Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle has been a center for Scottish royalty since 1093 and served Edinburgh as a royal fortress during the medieval era. The Castle became the main residence for Scottish royalty in the mid-15th century when James III moved there.

We had tickets for a 12:30 entry into Edinburgh Castle. This is one of the most popular attractions in the city and tickets sell out quickly - in fact, shortly after we arrived a sign went up that they were sold out for the day!  It is a must-see if you are visiting Edinburgh. The entry you see below was constructed in 1888 and is one of the more recent additions to the Castle - in fact, it was constructed to make the castle look more imposing. The statues flanking either side are (L) King Robert the Bruce and (R) Sir William Wallace - both of these were added in 1929. 

Entrance to the Castle

One O'Clock Gun - every day, with the exception of Sundays, Good Friday, and Christmas Day, this gun is fired. This has happened since 1861. Its original purpose was to aid navigation for ships. You may be wondering why the gun goes off at 1:00 instead of 12:00 - the answer is is that it is less expensive to fire 1 shell than 12 of them! The gun used to fire live ammunition; however, now they use blanks. It is incredibly loud!

Seconds Before Fired

Gina

Hospital Square - so named because the building on the left was once used as a military hospital from 1898 until shortly after the end of WWII. The statue in the square is of Field Marshall Earl Haig; he was the commander of the British Expeditionary Force during WWI. 

This is a view from the lower castle to the upper, and older, portion of the castle. The stones in the lower portion of this wall were laid in the later 1600s.

Prison - in the basement of the Great Hall were prisons. These were used for prisoners of war captured from the 1720s until the mid-1800s. The first prisoners were pirates from the Caribbean (no, that is NOT a joke!). Prisoners from the rebellion of the American Colonies were also housed here - all of these  men were sailors, and many of those "damned Yankees" were, in fact, Scotsmen who had emigrated to North America and got caught up in the rebellion. 

Prison - After going through the prison, Jeff stated that he felt like he was going through the Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland.

Gina - oh, my aching feet!!!

This is the rear of the Scottish National War Memorial - the entrance is shown later

St Margaret's Chapel - the oldest building in the Castle (and in Edinburgh) and dates to around 1130CE. It was built by King David I in honor of his mother, Queen Margaret, who was canonized as a saint in 1250. This was the only building left standing in 1314 after a siege, when King Robert the Bruce ordered it to be protected. Weddings and christenings are still held in this chapel, 900 years after it was built.

S

Saint Columba - one of the 4 stained glass windows in St Margaret's Chapel.  The windows were added in 1922.

Stained glass window of Sir William Wallace - one of Scotland's greatest heroes.

One O'Clock Gun as seen from the Upper Castle.

View of the "New City" as seen from Edinburgh Castle. In the front left is The Scott Monument. The tower and archway on the right side (distant) is the Nelson Monument.

One of the guns on the Half-Moon Battery. This was the Castle's chief high-level defense on the East side - the only side that was vulnerable to attack. 

The Royal Palace in Crown Square. Used as a royal residence from the 11th century until the 17th century. King James VI (James I of England) was born here on June 19, 1566. He was the only child of Mary Queen of Scots and had the greatest legitimate claim to the English throne. His ascension to the English throne on the death of Queen Elizabeth I united Scotland and England. Once James became King of England, he left Scotland and only returned 1 time - to celebrate his Golden Jubilee (50 years on Scotland's throne).

The main entrance to the Scottish National War Memorial, located on Crown Square and adjacent to the Royal Palace. 

The Great Hall - contains arms and armor on loan from the Royal Armouries. Most of the arms and armor date from the 1600s. The building itself was completed in 1512 and was initially used as a place of royal ceremonies.

Unfortunately, the men with guns wouldn't allow us to take pictures of the "Honours of Scotland" - more commonly knows as the Crown Jewels of Scotland...and the Stone of Destiny. The Stone of Destiny, also called the Stone of Scone, has been used in the coronations of Scottish royalty since 1120. Once James IV (James I of England) was crowned, uniting the countries, the Stone is used at the coronation of new monarchs in Great Britain...including the recent coronation of King Charles III earlier this month.