The Geordie Tourist.

Some highlights of the tour are the State Rooms and Royal bedrooms. You can experience what life was like below deck by checking out the living quarters and even the sick bays too. There's the impressive Engine Room and Sun Lounge. You can sample homemade fudge or try afternoon tea in the Royal Deck Tea Room.  If I went back that's definitely where you'd find me.

One of my personal favourites was the State Dining Room.

The photo doesn't even do it justice. You can sit well over one hundred people at the table which is beyond impressive. Imagine being one of the lucky few. 

It's like stepping into a time warp and seeing exactly how things used to be. I could imagine Her Majesty and her family away from prying eyes just being somewhat free and relaxed, enjoying family life on a boat, something as simple as that.

It's definitely a must see. If you love the Royal Family or pristine boats, or even if you just want a good attraction to see in Edinburgh, you can't get better than the number one spot.

It's £15 per adult ticket, but we got it included with our bus ticket. See I told you it was a good buy.

We ended the day with a trip to The Witchery by the Castle. (I researched. There was no way I was going all of the way to Edinburgh without going to the Witchery.)

It's Edinburgh's most famous restaurant and as the name suggest's it's minutes away from Edinburgh Castle. You can dine in the Witchery Dining Room or the Secret Garden Dining Room. We went for the latter.

I'm gutted I didn't get many photos. The lighting inside was moody and dark and although totally set the place off with dim candles and bare castle-like stone sticking out everywhere, it did nothing for my crappy, barely recognisable photos.

Nothing could have ruined the food though. It's quite possibly one of the best meals I've ever had in my life. 

We went for:

Truffle honey beetroots goat's curd, mint, hazelnut granola - £9

Parmesan tart, Mixed heritage tomato, Burrata, lemon pesto, rocket - £16

Witchery pudding selection - chocolate tart, coconut créme brulee 'opera gateaux', vanilla panacotta with pressed pineapple, ices - £12

Just thinking about it is making me jealous. It was serious, Á la Carte, grade A, good stuff. I'm talking tiny portions in the middle of elegantly presented plates. Words on the menu you can't pronounce. Tastes and flavours you've never known before. I would literally go back in a heart beat. Sure it has a hefty price tag, but oh my it's so worth it.

Have any of you dined in The Witchery by the Castle?

There was always plenty of empty seats to choose from which I loved. You could get your own tea and coffee from the nearby machine too. It's all included for free. Sometimes you can't beat a nice herbal tea before bed. Gosh I'm definitely old before my time.

The rooms were compact and quite basic but that's not to say they were lacking in function. You had headboards with control panels to control the temperature and the lights and all other manner of technological things that my brain can't comprehend. There were huge spaces under the bed to stow away our cases and a nice big TV for late night telly binging when we weren't too exhausted from sightseeing. 

My favourite thing was the art above the bed. I loved how it had all of Edinburgh's finest things on there. The famous streets, the landmarks and everything in between all done in a quirky way. I'd like to imagine all hubs having this dependent on their area. If someone knows tells me.

The bathroom was dinky and cool and modern and all other manner of words meaning the same kind of thing. It's not the place to go for a nice relaxing bath, rather a nice brisk monsoon shower (yes they have those) to get you out into the world exploring all it has to offer. 

This is a place that means business, to help you deal with yours. (Catchy new slogan maybe?) 

From the new hotel smell, to the fresh bottles of water waiting for us every morning, the Hub really became a home for us for the couple of days that we were there. (We stayed in a couple other hotels too.) It was everything we needed to be, but more than that it was a nice place to be. I've been to so many hotels that just don't hit the mark and this wasn't one of them. It cost us £157 for two of us, two nights with breakfast. Sure we could have got somewhere cheaper and definitely somewhere more expensive, but there was no need to, we had everything we needed at the hub.

Have any of you been to Hub by Premier Inn Edinburgh Royal Mile?

After some sightseeing, we headed to The Dome for a spot of afternoon tea. I'm sorry, but I couldn't go all of the way to Edinburgh without indulging in a bit of afternoon delight. (Stop being dirty.)

It's quite a spectacle to behold. Very ornate pieces. Think gorgeous crystal chandeliers, high ceilings with intricate detailing. I particularly loved the black and white checked flooring, how well it worked with the rich tones of the walls. Basically if you were ever thinking of trying out afternoon tea it would be the most perfect spot.

The Tea was held in The Georgian Tea room. I mean come on, it has it's own special room just for afternoon tea and such. Very classy indeed.

