After only a tiny taste twice exiting the station, we finally explored the city. Edinburgh was transformed under a clear blue sky; the clouds of the day before had blended the blackened stone buildings into abgrey haze, but today an ancient array of rooftops spread to the ocean beyond.

The Royal Mile’s beauty was somewhat diminished by the identical tartan tat shops that lined either side (we were told they were all owned by the same Indian family), so we escaped the tourists to discover the hidden gems. We enjoyed ice cream (served by the ubiquitous Australian) on the grass as bagpipes played, we found a pretty shop called Godiva at the Grassmarket that hurt our collective wallet with its Scottish designed clothing and explored the cavernous Armstrong’s vintage shop, I pined for the amazing kilt jackets that were made for more manly shoulders. Here we also found olives and tasty cheeses in the market stalls, then with a hint of culture confusion had Nachos at an Irish pub.

We balked at the 16 quid entry to the castle and chose to admire it from afar, opting instead for a jaunt through the cemetery, alas still no Buchanan’s in sight. Then homeward (perhaps we already felt more at home there than the family who were still whirling from the move), grabbing baguette’s from Peter’s Yard and passed all of Edinburgh spread out in the park enjoying a picnic under the summer sun.

The day began grey and angry with rain, but had the strength of character to pull itself out of its funk by the time we began our descent from Arthur’s seat. By the time Sanna dog and I had reached the loch (I have gotten into so much trouble over saying lake and pond) the ducks were thoroughly enjoying the sunshine.

Dylan was a mere spot on the horizon running along and Sanna and I made for the craggs to get the “best view in Edinburgh”. Of course Andrew’s precious dog wasn’t interested in panoramas and decided to explore the very edge of cliff. Heart in my mouth my stern “Sanna come” got a bit faltering, but she didn’t tumble and returned to me at her leisure. I quickly denied her freedom with a taut leash. As his architect told us when we passed Sanna on the road, accidentally dispatching his dog would mean the end of a beautiful friendship.

It was a beautiful view though, a fringe of yellow gorse framing an ancient cemetery, rooftops and the hint of ocean.

The trees gave way to reveal a different world, that of Lewis Caroll or L. Frank Baum. Manicured lawn raised into tiers and bridging crystal clear lakes. We were here to celebrate Dylan’s 30th Birthday and you couldn’t chose a more memorable place than this Sculpture park on the outskirts of Edinburgh. A peacock strutted into the cafe as we ate lunch and began screeching with a voice like nails on a blackboard, then went to perch on the loo walls. Steps lead to a amethyst and obsidian chamber. In the forest, girls turned to stone were frozen in despair hair covering blank faces.

It was contemporary art made accessible and exciting for adults and children alike. It was nice to interact with the art as well as look at it, run on the grass mounds, enter doorways and feel unease as preconceived notions of our world are turned on their head or joy at great beauty or wit. Talking to the little Californian on the train and Andrew’s darling two-year old Iris is a reminder that the adult world is slipping away from magic and how knowing so much about the world has deprived us of the mystery we felt as children. Ben Law’s wild adventures in the Himalayas would no longer be the same today, the world is becoming a pasterised, homogenised West. Where’s the fun in the certainty of a McDonald’s bathroom and Starbuck’s wifi on every corner? There was magic here.

There weren’t even signs plastered on the pieces telling you not to climb the crouching human constellation of metal or the giant rifle? It was a great day, all the better for the gorgeous sun and the great company of Andrew’s family. It’s hard to have a birthday away from home, but this was as close to family as we could of had without blood. Happy 30th Birthday Dylan.