Bring on the heat

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When you think of summer in Britain…wait, hang on…what summer? Since arriving to Edinburgh in September last year, and experiencing our first long winter, I really didn’t think we would see a real summer ever again…or until we head back to Australia next year. Well it happened, Summer has come to Scotland, though from an Australian viewpoint its not exactly sweltering heat with the temperature falling anywhere between 20 to 27 degrees celsius. And as I’ve seen over this past week, the exact temperatures mimicked in Brisbane, during their winter.

Any way, how does one celebrate this lovely weather in this fine city – you either head to one of the many beaches or parks, usually with your three-pound disposable barbeque in tow.

On Friday I joined my American friend and her British friends from university and went to North Berwick beach, about a 30-minute train ride South from Edinburgh, and I was going to sunbake on a Scottish beach.

Going to North Berwick wasn’t a new adventure for me, as J and I went there last year, when we went to the Seabird Centre in October for a boat tour of Bass Rock and to see some Seals and Gannets. But to go to this beach during a ‘heatwave’ (a term that is used loosely by myself to describe this incredible weather) was exciting.

Though it wasn’t the warmest of days at 22-degrees, the water did look inviting, crystal clear and I did eventually ‘man-up’ and dunked my head under the freezing water or as the Scots might call it a ‘dook.’ It was worth it, as I can now proudly tell people I have braved the freezing waters of the North Sea (even though it was in “summer”).

Then there are the parks. I mean when I think of a British Summer, I immediately think of people sitting on picnic blankets and sunning themselves in a park. It’s the epitome of a British Summer. And this was quite apparent to me on my walks home from work lately, on a day where the mercury had reached 27-degrees, walking through the Meadows (Edinburgh’s most popular park) and seeing all the disposable barbeques out in full force, people drinking beer, smelling the slight smell of weed lingering in the air, guys playing football (soccer) with their shirts off and the mass amount of people sitting on their picnic blankets enjoying the heat at 7:30pm.

It is a sight to see, especially pasty white British guys baring their chests (really the mercury only has to reach 15-degrees for them to do that).

In summer, parks become the hub of British life, how can you not join in, when you probably stroll past one everyday.

I just hope I get to experience a ‘heatwave’ again next summer; I’ll probably need it again after another winter here.  

*A few photos of the beautiful day at North Berwick are up on my Instagram