England-Scotland Day 4 (Part 1) – Edinburgh Castle

6 April 2010

After a breakfast of ramen noodles, we walked from our apartment (Edinburgh Pearl Apartments at Lochrin Place) to the Edinburgh Castle. We approached the castle from Johnston Terrace which offered us a view of the castle from the bottom of a steep cliff.

Edinburgh Castle, built on a steep hill. How could any enemy attack from this side?

Going up the stairs towards the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle.

In fact, three sides of the castle were steep cliffs and this was the only easy approach to the castle, from the east and that was where the main entrance is located.

Entrance of Edinburgh Castle. This is the Gatehouse, a new entrance added to the castle to make it look more formidable.

At the entrance to Edinburgh Castle. Statues of William Wallace (Braveheart!) and Robert the Bruce on both sides of the entrance.

More information on the two Scottish heros can be found here. The movie “Braveheart” probably distort some historical facts but it was the movie that got me interested in this two fellows while visiting Scotland.

Statue of Robert the Bruce.

Statue of William Wallace aka “Braveheart” aka Mel Gibson.

Upon entry, we bear right along a narrow cobbled path. We bought our tickets and also a souvenir guide book of the castle from the Visitor Information Booth here.

This area used to be a gun platform and an old guard house. We then entered the castle proper after passing through the Portcullis Gate.

Visitors would have to pass through this gate, with iron portculis and thick wooden doors.

We found ourselves at the Argyle Battery where 19th century cannons are located. This is a meeting point for a brief guided tour of the castle. We loitered here to enjoy the views of Edinburgh, in particular Princes Street below until the start of the next tour which was quite soon. 

Panorama of the views of Edinburgh from the Edinburgh Castle.

The new town of Edinburgh and Princes Street, viewed from Argyle Battery – North View.

The weather was good, so the Firth of Forth is visible in the distance.

View of Balmoral Hotel (building with clock tower), Carlton Hill and the Firth of Forth (name of bay in the background) – North East View.

Cannon at the Argyle Battery. What a gunner might see when defending the castle.

The One C Clock Gun is now a modern ceremonial 105mm field gun.

The One O'Clock Gun is a time signal, that is used to synchronise the timing and clocks on ships in the nearby bay. It was first fired from Edinburgh Castle on June 7, 1861, at 13:00 hours and has continued since then, six days a week, except Christmas Day, Good Friday and during the two World Wars.

The free guided tour was a good way to get an overview of Scottish History and also what were the attractions within the castle. The guide told us about the Stone of Destiny, the coronation seat of Scottish Kings. It was placed under the Coronation Chair in West Minster Abbey at London until recently when it was returned to Scotland and kept in this castle. It will be transported back to the Westminster Abbey in London when it is needed for future coronation.

The guided tour ended at the Crown Square, surrounding by a few key buildings such as the Royal Palace, Great Hall, Prisons of War Exhibition, Scottish National War Memorial and a building housing the Scottish Crown Jewels. After the quick guided tour, we explored the castle at our own pace.

The Royal Palace at the Crown Square. The family was resting by the “royal bench” outside the building.

 

The crown jewels, sceptre and sword are displayed in a Crown Room of the Royal Palace but no photography is allowed

Royal Palace inside Edinburgh Castle with gold Plated pipes leading down from the roof gutters.

Scottish National War Memorial at the Crown Square.

At entrance of the Scottish War Memorial. In Memory of Scots who Fell.

Stone Lion with shield bearing Union Jack at one side. An Unicorn with shield showing Scottish Flag on the other side.

Scottish Royal Coat of Arms with pair of Unicorns.

Impressive fireplace with the coat of arms.

This coat of arms has a Lion and an Unicorn.

Details on the ceiling.

View of Arthur's Seat from a window inside Edinburgh castle.  View from one extinct volcano to the other. It is said that Edinburgh Castle is built on top of an extinct volcano.

Many weapons and armour are displayed in the Great Hall.

Needs a strong arm to wield this heavy sword.

One of the interesting places in Edinburgh Castle is the Prisons of War exhibition. Over the centuries, the castle was used to hold state prisoners, including foreigners.  In medieval times, common criminals were thrown into dungeons beneath the castle.

Prisons of War Exhibition in Edinburgh Castle.

Carving on a prison door showing a ship bearing a flag with Stars and Stripes, made by American POWs.

Each prisoner received a daily ration of

• 2 pints (110 ml) of beer
• 1.5 pounds (689g) of bread
• 3/4 pound (340g) of beef
• + 0.5 pint (280 ml) of pease every other day.
• + 1/4 pound (110g) of butter and 6 oz of cheese instead of beef on Saturday.

That was a lot of ration for a prisoner.

Daily ration for a typical POW.

This may be what the American prisoners got. Since they are officially considered as pirates, they only get 1 pound of bread a day.

After visiting the dungeons, we went the Foog’s Gate and entered a compound where the St Margaret’s Chapel is located.

Foog’s Gate. St Margaret Chapel seen through the gate, in the background.

Stain Glass window with figure of William Wallacce at the St Margaret Chapel.

The chapel is the oldest building in Edinburgh, built in the year 1130. It is a small chapel. But next to the chapel and overlooking the Argyle Battery below, there is giant gun called the Mons Meg.

Mons Meg - high calibre siege gun at Edinburgh Castle.

This gun was not to defend Edinburgh Castle. Instead it was an offensive siege weapon that was used to break down other castles. It is displayed here after its useful life.

It is good to see that army and soldiers’ dogs are remembered and honoured for their contributions.

Time spent to visit Edinburgh Castle was about 3 hours. This was a very interesting castle with plenty to see and a good way to understand some Scottish history.

In front of the castle is a stretch of road called the Royal Mile. It starts at the Castle entrance to the gates of Holyrood Palace at the other end.

The plan is to spent the afternoon walking down this stretch of road. But first, we had lunch at one of the restaurant located near Castlehill, start of the Royal Mile.