It is May 2nd Week in England. Weather is warm here as per people here but it is still cold for us. We wrapped in windcheater, muffler and mask started from Central London. My Airbnb flat is in Tramway station in central London. I catch the bus 290 to reach Seven Sisters subway station. From there I catch a subway for King Cross railway station which is about 10 stations apart. Trains in Britain would not give u any pains of waiting at station. Within 5-8 minutes we can get next train. That way all of Britain is awesomely connected virtually to your door step. It is amazing network.
From King Cross we get trains not only to Ireland and Scotland but also for Europe. This is the station where Harry Potters shooting took place.
The train ticket to Edinburgh costed not much. Just pound 55. It is about 4.5 hours journey. The train is full no doubt. The pantry is ready to serve you snacks all the time.
The scenes along the route of train was scenic and not very different from India. As we near Edinburgh we see North Sea and the scenes get more scenic, if not great as I heard. We got down at Edinburgh railway station which is in old town and the Royale Mile, Edinburgh Castle, Poets corner are all at just walking distance of 2-3 KMs. We called taxi and reached our flat booked through Airbnb. The key (card) was kept outside and we swiped door code.
The apartment was very big and rent was pound 220 for 3N, 4 D. But still it was less expensive compared to London where we paid Pound 2200 for 30 days stay.
We preferred to take rest today. Next day we plan to visit old town of Edinburgh castle and Royal Mile.
We catch local bus. Surprisingly people in Scotland do not know English. GPS works well but in buses the display of “next station” is not there. It is difficult for any tourist. It was fantastic in London but Scotland travel is tough in buses. We have to track stations in bus but by GPS on our phone. By chance if we miss we have to return. As a tourist my experience was that the people are not so helpful unlike English guys. The stations can not be called as like at your door step like England. We have to walk minimum 1 KM to catch bus though Edinburgh is capital and we stayed in heart of town.
Entry Ticket
The ticket is £9. Better to book in advance as tickets might be sold. Guides are not allowed with you inside castle. Audio tour is available for £2 extra.
Time to visit Castle
Three hours
Where to eat
We tried lunch and dinner at Dishoom and Kabab mahal. £5 per person is enough for one food.
Gate House
This is the main entry gate to the castle. In front is Royal Mile road. This gate was added in 1888.
Sir William Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. He was appointed Guardian of Scotland and was handed by King Edward I of England. Lot of poetry and literature is written in Scotland on his bravery.
Robert the Bruce (Robert I) was king of Scots from 1306 – 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England.
The Royal Apartments
The residence of the Stewart (Stuart) kings and queens of Scottish clan from 12th to 16th centuries. Just worth mentioning Stewart and Stuart are same only spelling is different. Due to French influence ‘w’ was omitted as ‘w’ is no alphabet in French.
It is birthplace of James VI in 1566 and the home of Scottish Crown jewels. The Royal Apartments are open but the Birthing Room remains closed. Kings and queens lived amidst the comfort and splendor of the Royal Palace. Crown Square took shape over time, with King James IV completing the quadrangle in the early 1500s. Some key moments in Scotland’s history took place within the palace walls.
- Queen Mary of Guise died in the palace in 1560 from disease. She was from France but Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V and the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. She was champion of the Catholic faith and against the Protestant Reformation.
- Mary Queen of Scots, gave birth to James VI here in 1566. The labor was difficult and a companion of the queen is said to have tried using magic to transfer the birth pangs to a servant.
- James VI had a remarkable life. Crowned king of Scotland at just 13 months old, he became the first monarch as James I of both Scotland and England in 1603. His birth chamber is a highlight for many castle visitors today.
- Son of James VI (James I) King Charles I was the last monarch to stay at the palace. He slept here on 17 June 1633, the night before his Scottish coronation. The Royal Palace is located in Crown Square.
There is a remarkable trait of British that they maintained their medieval history date wise since William, the Conqueror and also they are responsible for unearthing the ancient heritages in colonies they ruled.
The Great Hall
The Great Hall was completed in 1511 for King James IV. Its wooden roof is one of the most superb in Britain. Giant beams rest on stones carved with heads and symbols such as the thistle – a badge of Scotland. Grand banquets and state events took place in the Great Hall. But James IV had little time to enjoy his new addition to the castle. The king was killed in war of independence with England (King Henry VIII his brother-in-law) in 1513.
English nationalist Oliver Cromwell’s army captured the castle in 1650 and turned the Great Hall into a barracks. It later served as a military hospital, until the troops finally marched out in 1886. Restored to its medieval splendour, the Great Hall today displays weapons and armor that hint at its military past. The Great Hall is located in the very heart of the Castle in Crown Square.
Embroideries
The Ante Chamber has a display of replica of embroideries. The original embroideries were sewn after Mary’s enemies forced her to abdicate her throne of Scotland on account of unpopular marriage. Mary sewed the embroideries while she was under house arrest. Mary apparently expected her cousin Elizabeth I to help her regain her throne and ordered her beheading as she thought her as threat to her throne. She was beheaded in Fotheringhay castle in 1587.
