhall estate in search of any sign of animals. 

Mortonhall is a privately owned working estate and has developed a network of several paths. Its history can be traced back to 1640 when the Trotter family bought it. It was once a family house until 1939 when it was taken over as an army camp to train the Royal engineers.

Nowadays, it has turned into a commercial and farming enterprise, including a mysterious walking path, a camping space, and a garden for the public to enjoy the pretty countryside life. 

Forgetting to look for cattle, I was so obsessed with the forest.

我花了很多時間看高地牛吃飯，睡覺甚至做便便。 我希望看到更多，所以我繼續走進莫頓霍爾莊園，尋找動物的跡象。

Mortonhall是一家私人擁有的工作區，並建立了一個路徑網絡。 它的歷史可以追溯到1640年，當時Trotter家族買下它。 它曾經是一個家庭住宅，直到1939年被接管為一個訓練皇家工程師的軍營。

現在它已經變成了一個商業和農業企業，包括一條神秘的步行道，一個露營空間，以及一個讓公眾享受美麗鄉村生活的花園。 忘記尋找牛，我對森林如此著迷。

Scottish Highland cattle (Hairy Coos)🐂

Last month I visited Cramond Beach in the north-west of Edinburgh. On my way to there, I saw a group of the Scottish Blackface on the field. It was an amazing creature! Another iconic animal in Scotland - highland cattle - also attracted my eyes when the cattle toys are displayed in the shop window. Therefore, this month, I decided to visit Edinburgh again. A two-day trip that allowed me to explore the southern edge of Edinburgh and to see Highland cattle.

Before starting my trip, I got the information that Highland cattle look wild outside but are afraid of people, probably most of them have been domesticated over decades; however, I don’t plan to bother the nature beauty too much and I decide to keep a proper distance when I find them. 

I checked in a very interesting countryside flat, where they offer me different types of drinks, including one can of Scottish national drink, a little bottle of Charlemagne, an Evian water, tea bags and coffee powders with a bottle of caramel syrup, and cookie and cake already on the table and the bed. A warm and pretty welcome; however, the host told me that there will be a quiz night in the pub downstairs, and in turn, it became an annoying noise until midnight. Under such a circumstance, maybe I should go for a drink with them as the local people do.

Apart from that, everything was good. A local friend introduced me to go to Mortonhall Centre Garden to see Highland cattle🐂🐂, and I made it. I saw them nearby the way to Mortonhall Estate.

I kept my promise to keep a safe distance to observe how they ate grass. The long hair covering the face makes them look like eating while sleeping. Later, one stood up from the grass and "poo poo" in front of me. Just watch them can be so healing! The wild hairy animals can melt even stone and cold hearts.

蘇格蘭高地牛

上個月我去了愛丁堡西北部的Cramond海灘。在去那裡的路上，我看到了一群蘇格蘭黑臉羊。真是美好的動物！另一個蘇格蘭標誌性的動物 - 高地牛 - 當商店櫥窗裡展示牛玩具時，也吸引了我的目光。因此，這個月，我決定再次訪問愛丁堡，這是一個為期兩天的旅行，讓我可以探索愛丁堡的南邊並看到高地牛。

在開始我的旅行之前，我得到的資訊是，高地牛外表看起來很狂，但卻會怕人們，可能大部分都被馴化了;但是，我不打算太打擾自然美景，當我找到它們時，我決定保持適當的距離。

我入住了一個非常有趣的鄉村公寓，在那裡他們為我提供不同類型的飲料，包括一罐蘇格蘭國民飲料，一小瓶Charlemagne，礦泉水，茶包和附帶有一瓶焦糖糖漿的咖啡粉，以及餅乾和蛋糕都準備在桌子和床上。溫暖而美麗的歡迎;然而，主人告訴我，樓下的酒吧今晚會有一個猜謎之夜，到後來，它變成一種令人討厭的噪音，直到午夜。在這種情況下，也許我應該和當地人一起去喝酒。

除此之外，一切都很好。一位當地的朋友介紹我去莫頓霍爾中心花園看高地牛，我就辦到了。我在前往Mortonhall Estate的路上看到了他們。我信守承諾，保持安全距離，觀察他們如何吃草。遮住臉部的長毛讓他們看起來好像睡覺時在吃東西。後來，有一個隻從草地上站起來，還在我面前“便便”。光是看著他們可以就很療癒！野生毛茸茸的動物甚至可以融化石頭般冷酷的心。

Summer trip to Edinburgh IV: Prince Street: shopping, museums, gardens

The dynamic of Princes Street offers multiple functions for citizens and tourists.

It is the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland, and the main shopping area in the capital. Unlike many high streets are occupied by a lot of shops, Princes Street has two sides of its face with very different views. One side is for bustling shopping, ancient glorious architectures and gardens are its another side.

 

One of the most impressive characteristics is the width of the sidewalk is designed as big as that of the lane. Walking is enjoyable! 

Second, opposite to a whole street of stores is the large Prince Street Garden which is gracefully integrated into the urban scenery. In this park, some statues and stones there are enshrined to respect the sacrifice of past warfare.

Moreover, Princes Street is located in the New Town area, while the Old Town area—

The home to Edinburgh Castle— is just within a few minutes’ walking distances. Just head up, Edinburgh Castle can be viewed in the air, and allure you to walk into his ancient history.

