Mystery man unmasked

Well - this is yesterday's mystery man, photographed through one of narrowest closes off the Royal Mile. Pretty harmless really!

Royal Mile 4 - Tartan Tat

Unfortunately, a large number of shops at the top end of the Royal Mile now sell what locals unceremoniously call ‘tartan tat’. They must be doing good business with tourists though.

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

Sunset on Royal Yacht

This is the Royal Yacht Britannia by sunset, in front of Ocean Terminal. This ship was used for business and pleasure by the Queen from 1953 until it was decommissioned in 1997. It is now permanently moored in Leith and you can visit it - not cheap but highly recommended!

Majestic Tour

The first week of summer also heralds the beginning of the proper tourist season in Edinburgh. Although the city is a popular city break destination throughout the year, during summer - and particularly during the August Festivals - the place goes truly mad. With the Film Festival now underway, it won't be long before the crowds descend onto the city centre and many of them will go on "hop-on hop-off" bus tours such as this one, which has as its main destination the Royal Yacht Britannia, permanently moored at Ocean Terminal in Leith. However, at 9 in the morning this bus is still rather empty!