The University of Edinburgh is one of the earliest in the UK to start their autumn term, with Freshers Week starting this year on Monday 9th September, and my son is beside himself with excitement. As all parents know, Freshers Week is not only about joining university societies, but about finding as many late night clubs as possible and with it the consumption of large amounts of alcohol at £1 a shot. Strange as it may seem I welcome this new beginning, despite scary stories of overdoses in the papers. I hope that as well as enjoying the newfound freedom, Hugo will look after himself and become increasingly independent as he paves his way towards an as yet undecided future.
Just over three weeks ago, the evening before the exam results came out in August, Hugo was resolute in his decision that if he did not get his first choice of Edinburgh, he would be going on a gap year, refusing to take up his insurance choice. Slightly alarmed at this new strategy on the eve of his A level results, I decided to disengage from a potential row until evidence of the final university destination became apparent. I have learned over the last few years that arguing with a hot-headed teenager is like scoring an own goal. Certainly Hugo can out-wit me and has the stubbornness of an ox to win his case. If I react and oppose any ideas put forward, I can sometimes find myself on a loosing wicket – I challenge any other parent to defy this! On this occasion compliance was my game, finding it more beneficial to allow my 18-year old to live by his own decisions. He swore that he had done badly in at least one of his A levels and despite all efforts, a gap year with resits would be the inevitable outcome. Trying to ignore our nerves, we settled in for a takeaway and movie with a mutual feeling of dread and excitement for the following day. After intermittent sleep breakfast came around quickly, and at 7.45am on Thursday 15th August we poured ourselves a steadying cup of strong coffee. Resigned to failure, Hugo logged into his UCAS account for his results. With an outburst of relief and joy, the ensuing gap year had not come about. My pleasure at witnessing Hugo get his place at Edinburgh on results day was both uplifting and gratifying; I am not sure who was more thrilled, him or me, but he had the results he needed, so we were celebrating; a welcome turn around from the evening before.
With barely a month to go, it was suddenly all stations go at home with getting the university starter kit together from towels and duvets to stationery, as well as a very warm coat for the freezing Scottish winter. We live in London and minus 2 is about as cold as it gets, but Edinburgh can easily get to minus 8 or 9 for days at a time, closer to Arctic conditions in my books.
Most crucially, it felt like a race to get the best hotel accommodation. Being the Scottish capital and a top destination for tourists, Edinburgh like London is extremely busy. With the Fringe and Military Tattoo recently finished, I imagine the hotels in Edinburgh have an excellent turnover at this time of year. No sooner have all the stage acts and visitors departed, parents who are settling their offspring into university, arrive. Some hotels were already fully-booked for the dates that we were travelling, and I wasn’t sure where to start looking and I had specific requirements. One criteria was being able to park the car safely overnight with Hugo’s kit inside. The other criteria was to be as central as possible so as to enjoy walking everywhere and to avoid booking any Ubers. As for cost, this needed to be reasonable too – with the additional shopping, petrol and meals out, it all adds up and my budget is limited.
Out of the many hotel options online, I narrowed them down to three choices in different price brackets that would take both Hugo and I for the two nights before my return journey to London. I grabbed the mid-range option while there were still places available. Airbnb threw up several options, but it was difficult to find something central with free parking. Rates ranged between £120 and £340 per night for an entire apartment, and I would still need to go shopping for breakfast or eat out for every meal. For a mid-range hotel I stumbled upon Brooks Hotel charging £298.00 for two nights for a twin room, including breakfast and free parking. Located in the Haymarket district in a quiet street, within a ten minute stroll from the base of the castle this looked perfect for our needs. A twin is not ideal for mother and son, but we are used to managing our privacy. At the very top end in Edinburgh The Balmoral provides a sumptuous Scottish experience for in excess of £850 per night with valet parking at an extra cost. However if I wanted a more deluxe experience in the city centre then Hotel du Vin at £350 per night with parking close by could be an option, but it was fully booked.
We set off at 6.30am from London with an eight hour drive ahead of us up the M1 (including stopovers) planning to arrive on the Friday afternoon, explore the city on the Saturday, and despatch the fresher with all his stuff on the Sunday at his halls of residence. We made it in good time and spent the first evening taking it easy, winding down after our journey. We were up early on the Saturday, and after a truly excellent breakfast, we were ready to walk from our hotel towards Old Town.
Edinburgh is truly impressive, with much of the city’s character coming from the range of architectural styles including it’s powerful gothic overtones from the early nineteenth century. As we walked everywhere I was spell bound by the magnificent buildings, many with the castle, perched on volcanic rock as a backdrop. Up the Royal Mile, from Old Town to New Town, we must have walked miles. Anyone who is familiar with Edinburgh will know is that it is built on two levels. By the mid-eighteenth century the city within castle walls had become so crowded, bringing with it problems of typhus and cholera. Scotland and England had been united since 1707 so Edinburgh no longer needed the walls for defence purposes and an expansion of the city was agreed upon. In 1767 James Craig won the architecture competition to start building New Town, a feast of neo-classical and Georgian buildings. This included the rearrangement of Princes Street, George Street and Queen Street with St. Andrew Square and Charlotte Square at either end, all still impressive today.
Weaving our way through the narrow streets, under impressive arches and up hill back towards our hotel, the day’s walk about had been a terrific way to spend our time before our farewell on Sunday. Hugo couldn’t hide his excitement about the next day. On the Sunday at the halls of residence we were limited to 30 minutes to park and unload the car, so in the end our goodbyes were rushed rather than drawn out. Determined not to show any emotion other than my enthusiasm for this new phase of life, I waived happily as I drove off, despite a lump in may throat.
Back in London the house is quiet and my life is back to some kind of a routine, albeit without my teenager. Strangely I miss the pile of clothes and gadgets strewn about the house, and I certainly miss our chats. The first news from Edinburgh by face time is that of a very happy student who has settled in quickly and has already discovered the best deals for Freshers Week. I am so glad that we spent those 24 hours together walking around the city as I can visualise his new life a bit more; also I had such a good feeling about the city, that I know that Edinburgh is the right place for him. If I was ever worried about him being lonely or homesick my fears were quickly put aside; for as luck would have it, within days he was part of a house football team – possibly his first love.