Hey everyone, welcome back to the Easy English Podcast.
I'm your host Oliver, and today I am going to be talking about my favourite city in the UK and why it's my favourite city.
And that is Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
But first, before I tell you about Edinburgh and the city and why it's special to me, why I love it, I want to remind you that I have made a Patreon.
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Okay, back to this episode.
So there are, of course, many great cities in the uk and i often find, when a lot of people come to the uk, they visit uh london, and maybe they go to like, manchester or liverpool possibly um, or they spend some time in the countryside or traveling to some other natural sites, which is great, is great options, but i always recommend to go a little bit further north and definitely visit Edinburgh Edinburgh, so the capital of Scotland, And the reason why I have said the name a few times is because I've noticed it's quite a difficult word for foreigners to say, or non-native speakers.
So we said Edinburgh, Edinburgh.
So it's a soft sound on the end.
It's not like Edinburgh, which I've heard some Americans even say.
So I've actually in the past made an episode about my favourite cities in the UK.
So it's more of a short general episode listing some of the best cities that I've visited and and why I like them.
But I did promise to do this separate episode about Edinburgh.
So for those of you that don't know, I actually lived in Edinburgh for three years.
I studied there and I go back and visit quite often, frequently, quite often.
And in the Patreon I actually have uploaded an extra bonus episode about my personal connection to the city.
So why I was there and about my time there and some special moments that happened to me while I was there.
But in this episode, I'm going to talk a bit more generally about why I like the city.
So to start with Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.
And I think that it's one of the most beautiful cities in the UK.
It's full of so much history.
And honestly, when you walk through the streets, it feels like you're stepping back in time.
You can see all of the old architecture and buildings and parts of the city.
Look to me really medieval.
Lots of stone and old streets and a very good atmosphere.
But I'll talk a bit about the atmosphere in a moment.
So still on the architecture, there are so many different great pieces of architecture, like Edinburgh Castle, some really cool monuments and historic buildings.
And I know that most cities have these things.
But what makes Edinburgh so great to me is the old town.
So in general, Edinburgh is split in two parts.
So you can divide it into two distinct or separate parts.
One part is the old town and the other part is the new town.
And both of these parts are separated by a very long road called the Royal Mile.
Now the old town is full of very historic old buildings.
They have something called cobblestone streets as well as the castle and really it's.
It's my favorite.
It looks amazing lots of narrow, so very, not very wide, very narrow streets, or I guess we call them avenues, like side roads, and you can explore all of these little places and see all of these cool little spots in the city.
Whereas the new town of Edinburgh has a lot more maybe modern buildings mixed with some old.
Lots of big shops, malls, restaurants, brands.
It's much more modern.
Whereas in the old town you would find a lot more like old family businesses and old cafes and bars, like pubs which have been around for hundreds of years.
And the big street that runs through the middle of Edinburgh is is called the royal mile and this runs from the parliament, so the political building, in in of scotland, right up to the castle, and along this street there are so many interesting little shops, pubs like very old pubs, old buildings and street performers, so people who will do tricks or music and along this street there is a fantastic atmosphere In general.
I think what makes Edinburgh so special is the atmosphere of the city.
So it's not just about that history, it's about the feeling that you have when you're there.
A mix of really old and new together.
A little bit similar to maybe, that feeling that you can get in areas of London, but for me it's even stronger.
There are not many cities in the world that have such a strong mix of old and new and the old is so well preserved.
There are so many cities that i've been in or lived in which have had a lot of new.
So there are some nice historic buildings but in general most of the experience around the cities are, you know, large motorways or streets, lots of cars It's very open and wide a lot of wasted space with the traffic and the cars.
And they can be quite aggressive for pedestrians.
Pedestrians, are people walking, so not using cars to walk around, and the uk has many of these cities too, as well as, for example, moscow and even paris, other big, big cities and, of course, many american cities that have so many cars, so such big roads, and it can be quite aggressive.
That's why one of the reasons why i like edinburgh is it's a very walkable city.
It is not a good city for drivers, so they really, really discourage driving.
They don't want people to drive.
They charge high amounts for parking.
It's very awkward to drive and it makes more sense to get a bus or to walk, because most areas you can walk to quite easily, in the centre especially.
And that creates a really nice open atmosphere in the city.
And although it's quite a small city, this use of space, this really good use of space, makes it feel like there is so much in such a small space.
And as a result, it makes the city to me seem much bigger.
You know, just to take an example, lots of the old buildings have multiple layers.
So, for example, there could be a restaurant on the top floor, then something else on the street level floor.
So the middle one.
And then there's even a basement which has a bar.
And the city is built in these different layers, especially in the old town, which is such a great use of space.
It's fantastic.
And this use of space brings me on to another great point about Edinburgh and its use of space.
And that is nature.
So the green spaces and the nature.
So Edinburgh in the centre looks amazing.
I mean the castle.
Edinburgh Castle is actually on a hill, and in front of that hill there's a beautiful park and not far from the old town there is an extinct volcano.
So when something is extinct, it is no longer active.
It's not working anymore.
So the volcano is old.
It doesn't work.
And you can climb it and there's a lovely park around it with a lake and amazing views.
And I mean, this is like a 20 minute, 15, 20 minute walk from the city center.
To me, that's fantastic.
There are lots of parks and green spaces around the city.
And it's such a good mix with nature.
There were times when I lived there that even walking home, I actually saw foxes and other animals in the streets, because they had come from these green spaces.
So honestly, the city does a great job of preserving and keeping this nature.
So in Edinburgh, there are lots of landmarks.
So this word I will teach you landmark means a famous or important building or place.
So, for example, the castle is a landmark and the volcano, so our first seat is the name of the volcano.
It's a landmark.
And so yeah, so many landmarks and places to visit and go to.
And, of course, every summer in edinburgh, the city is full of life with the fringe festival.
This is a live comedy festival, And people from all over the world, comedians and tourists alike, all come to Edinburgh to perform and to listen to performance.
And it is just so full of life.
So many people, visitors, performances, events.
It is fantastic.
An absolutely wonderful time.
A festival for those that don't know is a special event.
So where people celebrate with some performances, food or activities.
Okay, so maybe one final point.
I think the people in Edinburgh are also very welcoming.
It's got that friendly and open vibe.
Welcoming is when people are friendly and they make people feel comfortable there.
Okay, so those were some of the reasons why I would argue, why I think that Edinburgh is probably, in my opinion, the best city in the UK, or at least it's my favourite city in the UK.
Of course, you might not agree with me.
There are negative points too about Edinburgh.
Number one, the weather.
It's not very good.
And it's much worse than London, to be honest.
It is a lot colder, but...
It is much further north, so we have to consider that.
And you're so close from Edinburgh to lots of beautiful places in Scotland.
You can travel to Lake Lomond, to lots of different mountains and nature spots which you know from.
London is a bit further.
So the weather isn't all that okay.
So thank you very much for listening.
Just to recap some new words that i explained today so of course we had landmark, so a famous or important building or place extinct.
So when we talked about the volcano, the extinct volcano extinct means no longer active, so it's no longer working.
Welcoming, I think I said as well.
So something that is friendly or makes people feel comfortable.
And festival.
So a special event where people celebrate with performances, food or activities.
So thank you so much for listening.
Of course, if you want to support this podcast and me, check out the Patreon in the link below and have a look and honestly, just even a little bit helps and you will get access to lots of bonus content every month and, of course, you will support me too and help me to make this podcast.
Thank you so much for listening and i hope you have an amazing rest of your day goodbye.
