When in Edinburgh, you must must must visit the castle! It was the backdrop for the Tattoo Bill and I attended in August (as it is every year) and is rich in history and beauty. It sits high atop one of the highest hills in Edinburgh and is quite picturesque from down below.
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| Have fun storming the castle! |
And when you are up on the castle, looking over the walls, the views are even more dramatic. Below you can see Mom, Bill, and Dad standing at one of the castle walls. From this photo, it doesn't look that majestic, right?
But these are the views you can take in from the castle wall: the whole of Edinburgh and the Firth of Fourth (North Sea bay that juts into Edinburgh) beyond. It was predicted to rain like crazy all day the one full day we had in Edinburgh, but as you can see, the sky was clear for most of the morning. By late afternoon we did have to pull up our hoodies to protect us from the rain, but it never really got too wet while we were there. In fact, my parents were blessed with perfect weather almost their entire visit!
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| Edinburgh and the Firth of Fourth |
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| Not a bad view from way up here! |
The castle hasn't been used for military defense in a long time, but there is still plenty of evidence that this castle was once a great stronghold and defender of Scotland.
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| Cannon's view of Edinburgh |
Even the centuries-old little cemetery for soldiers' dogs was quite pretty. Mom wanted to make sure I got a picture of this for my sister, an avid dog-lover who will love the fact that the Scottish soldiers loved their dogs this much. Here you go, Toni!
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| Soldiers' dog cemetery |
We visited the Scottish crown jewels, which includes the "Stone of Scone," the rock that every Scottish King has been seated upon when crowned King for over a thousand years. When England and Scotland were united under James I, the United Kingdom adopted the stone into their coronation ceremony; every King and Queen since has sat on the stone for the Scottish part of the ceremony. This topic is a touchy one for many in Scotland, as they are still fighting (now through politics and voting) for their independence from England.
Off my historic and not-so-historic soap box - sorry! No photos were allowed inside the area that housed the Scottish crown jewels, but we were able to take photographs inside the Great hall. Just right of the fireplace (out of frame in the picture below) there was a small-ish hole (maybe 2' X 2') up near the ceiling, criss-crossed over with bars. Apparently there was a little room up there where the king could sit and watch all of the courts goings-ons without being seen. Sneeky, sneeky! I took a photo of the hole, but it came out fairly blurry, so just use your imagination!
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| Great Hall, Edinburgh Castle |
As always at tourist destinations there are roaming costumed folks, picture ready. I made mom and dad take a photo - It looks like Dad's about to shoot that poor guy's brains out!!
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| FREEEEEEDOMMMMM!!!! |
On the opposite side of the castle, another charming view of Edinburgh. Have I mentioned that I love Edinburgh? What a beautiful city!
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| Views of Edinburgh from Castle wall |
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