Exploring Edinburgh-Portobello beach and Calton Hill!
Blog by Diana
Who goes to the beach on a cloudy and rainy day? Me! And then goes on to climb a hill with white sneakers right after the rain? Also me. Sometimes, it is hard to let anything get in your way especially after submitting a number of assignments. Student life can be overwhelming, so taking breaks to see nature and embracing adventure can be rejuvenating!
On the Tuesday of the ‘flexible learning week’, I hoped on the bus with some course mates to visit the portobello beach and then hike up the Calton hill. The gloomy weather didn’t deter me at all. Instead I was excited to check two items off my bucket list, bond with some friends and appreciate nature. For those unfamiliar, flexible learning week is a one-week break from classes designed to help students catch up on studies or other tasks. Depending on your school or faculty, some master’s students—like those in the Business School—may even get to enjoy it twice in an academic year. This break is useful in enhancing academic performance by reducing cognitive overload thus allowing for deeper engagement with course materials and effective retention of knowledge. But for people like me, it was also an opportunity to take a day off academics to relax, more specifically-explore.
Getting to portobello beach was easy; from the old college one can walk for about 2 minutes towards Chambers street for the bus 49(Fort Kinnaird) and then ride for about 45 minutes to Portobello Town Hall before walking for 6 minutes to the beach. On the day I visited the tides were low, so many people walked along the shores with their dogs, friends or partners. My friends and I joined in, strolling along the shores for about 40 minutes before settling down for some coffee from one of the shops. One thing that stood out for me was the numerous shops and food tracks along the beach- perfect avenues to chat, relax and have some good food with a beach view. While portobello beach was no different from many of the beaches I have been to, I liked that it was big and offered people the chance to do a host of activities.
It’s hard to come to Edinburgh and miss out on Calton Hill. Want a perfect place to see the sun set and rise? Then Calton Hill is the place. Aside the sunset view I captured both on my phone and in my heart, I liked that I could see a bit of the city from the hill. The steps up are far less steep than Arthur’s Seat, making the climb much easier. My friends and I wandered around the observatory, caught a glimpse of Arthur’s Seat from a distance, and even climbed the unfinished monument, which offered an even better view. One of the things to love about exploring Edinburgh is the stories and monuments- so deep and evocative. And as a student there’s something truly special about studying and living in a city with so much rich history yet alive with new experiences!
Your-tourist
Diana
