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| Castle tower |
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| The castle on Castle Rock |
We were going to be spending two nights in Edinburgh, so we
thought that this day would be a little less hectic, since we would not be
traveling to another city. We did get to sleep in a little later than on the
days we traveled and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (haggis for breakfast?), but
after we had eaten, we boarded the bus for a tour of the city. Our driver drove
us to the old historic inner city, which reminded us of the French Quarter, where
we saw some impressive, old architecture and landmarks that date back to the 11
th
and 12
th centuries. Edinburgh plays an important role in Scottish
history both as a very old major city and as the country’s capital.
We drove
along the upscale Princes Street and through the gracious, wide streets of
200-year-old Georgian New Town. We walked along part of the “Royal Mile,” the
name given to a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old
Town of the city that runs from the Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace.
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| Chapel exterior |
It is the
busiest tourist street in Old Town and is home to medieval houses reaching over
11 stories in height.
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| Castle grounds |
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| Chapel entrance |
We then wound our way through some interesting
neighborhoods before being dropped off for a tour of Edinburgh Castle.
The castle sets high atop a very large, steep hill, actually
named Castle Rock, and naturally, our tour was a walking tour that began by
clambering to the top. Edinburgh Castle was built sometime in the 12
th
century, and is a very formidable fortress.
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| Jane in the guardhouse |
Free
time was extended to allow us to roam through various parts of the castle. We
went into the National War Museum of Scotland, a Scottish war memorial which
commemorated Scottish soldiers who died in different wars. Our tour guide took us into a high
security building to view (no pictures allowed) Scotland’s Crown Jewels which
had Jane panting. Next we went into the castle’s Great Hall where the king
would entertain and conduct banquets. We saw Stone of Scone or the Coronation
Stone which is an oblong block of red sandstone that was used for centuries in
the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and later, the monarchs of England
and the kingdom of Great Britain. The stone was last used in 1953 during the
coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
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| Great Hall |
We climbed onto
the castle’s outer wall where we were treated to spectacular views of the city
and the harbor the castle protects. We hopped the bus and returned to our hotel and chilled
out during the afternoon with Jane taking a nap and Capt. Larry doing some
reading.
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| Harbor view from the wall |
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| Castle and esplanade at the tattoo |
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| One of the military bands |
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| Bagpipers playinig |
After dinner in one of the hotel’s restaurants, we headed
back to the castle to attend the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The tattoo is an
annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth
and international military bands and display teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh
Castle.
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| Ever-changing lighting |
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| Drummers drumming |
It was
originally a form of military music, but the practice has evolved into more
elaborate shows involving theatrics and musical performances. The tattoo is
held each August as part of the annual Edinburgh Festival, was first staged in
1950 and combines the traditional sounds of bagpipes and drums. This year over 46 countries were represented, and the event is televised to over 30
countries with a worldwide audience of over 100 million.
http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/the-experience/.
We thoroughly enjoyed the bagpipers,
drummers, dancers, and bands that performed on the esplanade as well as the
constantly changing light show displayed on the walls of the castle. While we
have seen tattoo YouTube videos that have been sent to us, there is no
comparison to seeing it firsthand. After the tattoo, we boarded our bus and
headed back to our hotel where we crashed after another really long day.
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| Grand finale |
To see photo galleries
and learn more about the program,
follows this link:
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