You can check out the menu. The sandwiches were top notch, soft bread and tasty fillings. Hot, plain scones (just the way mother likes them) and delectable mini cakes. I'm a sucker for a good macaron and they did not disappoint. It was £16.50 per person (£23.50 with champagne) To be honest I would have paid that for the surroundings alone. All I'll say is if you go, check out the bathroom. Luxury doesn't even cut it.

St. Giles' Cathedral was next on the tour. We had spent so long chatting over tea, that it was just a quick stop before it closed.

It's such a gorgeous building situated on the Royal Mile right in the middle of everything. It's a very popular place. Every time we passed there were always hoards of people about and rightly so. It has such a calming effect on the soul. Just stepping through it's door and talking in the beauty of the stained glass windows, the organ and alter and you can see why. 

Admission is free and it's open until 19:00 (On weekdays)

Just before calling it a night, we went on a free ghost tour of the city. There are plenty of tours about in Edinburgh and you only need walk a few minutes on the Royal Mile before bumping into one of them. 

I will say it wasn't quite what I expected. It was a great way to see the city, and at night. The stories however were a bit more about murder and less ghostly I'll say. Our tour guide was a bit pushy and as we moved from place to place the group was getting smaller from all of the people deciding to leave. She didn't mind slagging off the English either. So yeah, enter at your own peril I guess...

We walked on further, bendy country lanes, barely wide enough for one car. We had to keep stopping to let them through. They in turn had to wait for the sheep to pass by. It was hilarious at times. 

It was a long walk, not so bad going as it was mostly down hill. Coming back was a whole other story though.

The views were absolutely stunning. Gorgeous rolling hills, yellow blossoms dotted about. The smell of wild garlic in your nostrils, rustic fences and grazing horses. I could have quite easily hopped the fence and just lain in the field watching the clouds pass by.

Near the end of our walk that's pretty much exactly what we did do. We came to a stream with a bridge (of course everyone knows in the story you have to cross it) they probably don't warn you about the electric fences or the massive piles of cow pat everywhere though. No you have to find that out for yourself.

It opened into a clearing full of cows and bulls. I know how serious bulls are. We kept well back and found a secluded part next to some bushes. We sat for a while making daisy chained necklaces and crowns. I kid you not, that's actually what we did. All the while we kept checking about to make sure no bulls were coming our way.

It was a lovely, peaceful day. For me, it was one of those walks that I'd never do again. You go and you experience it once and its special and magical, but you'd never go again because A. it was hard work and you don't think your legs could manage the walk (you know what's coming this time and it aint pretty) and B. you don't want to take away from the shine of the place. What if you didn't miss the poop next time? what if it was raining on the bridge? These are honestly the questions I ask myself.

Have any of you ran into some bull trouble recently? 

The Village Hall really captured my eye. It was built in 1867, a grade II listed building that used to be a school. The gardens looked inviting and I could imagine community projects taking place within it's gated surrondings.

You can't possibly walk by without taking a picture of a good old fashioned pillar box red phone booth. Well at least I can't anyways. Wherever I go, if I spot one, I'm clicking away before I realise. Maybe it's a British thing?

The sun kissed street was lined with beautiful house after beautiful house. They were all individually named, all unique in their own way. I could have filled this post with glorious door knockers and stunning flowered gardens alone, but I'd be here forever. 

They just give me a sense of peace and fulfillment. Like I could imagine myself settled down, old and happy, pottering about tweaking my rose bushes or something. (That's not a weird euphemism or anything.)

There's studios, a church and of course a pub, The Moors Inn. (We went there for a meal on one of the nights and the food was delicious)  Appleton Le Moors is a lovely place and I could have spent more time just walking around and exploring. It has a real community feel and everyone you passed would smile and wave. Shouts of hello echoing through the street.

We ventured past civilisation and headed further afield towards the greenery of the countryside. (The sheep following us along) Of course I have a whole other post on that, so come back tomorrow to find out what happened.

Have any of you been to Appleton le Moors?

Just taking in the views of Corbridge Bridge gives me near shivers. Does anyone else find it strange almost giddy-like, saying Corbridge Bridge. It's the two bridge words together. (No, just me?) 

I love how you get a different effect, just by walking a bit further away from it. The arches all smooth and round. (I sound like some weird bridge fanatic.)

There are proper walking routes and trails that you can go on, but we chose to just wander wherever we fancied, at our own pace. It was nearing the end of the day and we were just looking to waste a couple of hours before the train home. I think waste is the wrong word. More like spend some time sitting and relaxing with some great views and feeling the last of the sun warming your skin. There, that's more like it.