A Brief Word on the Climate of Edinburgh

You know you're in for some interesting weather when your guidebook (The Locals' Guide to Edinburgh, £8.99 on Amazon UK, but frequently pops up for less in the secondhand shop) lists a half-dozen local terms for rain. Even in August, Edinburgh is certainly cool compared to our past haunts, though so far it hasn't been nearly as soggy as we'd been led to expect.

The truth is, it has rained every day since we've been here--but only once has it rained for more than an hour total out of the day. Instead, a typical day has included an hour or two of bright sun, an hour or two of mixed clouds, and the rest overcast, punctuated by maybe one or two ten-minute drizzles, three five-minute spits, and one hard fifteen-minute shower, usually staring about five minutes after you've stepped out the door. Today, we've had all of those except the shower, which I'm expecting in about ten minutes, just in time for the walk home from the library.

I make it sound worse than it is--it's simply a matter of never leaving home without a raincoat or an umbrella, and for those couple hours of sunshine a day we've been getting, the sky has been a breathtaking blue. Just consider this a word of warning to any potential visitors: pack accordingly!

Looking out over Bruntsfield Links, at the southwest corner of the Meadows.

 

Basically the same shot, a hundred yards and a thirty-second drizzle further down.