Scotland Break - Edinburgh Military Tattoo, August 2001
We took a short break to Scotland, passing through
Jedburgh on the way, to see the wonderful Edinburgh Military Tattoo and
other parts of the famous Edinburgh Festival and Edinburgh Fringe.
This is page one of two.
Pages: Edinburgh
Scotland | Beamish County Durham
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This is the Scottish bagpipe player at the England - Scotland border on
the A68 road between Newcastle and Jedburgh. Mike tried to get
Belinda to find out if it was true about Scotsman and Kilts, however we
suspect he was wearing thermals!
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Yes, it's a tourist trap, er, gift shop in Jedburgh and Belinda's about
to pounce (you can just see her far right in this picture).
However, the attached café next door was more of an attraction for Mike
and Bob, it had been a long journey getting there.
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We spent ages in this fine gift shop in Jedburgh. They did
everything Scottish here; tartan clothing, pictures, food stuffs, toys;
you name it, they sold it and people bought it! Bit of a tourist
trap really, if anyone knows of a cure for 'Giftshopitas', please let
us know!
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We had several hours in Edinburgh before the Tattoo, so went exploring
this exciting city in Scotland, visiting the main shopping centre, a
café, a pub and Princes Street Gardens where the main Edinburgh
Festival events are. See our Scotland
tourist resources.
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Here's an excellent view of Edinburgh Castle from West Princes Street
Gardens. We took loads of photos and down below us were plenty of
other Fringe Festival events happening. We were impressed by the
colourful gardens and stylish flower displays.
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It was a huge but friendly crowd edging forward on the way in to
the Edinburgh Military Tattoo at the castle. The Tattoo is part
of the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival that takes place every
August. We were hoping the light drizzle was going to stop...
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...but unfortunately it got worse! We finally got seated and
waited for the Tattoo to start; the atmosphere was one of excited
anticipation at this point and we weren't going to let the Edinburgh
rain and cold spoil it! See our Tattoo video clips.
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As the Military Tattoo got under way at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland,
so did the rain! This elevated balcony ran round above the
seating area and was a platform for all the lighting rigs too. We
noticed many national flags symbols displayed here.
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And so we enjoyed many fine displays, like this magnificent marching
band; with some involving big guns, delightful dancing and mighty
military vehicles in the Edinburgh Castle arena for several
hours. Returning from Scotland, next day we visited Beamish Open Air Museum >>>
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The Irish dancing performance here was enhanced by reflections from the
spotlight on the wet ground at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. We
had a wonderful time at the Tattoo and returned to the hotel cold, wet
and tired but happy we'd experienced this famous event in Scotland at
last.
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Pages: Edinburgh
Scotland | Beamish County Durham
See our tourist resources page for
Scotland, Edinburgh and Tattoo websites.
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