The Stone of Dynasty
The Stone of Destiny is an ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, used for centuries in the coronations of its kings. Seen as a sacred object, its earliest origins are now unknown. In 1296, King Edward I of England seized the stone from the Scots, and had it built into a new throne at Westminster. From then on, it was used in the coronation ceremonies of the monarchs of England and then Great Britain.
On Christmas Day 1950, four Scottish students removed the stone from Westminster Abbey in London. Three months later it turned up 500 miles away – at the high altar of Arbroath Abbey in Scotland. In 1996, the stone was officially returned to Scotland. Today, it is one of the priceless treasures on display in the Crown Room, visited by millions of people each year. The stone will only leave Scotland again for a coronation in Westminster Abbey. These students were never punished for this deed. The Stone is displayed alongside the Crown Jewels in the Royal Palace on the east side of Crown Square. As such this stone looks very ordinary as a cement brick but carries weight and ego of medieval kings. This stone is kept during coronation under the seat of coronation chair kept at Westminster Abbey in England.
The Honors of Scotland
The Honors of Scotland, on display in the Crown Room, are the oldest Crown jewels in Britain. Made of gold, silver and precious gems, the priceless crown, scepter and sword of state are objects of immense significance.
The crown was made for James V, who first wore it at the coronation of Queen Mary of Guise in 1540. Mary Queen of Scots was the first to be crowned using the new crown and scepter together, in 1543. The origins of the scepter are less certain – it may have been a papal gift to James IV.
These Honors kept in castle had a turbulent past. They were removed from the castle and hidden in 1651–60 to keep them from Oliver Cromwell’s army. In 1707, following the Act of Union between England and Scotland, they were locked in a chest and sealed away. In 1818, Sir Walter Scott, the famous novelist, rediscovered the Honors – along with a mysterious silver wand.
The Honors of Scotland and their accompanying exhibition are located on the first floor of the Royal Palace on the East side of Crown Square.
St. Margaret’s Chapel
Scotland’s royal family once knelt to worship in this serene private chapel. Today, the doors of Edinburgh’s oldest building are open to all castle visitors, and the chapel continues to host weddings and christenings.
King David I built the chapel around 1130 and named it for his mother. Queen Margaret, who was said to have performed many acts of charity, was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1250. In the 1500s, the chapel was used as a gunpowder store – it was later given bomb-proof vaulting. Its origins were forgotten and only rediscovered by the antiquary Sir Daniel Wilson in 1845.
The ornate arches are original, while other features such as the stained glass windows are more recent. Fresh flowers are always on display, thanks to St Margaret’s Chapel Guild – all its members share the saint’s name and live in Scotland. Passing through Foog’s Gate, St. Margaret’s Chapel is located on the left, just beyond the Whisky and Finest Food Shop.
Mons Meg
Mons Meg was once seen as cutting edge military technology. Given to King James II in 1457, the six-ton siege gun could fire a 150 kg gun stone for up to 3.2km (2 miles). She is named after the Belgian town where she was made.
In 1460, James II had Mons Meg hauled 80 km (50 miles) to the siege of Roxburgh Castle. This was no small task: even a team of oxen couldn’t move her more than 5km (3 miles) a day. But the unlucky king was killed there when another of his cannons exploded.
King James IV put Mons Meg back in action, first to attack Dumbarton Castle and then Norham Castle. She ended her fighting days in King James V’s navy, retiring around 1550. When Mary Queen of Scots married in 1558, Mons Meg fired a gun stone over the city in celebration: it landed in what is now the Royal Botanic Garden. Her barrel last burst in 1681. After 75 years in England, Mons Meg made a glorious return to the castle in 1829. Cavalry and infantry escorted her from Leith Docks to Castle Rock.
Mons Meg sits outside St Margaret’s Chapel, just beyond the Whisky and Finest Food Shop.
One O’Clock Gun
Ships in the Firth of Forth once set their maritime clocks by the One 0’Clock Gun. The firing of the gun dates back to 1861, when businessman John Hewat brought the idea to Edinburgh from Paris. The medium size cannon gun is still fired every day (except Sunday and National holidays) at 1 pm . I missed seeing this though I was in castle that time. This is fired from the battery point today. See my article on Calton Hill for the history of One O’Clock Gun culture which originated there first but was brought here in Edinburgh castle as Calton Hill arrangement did not work on foggy days.
Half Moon Battery
Though once the Half Moon Battery rained bombs on enemies now it gives the castle its unique profile and is a wonderful place to stand and view the city and far beyond. The Seven Sisters – bronze guns cast in the castle for James IV in about 1500 – originally defended the Half Moon Battery. Today’s cannons are 18-pounders made in 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars.
The battery was built on and around the ruins of the huge medieval David’s Tower. Begun in 1367–68 by King David II, the tower came crashing down during the Lang Siege of 1571–73.
The Half Moon Battery is on the eastern side of the castle, overlooking the main entrance.
