After a long night with the group, we had all started the day at different points. I ended up starting my day with a late start. Dara, Julia and I slowly got our shit together and decided it was to gorgeous of a day to sit around, so we went for a hike to Arthur’s seat that sat right next to Edinburgh.
We made our way wondering through the town still in awe that we were in such a place. Eventually we found our way to the foothills of the Arthur’s Seat and started up the crooked stairs to the top of the mountain. We had to stop a few time to take photos and catch our breathe, but when we made it to the top it was worth the hike.
On a clear day they say you can see Glasgow on the other side of the country. Luckily for us it was a crystal clear day, unlucky for us was nobody knew which way Glasgow was. We sat at the peak for a little to appreciate the views and then went back into town to meet up with the group.
With the day coming to a close, we met up with the group for one last group meeting along with a haunted tour and a late dinner. We went to the French embassy and had a discussion about what we thought about the second half of the trip.
It was amazing to hear everyone stories and how this trip had helped out so many people in such a variety of ways. Most of our class mates had grown closer together and felt like sharing was easier than it had been at the beginning. After our discussion about the trip, I had to give a quick impromptu speech, followed by Maddie, thanking Hellen, Robin and Jane for everything they’ve done for us on this trip and planning everything for us…also had to thank them for putting up with over 20 college students, that can be rough.
We had a quick last dinner with the group and then it was time for the most exciting tour of the trip, our Haunted Tour of Edinburgh. The tour started with our tour guide recounting stories of the thousands of people that were killed in the square behind St Giles Cathedral. That’s when she picked her victims, she pulled Craig and I up to be tortured.
I was given 30 lashes down my back and then had both my ears ripped off, it was the most ridiculous several minutes I’ve been a part of in awhile. Craig wasn’t so lucky we did get whipped at the same time but instead of his ears getting ripped off they exploded his fingers.
Now that the torturing was out of the way, the guide led us away from the square to a few spots around the royal mile telling us different stories of ghosts that haunted the streets. She had me hooked, she was an incredible narrator, and she really knew how to draw us all in on her stories.
The last place she took us were these underground storage rooms. The storage rooms ended up being tunnels the poor used as living quarters and illegal activities so there was a lot of “paranormal activity” down here. She led us through the tunnels by a candle which only added to the effects of the darkness surrounding us.
She told stories of the ghosts that haunted the tunnels as we walked in a circle and how some people had crazy experiences down there. As we turned a corner I looked down a dark corridor and could have sworn I saw someone or something in an overcoat and top hat float through a wall. I asked our tour guide at the end about him and she told me they called him the Aristocrat and that he was one of the more friendly ones. I was still shook to my core.
The tour ended at the beginning of the tunnels and we all left to the hotel some what spooked by what we heard. I wasn’t ready to call it a night, it was our last night in Europe and I wanted to continue to explore the city. Dara and I decided to go and try to get lost, however, it didn’t really work because somehow every direction we went ended up circling back to our hotel.