Friday, 15. May 2026
Holyrood, Edinburgh
On Friday I woke up on my final morning in Scotland. Ahead of me a long drive back down to Gloucestershire, but first, I drove in to Edinburgh City Centre and went on a tour of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.
A half hour drive away from where I stayed, the journey in to the centre was actually very easy. Edinburgh compared to London is small, and actually very easy to drive in. Just expensive to park – but I did manage to find some (paid) on street parking in a residential street about 10 minutes walk away from Holyrood.
The Scottish Parliament building is very impressive, and very modern – especially compared to the Houses of Parliament at Westminster. We had a very knowledgeable guide who not only talked about how the Scottish Parliament works, but also talked about the history of Parliament in Scotland – what lead to Devolution, etc.
The tour took us right in to the debating chamber where – unlike on tours at Westminster – photos were allowed! It’s a very open building, the idea being that MSPs can look out the window and see the ordinary people of Scotland going about their daily lives. The accessibility of the building is clear too – I was also impressed by the desks in the debating chamber.
Unlike Westminster (the famous green benches), MSPs at Holyrood sit at desks in their chamber, where they have a microphone, a speaker so they can hear what’s going on, a power socket and network cable for their laptops and phones. The Scottish Parliament votes by mobile phone – the whole process takes a couple of minutes – more efficient than Westminster voting, where they all have to walk through a voting lobby (“Aye” on the right, “No” on the left) in order to vote…or walk through both in order to abstain!
After the tour of Parliament, I explore the Palace of Holyrood – from outside at least. The King’s residence in Edinburgh, is closed this week, but I could still see it from the outside and visit the shop (didn’t buy anything – looked expensive).
I also enjoyed a walk along the Royal Mile where I found the Museum of Edinburgh, very interesting – all about the history of the city. From the outside it looks small but the building inside is actually quite large (if not quite old too!)
Then, it was time to return to the car, and drive back to England…
FH.
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On the Car Stereo Today…
- Mornings with Stephen Jardine – BBC Radio Scotland
- Afternoons with Nicola Meighan – BBC Radio Scotland
