No trip to Edinburgh is complete without a trip to see the Greyfriar's Bobby.
The story goes...and this is taken from the traditionalist's view published on Wikipedia:
Bobby belonged to John Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a night watchman, and the two were inseparable for approximately two years.[1] On 8 February 1858, Gray died of tuberculosis. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Bobby, who survived Gray by fourteen years, is said to have spent the rest of his life sitting on his master's grave. Another account[citation needed] has it that he spent a great deal of time at Gray's grave, but that he left regularly for meals at a restaurant beside the graveyard, and may have spent colder winters in nearby houses.
In 1867, when it was argued that a dog without an owner should be destroyed, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir William Chambers—who was also a director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—paid for Bobby's license, making him the responsibility of the city council.
Bobby died in 1872 and could not be buried within the cemetery itself, since it was and remains consecrated ground. He was buried instead just inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard, not far from John Gray's grave.
A movie was made of the story.
Mr. MacGyver was very much taken with the story of the Greyfriar's Bobby when he was a little boy. When his parents were talking of sending him to boarding school, he claims he insisted on going to Fettes College because the boys at Fettes had taken food to the Greyfriar's Bobby sitting on his master's grave in the cemetery.
Nevertheless, we always visit the Bobby when we are there, and no trip to the Bobby is the same without a stop in the churchyard.
This is the fourth and final cemetery we visited on our trip...I promise. And this visit was pretty short and sweet.
I thought this guy was rather creepy with the skulls on the pillars next to him, his missing nose and his leering grin.
And that is it for the Greyfriar's Churchyard.
Up next is the final installment of our trip to Europe. You are probably well ready to be done looking at these photos. It was a wonderful trip with fabulous memories that I've enjoyed rehashing with you. I wish I could do it all again and subject you to even MORE photos.
Until next time...
