Don’t get drenched in the rain, you’ll get ill…haven’t you heard that like umpteen number of times while growing up? And every time you did get drenched and you did fall ill your mum would invariably let you know how disappointed she was at you having neglected her pearls of wisdom! Just that when you are all grown up and you don’t fall ill nearly one third the times you used to when you were a child you tend to forget those pearls of wisdom. Well reality bit me yesterday when I fell ill after getting drenched in the rain. :( My mum is still as disappointed as she was then :( Sheesh! What’s with Mr. Rain and making you ill! Anyways back on my feet today.
This weekend we decided to explore the Arthur’s seat here in Edinburgh, it’s an inactive volcano, which at the top provides you with an amazing panoramic view of the city. A good bit of a trek for about 30 to 60 minutes depending on the track you take and the speed you maintain. The city authorities have tracks winding from both sides of the mountain while one is a bit steep the other is not so much so. We were a motley group of five who decided on the trek that day and each at varying speeds. :)
(Thats Shaiwal walking towards the mountain)
The beauty of the mountain is that it’s got lawns on all sides and reminds you of all those Madhuri Dixit songs where she glides across the greens with a dupatta flying behind and the water sprinklers on. You don’t get to reach to right up to the top, I presume it must be a whole there being a volcano and all, but you do go up to the second highest level and you feel like if you jump you can catch a bit of the clouds….almost. :)
Right at the top of Arthur’s seat when you look down at the Edinburgh city, you can see the Edinburgh castle prominently and all the city buildings clustered around. It sort of made me think if God were up there and looking down at us then perhaps he would get a similar view only in a much bigger scale. Perhaps he sits there and contemplates what next to do with each country and its people while looking upon it. :)
(Me at the top with the city view behind)
While walking at the base of the mountain, it actually feels like you are in the lap of mother earth donned in a lawn green sari and you feel content. You just feel so happy to be alive. I got everyone to run for the heck of it, the boys were a bit difficult to convince but then they got right into the mood of things. Soon the five of us were running against the wind and feeling glorious. As if we were back in our childhood with not a care in the world and the illusion was deliciously lovely to have while it lasted.
Anyways to give you a little bit of history on this mountain, it seems to have erupted last around 350 million years back, so I guess that means we are safe now. It’s also sometimes referred to as the Lion head as the set of mountains resemble a crouching lion. However, why its called the Arthur’s seat is still a mystery, some theories state this mountain as the scene for many a fight, some say the name could have been a corruption from the real Scottish name Ard-na-said meaning the height of arrows and still others trace back the name to a famous poem comparing a famous local warrior to King Arthur. Well whatever the theory the name has stuck. :)
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