Standing sentinel over the city at the end of the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle was the last stop of my Hogmanay stay in Edinburgh with Kate and Sarah-Rose. On a stormy day, it was the perfect place to take refuge from the driving rain and learn more about the history of both the city and Scotland.
View of the Castle from Greyfriars Cemetery – on a calmer day!
The Castle sits on a natural volcanic plug with cliffs on three sides, an excellent defensive position and it’s easy to see why the site has been inhabited since roughly 200AD – on a good day you’d be able to see for miles. We’d enjoyed the panoramas on a sunnier day earlier in our visit. However this time round, our time spent admiring the views was necessarily brief, as the winds were buffeting us to such an extent that we felt we could take flight at any moment! Funnily enough, you may just be able to tell which shots I took on the day and which I didn’t…
Looking north over the city
Rushing through the hilariously-named Foog’s Gate to seek shelter
St Margaret’s Chapel is not only the oldest building in the castle but also in Edinburgh, dating from the twelfth century. Many of the other buildings were built after the Lang Siege of the sixteenth century, but are no less impressive for their youth.
Definitely a great place to hide from the storm
While many will be familiar with James I and IV of England and Scotland, I knew a lot less about the earlier Scottish leaders and monarchs. Edinburgh Castle has some fantastic displays that take you through the milestones of Scottish history – they’re great for kids as well as adults, and do contain a lot of really interesting information. The Scottish Crown Jewels, known as the Honours of Scotland, are also on glittering display (although unfortunately not for photographing!) I enjoyed wandering through some of the Castle’s rooms that had been restored to how they would have looked in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Now that’s a fireplace!
A gloomy view of Arthur’s Seat and Greyfriars Cemetery
I had an awesome time in Edinburgh. Hogmanay was an absolute blast, but I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the rest of my explorations around the city quite as much as I did! The people were fantastically friendly, the food was delicious, and the architecture and history really blew my mind. I’m already plotting when I can come back to explore the area around Edinburgh, and head further north to see more of Scotland.
This beautiful shot of the Castle is ©Crown Copyright Historic Scotland
Bits & Pieces
More information on the Castle and tickets can be found here and here
Of course it was peak time when we visited, but bear in mind that the Castle is Scotland’s #1 paid attraction – so it could be handy to buy tickets online to avoid the queue!
