Stories from the City

I moved up here to Edinburgh not too long ago, and I truly have fallen
in love with this city. I used to live in Bristol, which is a
fantastic place with lots of big green open spaces, fantastic record
shops and really friendly people. Oh, and a massive big limestone
crag 15 minutes walk away :)

Now don't get me wrong, I love Bristol, and I love going back there,
but Edinburgh just seems to have something else, something more magical
that just makes me feel great.

I think this might have something to do with it:






There's a fucking great extinct volcano right in the middle of the
city. Arthur's Seat, and the accompanying Salisbury Crags just
sit there the whole time like the city's benevolent guardian, watching
as the lives of thousands unfold.

So what? Edinburgh has many other things going for it. Great
buildings, good record shops, incredible people AND it's in Scotland,
which means the proper mountains are never far away. Why is
Arthur's Seat so important for me?

Escapism, really. As much as I love living in a vibrant and
bustling city I need my fix of wilderness to keep it all from getting
too much for me. Now I'm not saying that Arthur's Seat is
wilderness - it's slap bang in the middle of a capital city so that
would be absurd. But all I have to do is put on a pair of
trainers and I'm up there and all I can see are hills and sea.
It's not a massive spiritual revelation or anything, but it's such a
fantastic contrast to the crowds, bagpipes and chatter below that it
just makes me feel better about, well, everything I suppose.

I know most cities have great parks, and even other amazing geological
features to escape to but the seat just does it for me. And the
bouldering on the crags is actually pretty good fun, despite the
polished rock.

So yeah, it's that and the wonderful people of the EUMC that make life here good.

I think I might put my running shoes on now...