It’s been awhile since our trip to Scotland and I have friends who are visiting now and it reminded me that I really did not share too many posts about our trip. There was so much to see and do and one of the first places we explored was the famous Edinburgh Castle. It was a cloudy, drizzly and gloomy day on the day of our official tour but that didn’t stop us from having a great time.
There is so much history surrounding the castle and the grounds and it was impossible to keep all the facts in my head (hey -that’s why there are books and websites devoted to it) and our tour guide (follow the white umbrella, folks) was great at providing all the information that promptly left my brain.
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A few facts about the castle as shared on their main website:
Edinburgh Castle was home to kings and queens for many centuries. Queen Margaret (who was later made a saint) died here in 1093. The chapel built in her honour by her son, King David I, is Edinburgh’s oldest building. St Margaret’s Chapel still hosts weddings and christenings today. It is a fairly small venue (around 100 guests) and the hour fee is anywhere from $1,500 – $4,600 for rental fee / $155/per person.
The Great Hall, completed in 1511 for King James IV, hosted grand banquets and state events. But the king had little time to enjoy his new addition. James IV died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, fighting English forces sent by his brother-in-law, King Henry VIII of England.
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Above the door to the Royal Palace are the gilded initials MAH – for Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. Mary gave birth to James VI in the Royal Palace in 1566. He became king of Scotland at 13 months old and united the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603.
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The Honours of Scotland are the oldest Crown jewels in Britain. Made of gold, silver and precious gems, they were created in Scotland and Italy during the reigns of James IV and James V. The crown, sceptre and sword of state were first used together for the coronation of a monarch in 1543, when Mary Queen of Scots came to the throne. We were able to view them on our visit and although they were beautiful, I was surprised that they were not more grandiose. Not sure what I was expecting.
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The views from the castle were amazing. You could see everything and even though so of my pictures were lacking in composition, the views will stay in my mind forever.
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I took so many pictures but honestly, you can find much better ones online if you are interested. I feel like we could have spent the entire day at the castle but we had other places to go and an itinerary to keep so we did as much as we could. It was wonderful.
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The fountain in the picture below is a memorial. Known as the Witches Wall, this modest cast-iron wall fountain just outside Edinburgh Castle commemorates the hundreds of mostly women executed for witchcraft between the 15th and 18th centuries. It is the only memorial to these victims in Scotland.
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This is definitely a must see if you visit Edinburgh and the neat thing is you can see the castle from just about every vantage point in the city. It’s always there, standing tall and strong in the background.
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