Rolling Stones take in cricket, ruins and local wildlife on Edinburgh visit

As a fan of English cricket, Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones will be well aware that you can't always get what you want.
Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones watched on as his team were humilated by Scotland at the cricket.  Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire.Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones watched on as his team were humilated by Scotland at the cricket.  Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire.
Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones watched on as his team were humilated by Scotland at the cricket. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire.

And so it proved at the Grange in Edinburgh yesterday where the drummer watched as Scotland inflicted a crushing defeat on number one-ranked England by six runs in a nerve-wracking one-day international. Having posted a massive 371 with the bat, Scotland held their nerve to clinch victory with just seven balls of the match remaining.

Watts was among the spectators after the band’s performance at Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday night. Despite a combined ago of almost 300, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Watts thrilled thousands of fans on the latest leg of a UK stadium tour after landing at Edinburgh Airport on Friday aboard their own plane.

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Jagger joked he had arrived for the gig on the tram, climbed Arthur’s Seat and had chips with salt and sauce, washed down with Irn Bru. He added: “It’s great to be back at this stadium – the biggest stadium in Scotland. Hope we do better than the last English people that played here.”

The nod to Scotland’s Calcutta Cup win over England was met with laughter, before Jagger asked the crowd to back England in the World Cup. “You’re going to support us when we get to the semis of the World Cup, right?”, he asked to a chorus of pantomime boos.

Earlier, thousands of fans gathered outside the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street to see the band set off for the gig.

The Rolling Stones wowed the crowds at Murryfield Stadium, Edinburgh on Saturday. Picture: Lisa FergusonThe Rolling Stones wowed the crowds at Murryfield Stadium, Edinburgh on Saturday. Picture: Lisa Ferguson
The Rolling Stones wowed the crowds at Murryfield Stadium, Edinburgh on Saturday. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Tweeting video footage of himself waving to cheering crowds as he walked to his car, Richards wrote: “On the way to the gig! What a warm welcome here in Edinburgh.”

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Wood appeared to enjoy a trip to Holyrood Park over the weekend, tweeting photographs of himself above St Margaret’s Loch and reading about the ruins of St Anthony’s Chapel.

Jagger, meanwhile, enjoyed a walk in the Pentlands and posted a picture of himself next to a large cow, writing: “Meeting some locals... #hopeshesfriendly”.