National War Museum
Letters home from foreign campaigns, Highland broadswords and chemical warfare suits are some of the fascinating items in the Scottish National War Museum.
The large collection boasts many artefacts used by the Scottish forces over the centuries. Paintings on display include Robert Gibb’s famous The Thin Red Line. Robert Gibb was famous painter and keeper of the National Gallery of Scotland from 1895 to 1907. There is also a research library. I had a quick glances inside and came out.
National Museums Scotland now runs the museum, which opened in 1933. Its home is a former storehouse for ordnance that was built in the 1700s and later used as a military hospital. Located in Hospital Square, the museum can be accessed by heading past the Redcoat Cafe on the right and heading straight down the hill and through the archway directly ahead.
Prisons Of War
Pirates, corrupts and prisoners of war were once kept in the vaults below Crown Square. In the 1700s and 1800s hundreds of prisoners of war were held in these dark, cramped spaces. Today, a recreation of the vaults as they would have looked around 1800 offers a glimpse into the grim way of life.
The first prisoners were French ship raiders caught in 1758, soon after the Seven Years’ War began. This was was between Britain and France allies for sea port supremacy. The youngest held was a five-year-old drummer boy captured at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Prisoners of war came from France, America, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Denmark and Poland. Most were sailors, many of them Americans fighting in the War of Independence. An early depiction of the ‘Stars and Stripes’ flag is scratched into a door. Many tried to escape. In 1811, 49 prisoners escaped through a hole in the defenses that is still visible today. All but one made it safely down Castle Rock, but were recaptured.
Caribbean pirates were held in the vaults before they became a prison of war. In 1720, 21 members of Black Bart’s crew were captured off Argyll. They had come to Scotland to retire. Instead, most were hanged.
Regimental Museums
Regiment now known as The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were raised to help King Charles II fight the Covenanters – 17th-century religious dissenters. Their first battle was at Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh. There are some New Barracks adjacent to this building. The Royal Scots Museum is located at the top of the hill just before Foog’s Gate. The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum is directly opposite.
Gates
There is a series of gates constructed in different periods.
The origin of the name and date of Foogs gate construction are unknown. It is the principle gate to the Upper Ward.
The castle was bombarded by 1000 English troops and 27 cannons. In this process Constable tower and David II tower were destroyed. The Portcullis Gate was built after this Lang Siege of 1571–73 to replace the round Constable’s Tower.
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. We can say it is a road between Edinburgh castle and Holyrood Palace. Beside the road lie old shops, food courts,
St. Giles church and National museum of Scotland all in reach of walking distance.
It is named so as it was procession route of monarchs. This is heart of old town of Edinburgh and worth spending 3 hours walking through shops, restaurants and monuments.
Local tour buses are available for day tour to Holyrood castle, Royal Mile and old town, Grass market, Edinburgh castle and Georgian town. But this tour will be just bird’s eye view I guess.
National Museum of Scotland
It is about a KM from Royal mile road. The museum is very big and sings the artifacts, nobels, achievement of its ancestors,
ancient history of Scotland, Monarchs, development and inventions of Scottish scientists like railway, airplanes etc. Though I observed it is not as rich or articulate as London Museum or British Museum yet it is worth visiting.
I was curious to see what is mentioned about James Watt and that was the reason I visited this museum. But disappointed that his invention was not so highlighted.
One thing I observed in Scotland that there are much more publishity of its warriors, writers, poets, religious reformers and nobels but scientists are overshadowed. I was expecting to see the statues of Madam Quririe or James Watt on roads of Scotland but these are missing.
St. Giles Church
Built from 14th century to 16th century. It ws catholic church in beginning but after John Knox reforms it was converted to Protestent church. John Knox was minister of this church as protestent. He first preached in St Giles in 1599.
Charles I attempted to impose a Scottish Prayer Book in St Giles’ in 1637 caused a riot, beginnings of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. 1639 and 1651 this brokeup the war between three kingdoms England, Irelend and Scotland which ended with execuion of Charles I. All these three kingdoms had single emperor – Charles I.
Scottish wanted the primacy of its religious leades to make it Presbyterian Church of Scotland under board of selected elders. The wars arose from civil and religious disputes, mainly whether ultimate political power should be held by the King or by parliament.
Recently in Sep, 2022 when Queen Elizabeth expired in Scotland, her last journey started from St. Giles church.
Scott monument
Built in 1840 as monument for Sir walter Scott. It has many other statues of Scottish literarians, Charles I, Mary, Queen of Scots etc and 5th tallest building of Edinburgh. It has stairs and we can climb the stairs with entry fee.It is 200 feet high and 287 steps. We did not climb up as stairs are a bit narrow.
This is an extremely fine example of Gothic design and is visible from any where in old Edinburgh.
It stands in very beautiful Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh.
Epilogue
Built on volcanic rock this fort is about 900 years old. Edinburgh is UK.s second most visited city after London. Guides are not allowed with you and so you can take audio tour. It involved in conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite rising (who will take English throne English or Scottish) of 1745. It will take about 3 hours to see the castle. There are a lot of things to see inside.
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