London-Edinburgh – Day 8

Today we are leaving London so we get up around 7 and finish packing before heading out for brekky. The streets of London are the quietest we've seen them since we have been here. Not much appears to happen early on a Saturday morning around here. A lot of cafes and restaurants are still closed and a only a few are just opening. After Brekkie we head back to our apartment grab our bags and leave for Convent Garden tube stop. We only need to take the tube for 3 stops to Kings Cross station. Kings Cross is right next door to St. Pancras international train station and they share the same underground network and it is huge. It takes a fair walk to eventually get to the area where we need to board our train to Edinburgh. The train to Edinburgh is about 4 ½ hours long and the closer we get to Edinburgh the better the views become. I’ve rung the person who is meeting us at our accommodation and we have agreed on a meeting time so we need to be organised. But that’s not a problem; I’ve got it all under control. Once the train stops we jump off and head to the “rear” of the train to pick up our bags from the dedicated luggage carriage. We get there and there is no luggage carriage!!! What the....did it drop off the end of the train? Kris asks one of the train employers and he informs her it’s “at the other end of the train”. Oh, we seem to be a bit disorientated. The train is about 150m long so we do a runner to the other end of the train and collect our luggage. Once that’s done we need to find our way out of the station. Which way do we go? Now, I have Google earthed Edinburgh a thousand times in preparation for this moment. I have street viewed Edinburgh and I have even street viewed inside the train station so you’d think I’d have a handle on it. Nope, we end up taking the exit furthest from our apartment. Great, and to add to the problem it has now started to rain. I’m cursing at this point as we start the walk with our 2 big bags, 1 medium bag, 2 back packs and a computer bag, to go around the train station and over the main traffic bridge to the other side of Edinburgh. This proves tough as we are getting soaked, our bags are getting soaked, its freezing cold and Mia’s cheap arse umbrella we bought the other day keeps flipping inside out. Then, just to add insult to injury, while I’m battling the crowds leading us across the bridge Mia yells out from behind with a frustrated voice “Dad, do you know where we are going are you just wandering aimlessly?”. Needless to say that didn’t go down too well! As we turn into the street we are staying on, which is the Royal Mile, the most touristy of all streets in Edinburgh, a busker spots me cutting a path with Mia and Tyler about 30m behind and Kris about 30m behind them and yells out, “Don’t leave your kids behind” I yell back “You can have ‘em mate” and I keep walking. We finally get to our apartment entrance where the guy from the accommodation is waiting. He shows us around and the apartment is amazing. We dump our stuff and head straight out with our first port of call, the pub. We soon realise they are not short of pubs around here but we also realise that kids are not permitted in most pubs unless we are having a sit down meal. Even then we have to be gone by 6pm. This is a huge let down for us and we end up going back to the apartment to shower and get ready to go out for dinner. Kris sees this restaurant straight over the road from where we are staying so we go in there. In turns out to be an American restaurant, everything is American, food, music, decor, and beer. Great, our first night in Scotland and I’m drinking American beer. Never mind, it ended up being ok. After dinner we take the 15 minute walk to Sainsbury’s to stock up on groceries and then home to bed.

On the train at King's Cross Station

Video: London to Edinburgh passing through Berwick Upon Tweed

The kids on the train