I was firstly taken with the fact how small and compact Edinburgh is in the city area, as well very hilly, I never realised this. Why is it so hilly, well it is on the site of ancient volcanoes that were active millions of years ago, and these formed the hills which were further modified by the ice age - which one, damned if I know.
We really enjoyed Edinburgh Castle and spent pretty much all day here. Start the walk up to the castle along the Royal Mile, queue for tickets and then we are in. The castle as you would expect (and probably know from watching the Military Tattoo) is perched on a hill which is in fact an extinct volcano - no prizes for realising this, after the lead in paragraph.
The history of Edinburgh Castle (or as it was Castle Rock) goes back to 600AD where there is first reference to a fortress on the site. The first substantial buildings are built in about 1130, and one of those a chapel is still standing.
St Margaret's Chapel built around 1130AD
The doorway to the chapel
It is quite amazing to walk thru all of the different eras, the Scots had control, the English retake it, the Scots take control again and so on. Throughout the years new buildings are added and fortifications are increased over the years. There is extensive rebuilding in the late 1570's with several cannons added.
There are several museums within the grounds in existing buildings which have been converted/utilised for this purpose, these include The Royal Scots Regimental Museum, The Regimental Museum of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Scottish National War Memorial.
Talking about tradition, they still have the One O'Clock Gun, which is fired almost every day (since 1861), it is a tradition remaining from the days when it was a time signal for ships in the Firth of Forth and the port of Leith. Why one o'clock?, well if it was 12 noon then they would need to fire 12 shots, a simple explanation really.
I managed to get a shot as the cannon was fired
We also visited the great hall built in 1511, which used to be used to entertain knights, and is still used these days for official occasions. We visited the room where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her only child, the future King James VI of Scotland and James I of England.
From the angle in the video you can see why it was built on such a site and why it has been militarily important in controlling the immediate area around Edinburgh as well as making it very difficult if not impossible for attackers to force you from the castle. The only "easy" access is along the Royal Mile, but this was also defended by a moat, and of course you are only defending the enemy on one side (in theory)
No comments:
Post a Comment