Edinburgh Castle

The fortress of Edinburgh Castle sits high on Castle Rock overlooking the city of Edinburgh at the top of the Royal Mile.  The castle is visited by over one million tourist every year and is one of the most popular attractions in all of the United Kingdom.

Robert the Bruce and William Wallace

The site has been inhabited for for over a 1,000 years. 

It has been a military garrison and royal palace for centuries. 

The castle played a pivotal role in the history of Scotland

and was the setting for many historical conflicts.

The views from the castle are breathtaking.  

 

The various buildings on the site range from St. Margaret's Chapel which is 900 years old and the oldest building in Edinburgh, to the Scottish National War Museum built in 1927.

We spent several hours exploring.  We saw the room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to the the baby who would be King James VI of Scotland and James I of England.

 

The Great Hall dates from the early 16th Century.

It still has the original medieval hammerbeam roof. 

Do you see the little black grate in the top right corner above the fireplace? That is the laird's lug or lord's ears, where the king could spy on his subjects gathered in the hall below. 

 

This is the massive cannon called Mons Meg which dates from the mid-1400's.

In honor of Remembrance Day, there was a military reenactment and military hospital set up in the Grand Hall. 

We also visited the National War Museum and were able to see the Honours of Scotland, the Crown, Sceptre and Sword of State, as well as the famous Stone of Scone.  

It is a fabulous piece of history and someplace everyone should visit.

There is so much history here that it's almost too much to take in. 

What was your favorite part of Edinburgh Castle?

xoxo

Selena