On my recent trip to Edinburgh, I was part of a walking tour. I always feel that a tour is when you really see a city or a historical site. You understand the details you'd otherwise ignore and walk past. It was a treat to be guided by a Canadian woman who'd settled in the city many years ago. Melanie Boyd or the CanadianScot is a delightful tour guide who took our group on a two hour walk across the city. She's entertaining, thoughtful & funny enough and does a great job.
One of the spots was the Greyfriars Kirkyard, a graveyard on a small hill where apparently we were standing on several hundred thousands graves or bodies. She mentioned that it's not uncommon that in summer someone chances upon a human body part! As Edinburgh is a small, congested & densely populated city, everyone over hundreds of years ends up buried mostly in the same place. Incidentally, this graveyard also houses a grave of a certain Tom Riddle who has inspired J.K. Rowling in her famous Harry Potter books. I find a number of stories come up with graveyards across different travel destinations. For instance Copenhagen, which has a very fancy graveyard which I believe was for aristocrats and famous people.
In this particular graveyard in Edinburgh, I discovered a very nice story. There was a dedicated night watchman for the Edinburgh City Police Force called John who did his duties alongside his terrier named Bobby. When John died and was laid to rest in the Greyfriars graveyard, Bobby was found guarding his grave. He continued to live there and the people of Edinburgh started helping Bobby to survive by building him a small shelter in the graveyard or getting him treats. When Bobby passed away after standing guard for 14 years, he was so popular that he got a grand farewell by the city. Even today, right in front of the church stands a commemorative plaque and statue that is usually adorned with sticks. On Bobby's birthday, it's apparently not unusual to find dog treats and toys left there for him.
Bobby's loyalty & love was simple and special and that simplicity of how something or someone makes you feel is what people want to remember.
I love this story. In a world where we're constantly bombarded with images of things that are not right and downright painful, here's a simple, pure real-life incident that thankfully did not go unnoticed.
#greyfriarsbobby #edinburghlife #walkingtours #edinburghcastle
This article below explains the story in detail
https://www.scottishtours.co.uk/blog/the-true-story-of-greyfriars-bobby/
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