"Pipers and Drummers10 000 of them!!" Edinburgh by hayward68

Edinburgh Travel Guide: 3,354 reviews and 6,585 photos

I was only in Edinburgh for one day. It was August 5, 2000 and my (now former) boyfriend's pipe band was going to participate in the Millenium 10 000 Pipers and Drummers March. Can't remember exact name of march but it was to raise money for cancer research.

Colin's pipe band is the Mid-Argyl Pipe Band and we left Lochgilphead at 5:30am on a bus. It was so early! I tried to curl up on my seat and sleep but it wasn't happening, and my motion sickness pills weren't doing their job. So by the time we arrived in Edinburgh, shortly after 9, I wasn't feeling that great. We dropped the band off near the castle and then the bus proceeded to drive to Regent St to park. This was the only tour of Edinburgh I got. One of the women on the bus helpfully pointed out places as we drove by them. Holyrood House, the Grassmarket,etc.

Now, I had never met any of these women, wives and girlfriends of the band, and didn't know what I was going to do when the bus parked. I had no idea where anything was. Luckily, Susan, wife of one of the drummers, took me under her wing and made sure I was looked after. Thank you Susan!

The first order of business was to answer mother nature's call, it was a long bus ride with no on-board facilities!

We then proceeded to Prince's St, part of the parade route.

Once we saw the crowd we knew there was no way we were going to get close. The crowd was 6 deep.

Someone had the bright idea to go up the Scot Monument, which is where we ended up. It was a bird's eye view of the parade but it was excellent and we could see.

The parade started and you could hear the bands coming down from the castle.

What an amazing sight it was. Pipe bands from all over the world, mixed together in groups, all playing along.

Each group had a play list that they had memorized so everyone played the same thing. Three songs in each group.

I was delighted to see bands from Canada go by.

But it was when we spotted the Mid-Argyle band that we all got misty eyed. There were our guys, playing for all they were worth.

It was over by 11:30 and we eventually hooked up with the band.

Of course, they were one tired and thirsty bunch. They had started at the castle, down to Prince's St and back up to the castle. Then they had to walk to Regent St to find the bus. Cell phones are wonderful in this kind of situation and Colin had no idea where I had ended up so he was happy to learn by phone that I was with the others.

The bus was leaving at 4:30 so the next stop was, of course, the pubs. And that's what we did until the bus left. A pub crawl.

We were so hammered by the time we got back to the bus. And we still had a very long bus ride to go, with no washroom facilities!

Pit stops were asked for, I can assure you that! After all, we'd just been downing pints of beer.

It wasn't a long visit, but it was one I will remember forever.
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Will redo this page as I've made a return visit and managed to see the sights!!

Last visit to Edinburgh: Aug 2000
Intro Written Sep 1, 2002
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Reviews (9)

Scot Monument Things to Do (2)

Ideal for watching parades! But the staircase is very narrow and winding and you get dizzy when you get back down. The... more travel advice

Favorites (5)

Okay, this is one tired and thirsty piper. On to the pubs! more travel advice

Favorites (5)

Mid Argyle Pipe Band and other bands they were playing with, they're the ones at top of group, and their drums are... more travel advice

Favorites (5)

Seeing Canadian flags in the pipe band groups. Piper 2nd row from bottom, middle of pic, above the big drum. more travel advice

Transportation (1)
By bus! That way someone else...

Warnings and Dangers (1)
Drinking copious amounts of...

Comments (73)

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kenHuocj Oct 28, 2010 at 2:03 PM

A Beautiful historic City, we were visiting our youngest who was on Exchange ;-)))
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jrs1234 Jul 9, 2002 at 1:51 PM

Looks like a really fun day!
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pollon Jul 5, 2002 at 9:40 AM

cool page on such a cool town!!!
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Ronald_T Jun 4, 2002 at 6:43 PM

Seems you had a lot of fun here Laura. Great page...
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Kodi01 Jun 4, 2002 at 6:29 PM

Great tips! Going soon! Did you see Bobby?
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j-san Jun 2, 2002 at 1:30 AM

Thanks for the postcard!! :D
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miksu Apr 28, 2002 at 1:21 PM

Great page Laura.....big day tommorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!
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HORSCHECK Apr 27, 2002 at 3:30 PM

The Edinburgh festival in summer is brilliant
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theskydancer Mar 22, 2002 at 10:42 PM

the parade sounds fun
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croisbeauty Feb 27, 2002 at 7:20 PM

Love Scotland and people.