This checkerboard street system expresses an inherent noble dignity, which is built on and accumulated by their glorious culture. I can imagine numerous tourists coming from all over the world enjoy this city during the annual Edinburgh international festival (in August). In addition, Queen street seems to reach to the seaside at the end with a slight downhill, reminding me of San Francisco streets. 

Museums are also around the corner for you to read their stories and collections, while I do not have enough time to go through everything this time. 

One interesting thing I especially have to mention here. That is, Primark is a chain store in the UK, while only the Primark in Edinburgh offers unique T-shirts with Edinburgh Castle image on it. And I got one now.  

Last but not the least thing, when I walk into a restaurant with my Taiwanese friend, she told the waiter I am from England, suddenly the waiter refused to serve me. Surely, we were just playing a serious joke, we know the difference between Scotland and England, and I do respect Scottish national identity according to their history, governmental policy, people, language, and culture.

Yes, it is absolutely different from other nations in the UK. And Taiwanese migrants have strong integration into this national and social identity, they are very pride of being Scottish. When I drank Scottish water, my Taiwanese friend told me that is from the extinct volcano in the Scottish Highlands. Awesome! I can feel that and happy for them as I have become a fan of Scotland after this trip.

我的愛丁堡之行四：王子街購物,博物館,花園

王子街的動能為市民和遊客提供多種功能。

它是蘇格蘭愛丁堡市中心的主要通道，也是首都的主要購物區。與許多商店佔據的許多高街不同，王子街的兩面都有不同的視角。 一面是繁華的購物，古老的輝煌建築和花園則是另一面。

最令人印象深刻的特徵之一是人行道的寬度設計與車道的寬度一樣大。 散步很愉快！

其次，與整條街道相對的是很大的王子街花園，它優雅地融入了城市風景。 在這個公園裡，有一些雕像和石頭供奉，以尊重過去戰爭的犧牲。

此外，王子街位於新城區，而老城區--愛丁堡城堡的所在地--距離此僅有幾分鐘的步行路程。抬起頭,愛丁堡城堡就可以在空中觀看到，並引誘您走進悠遠歷史。

這種棋盤街道系統表達了一種固有的高貴尊嚴，這種尊嚴建立在其輝煌文化的基礎上並由其積累而成。我可以想像在一年一度的愛丁堡國際藝術節期間(8月),來自世界各地的眾多遊客都會喜歡這座城市。此外，皇后街似乎最後能到達海邊有著微微的下坡，讓我想起舊金山的街道。

博物館也在附近，供您閱讀他們的故事和收藏品，而我這次停留沒有足夠的時間來瀏覽所有內容。有趣的是，我特別要提到的，Primark是英國的連鎖店，而愛丁堡的Primark則提供獨特的T恤，上面有愛丁堡城堡圖形。只在愛丁堡哦，我現在有一件。

最後但並非最不重要的是，當我和我的台灣朋友走進一家餐館時，她告訴服務員我來自英格蘭，服務員突然拒絕為我服務。當然，我們只是在開一個嚴肅的玩笑，我們知道蘇格蘭和英格蘭之間的區別，根據他們的歷史，政府政策，人民，語言和文化, 我確實尊重蘇格蘭民族的身份認同，

是的，它與英國其他國家完全不同。台灣移民與這個國家和社會認同意識有很強的融合，他們非常自豪是蘇格蘭人。當我喝蘇格蘭水時，我的台灣朋友告訴我，這是來自蘇格蘭高地的死火山水。真棒！在這次旅行結束後，我成為蘇格蘭的粉絲。

Summer trip to Edinburgh III: River Almond Walkway

My Taiwanese friend organized a walking tour along the River Almond walkway, which takes us around 3 hours. We took the bus from the city centre and then gather at the Almond Hotel with other Taiwanese living in Edinburgh. 

The weather was pretty sunny, and after half an hour, there is the striking Cramond Falls, quite ‘Niagra’ and it’s definitely fresh on a summer’s day in the green forest. 

In the sequent path, there are many ‘wild garlic’ on the grounds of the forest so that all the air is full of a combination of herbs and plants, together with steams.

We also passed by the interesting Cammo Estate and took a little break there, the place is now a country park. 

While I am writing this blog and checking more information for understanding this surprising wonderful trip; I noticed that this walkway has been deemed as a secret spot or an expert hiking tour by some on website. Lucky!

我的愛丁堡之旅III：杏仁河走道

我的愛丁堡台灣移民朋友舉辦了1個沿著杏仁河步行遊覽，往返大約需要3個小時。 天氣非常晴朗，半小時後，有一個引人注目的Cramond瀑布，相當'尼加拉瓜'，在夏季的綠色森林裡，它絕對是視覺新鮮的。

我們還經過了有趣的Cammo Estate  - 它現在是一個鄉村公園。

在接下面的路徑中，森林地上有許多“野蒜”，所有的空氣都充滿了草藥和植物的組合，以及潮濕的水氣,一整個充滿芬多精。

我正在撰寫這篇文章，並查看更多資料以了解這個令人驚訝的奇妙之旅時; 我才注意到這個步道被網站上的一些人視為私房景點或專家徒步旅行路線呢。幸運!