8th January – Edinburgh Castle

At 10.30 am yesterday Colin and I were climbing the steps from Grassmarket up to Edinburgh Castle.

I couldn’t help being just a bit excited at being a tourist for the day!  Edinburgh Castle is famous the world over, and for ages I’ve been longing to go there and see what all the fuss is about.  Of course, you see the castle whenever you go to Edinburgh – you can’t miss it, because it sits high above the city, dominating the skyline – but that’s not quite the same.

Despite the fine weather there were comparatively few crowds in the Royal Mile, and after taking some photos of the architecture we walked under the Portcullis Gate and up the cobbled hill to the castle itself.  Oh, yes, we did pay to get in!  It costs £14 per adult, and you can also buy glossy guidebooks, multi-lingual audio tours and such like.

What strikes you first about the castle is that it’s on so many different levels… there are flights of stone steps everywhere, and pathways leading around a maze of high granite walls with intricate stained-glass windows and gold scrollwork.  Even the lead downpipes had gilded dates on them!  It was all very photogenic.

The views from the battlements were just amazing… we could see right over the city to the Firth of Forth and the coastline of Fife beyond.  Edinburgh was laid out like a map, with Princes Street, the Scott Monument, Waverley Station and Calton Hill all bathed in winter sunshine.

We were impressed with the number of cannons, each projecting through a purpose-made gap in the battery walls;  but we were awe-struck by the size of Mons Meg, a siege gun made for James II in 1457.  One of the world’s oldest cannons, Mons Meg weighs over six tons and is known as a medieval bombard or ‘supergun’.   It (or should that be ‘she’?) was apparently used in battle to subdue the English.  They must have been horrified beyond belief when they saw that coming!

At the heart of the castle are the Royal Apartments, oak-panelled rooms with elaborate fireplaces and beautiful windows.  The rooms are empty of furniture, but are still adorned with large portraits of the monarchs that once occupied them.  By contrast, a tiny chamber barely six feet square was apparently the room in which Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son, later to become James VI of Scotland and I of England.

Upstairs, a labyrinth of dark corridors held a never-ending procession of information boards and waxwork displays that gave me the heebie-jeebies.  At the end of them, in a dimly-lit, windowless room, were the ‘Honours of Scotland’, the Scottish crown jewels.  These consist of a pearl-encrusted crown, a sceptre, a sword, and other accompanying jewellery from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Also encased with the jewels was the Stone of Destiny, the ancient slab of sandstone on which the Kings of Scotland were crowned.  I much prefer to touch stones, not see them behind glass, but the Stone of Destiny has had far too many people wanting to touch and own it over the years!  It looks a little incongruous beside all the jewels, and if it wasn’t for the fact that every visiting tourist would probably want to be ‘king for a day’, it would be much better off in the open air.

Photography in the Crown Jewel room was prohibited, which was only to be expected;  the atmosphere was oppressive, despite the friendly attendant, and I was quite glad to see the light of day again!

By contrast, the tiny St Margaret’s Chapel, which was founded by David I in 1130 and is the oldest building in Edinburgh, had a pure, welcoming atmosphere with its beautiful windows and simple altar.  St Margaret sounds like an interesting lady, and she definitely deserves a more detailed article at a later date.

It’s going to be hard to decide which photos to publish.  I want to focus on Edinburgh Castle in The Hazel Tree this month, so I’ll save some for that feature.   The first pics are of buildings in Grassmarket and the Royal Mile – photographers could really have a field day here!

All images copyright © Colin & Jo Woolf

Looking up from Grassmarket

Shop below town house, Grassmarket

Steps from Grassmarket to Royal Mile

Steps from Grassmarket (2)

West Bow looking down to Grassmarket

Interesting window shutter, Royal Mile

Jollies Close, one of the dark passages that lead off the Royal Mile

Looking down the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral

‘The Witchery’, pub sign in Royal Mile

‘The Witchery Tour’ – proceed with caution!

Doorway of St Giles’ Cathedral, Royal Mile

Castle from esplanade (1)

Castle from esplanade (2)

View from the esplanade

At the castle entrance

Looking down Princes Street with Scott Monument on left, Balmoral Hotel (centre), Calton Hill with old observatory (top right) and Waverley station (bottom right)

Looking across the city to the Firth of Forth

Cannon

View from ramparts, with hill of Arthur’s Seat (far right)

Looking towards Scott Monument, Balmoral Hotel & Calton Hill

Mons Meg

The One O’Clock Gun, fired daily at… one o’clock!

St Margaret’s Chapel (1)

St Margaret’s Chapel (2)

Chapel window, showing St Columba

Chapel window (2)

Colin, on way down to Argyle Battery

Scottish War Memorial

Great Hall with original hammerbeam ceiling of 1511

Window in Great Hall

Swords in Great Hall

Detail of pistols in Great Hall

Royal Apartments (1)

Royal Apartments (2)

Window in Royal Apartments (1)

Window in room where James I was born

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