Scotland's capital, and beautiful city, really needs few words of explanation. Crowned by the huge castle, and surrounded by hills, everything is contained in a relatively small area.
For over 3,000 years, Castle Rock has provided a place of safety from attack. In ancient times, it was called Din Eidyn (the stronghold of Eidyn). Then about 638 AD, the Angles invaded, and changed the name to Edinburgh.
The 1 o'clock gun being fired. The One O'Clock Gun is fired every day (except Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day) at precisely 13:00, allowing citizens and visitors to check their clocks and watches.
The origin of the tradition lies in the days when sailing ships in the Firth of Forth were able to check and reset their chronometers in the days before accurate timepieces were available. It accompanies a visual signal from a time-ball on top of the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill. It first took place in 1861. The present gun is a 105mm field gun.
And - almost unbelievably - there was a woman who addressed the soldier as he was making his way to his position, and asked him what time the one o'clock gun was being fired! I kid you not.............
Mons Meg is a medieval bombard in the collection of the Royal Armouries, on loan to Historic Scotland and located at Edinburgh Castle. It has a barrel diameter of 20 inches (510 mm) making it one of the largest cannons in the world by calibre.
Mons Meg was built in 1449 on the orders of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy and sent by him as a gift to James II, King of Scots, in 1454. The bombard was employed in sieges until the middle of the 16th century, after which it was only fired on ceremonial occasions. In 1680 the barrel burst, rendering Mons Meg unusable. The gun remained in Edinburgh Castle until 1754 when, along with other unused weapons in Scotland, it was taken to the Tower of London. Sir Walter Scott and others campaigned for its return, which was effected in 1829. Mons Meg has since been restored and is now on display within the castle precincts.
St. Margaret's Chapel. This is the oldest building in Edinburgh, built around 1130. It was built by David I as a private chapel for the royal family, and dedicated to his mother, Margaret. She died in the castle in 1093. It was converted into a gunpowder store in the 16th. century, before being returned to its original use in 1845. It is still in use today, for christenings and weddings.
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The Scottish National War Memorial - a very atmospheric place to pause and reflect. The interior is grandly beautiful, and you would never guess that the building was originally barracks.
The magnificent entrance to the Scottish National War Memorial, unveiled in 1927. It commemorates the 100,000 Scots who died in the First World War and since. In bronze and stained glass, the memorial depicts every imaginable contribution to war service, including those made by transport mules, carrier pigeons, and even the mice and canaries used to detect gas in the trenches.
The Royal Palace, which dominates Crown Square. It is where the sovereign resided, and where James V's widow, Marie de Guise died, and where James VI of Scotland and I of England was born to Mary, Queen of Scots.
The Half Moon Battery is the chief high-level defence on the castle's vulnerable east front.
Beneath the gun platform lies the ruins of David's Tower, named for David II who commissioned it. It was brought down during a siege in 1571.
Views over Edinburgh from the castle walls, are stunning
The Firth of Forth and the Forth Rail Bridge can be seen
The parade ground at the entrance to the castle, is known as the Esplanade. Annually, it becomes the site of the world-famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
The walk up from the gatehouse. This is the usual route into the fortress. The central strip of small granite pieces provided better grip for horses' hooves.
The building on the left is the Argyle Tower, in effect the upper part of the Portcullis Gate, added in 1887.The tower is named for the 9th. Earl of Argyll, who was imprisoned in a room above the gate before his execution in 1685 for leading a rebellion against James VII.
The pet cemetery at the castle. (Don't let Stephen King frighten you!)
Since the middle of the 19th. century, this small space has been used for the burial of regimental mascots and officer's dogs.
The 'Lang Stair', a shorter, but steeper route up to the castle, comprises 70 steps. The plaque commemorates a successful raid on the castle in 1314 by Sir Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, during the Wars of Independence with England
And so to the rest of the city.......
Calton Hill - is famous for its collection of historic monuments, which form some of the most important landmarks of the city. One of the most striking is the National Monument, inspired by the Parthenon in Athens. Intended to commemorate the Scottish servicemen who died in the Napoleonic Wars, it was never completed leaving just the twelve columns you see today.
Also look out for the Nelson Monument, shaped like an up-turned telescope. Completed in 1816 the monument commemorates the death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. However in 1852 a time ball was added to the top to enable ships moored in the Firth of Forth to set their time-pieces accurately. The Nelson Monument is open to the public, and the Time Ball still drops at one o’clock six days a week.
the Scott Monument, which stands in Princes Street Gardens, is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana.
The Monument stands just over 200 feet high, and is decorated with carved figures of characters from Scott's novels. There are 4 stages, or platforms, on the climb from the Monument's base to the observation platform. (287 steps!)
At the base of the Monument is a statue of Scott with his favourite deerhound Maida, sculpted from Carrara marble by Sir John Steell and set on a platform of huge stone steps.
Greyfriar's Bobby
Greyfriar's Kirk was built in the grounds of a former Franciscan Friary that was dissolved in 1559. In the mid 1600s it was used as a barracks by Cromwell's troops and gunpowder was held in the tower. Perhaps inevitably, this exploded in the 18th century and destroyed the tower and damaged the two west bays.
Further disaster struck in January 1845 when a fire gutted part of the building.
The National Covenant was signed here in 1638; this was a contract with God, signed by the Nobles, Ministers and thousands of ordinary Scots, who pledged themselves to defend Scotland's rights and the Presbyterian religion.
It was also the setting for the story of Greyfriars' Bobby.
The years on the streets appear to have taken their toll on John, as he was treated by the Police Surgeon for tuberculosis. John eventually died of the disease on the 15th February 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Bobby soon touched the hearts of the local residents when he refused to leave his master’s grave, even in the worst weather conditions. The gardener and keeper of Greyfriars tried on many occasions to evict Bobby from the Kirkyard. In the end he gave up and provided a shelter for Bobby by placing sacking beneath two tablestones at the side of John Gray’s grave.
Bobby’s fame spread throughout Edinburgh. It is reported that almost on a daily basis the crowds would gather at the entrance of the Kirkyard waiting for the one o’clock gun that would signal the appearance of Bobby leaving the grave for his midday meal. Bobby would follow William Dow, a local joiner and cabinet maker to the same Coffee House that he had frequented with his now dead master, where he was given a meal.
In 1867 a new bye-law was passed that required all dogs to be licensed in the city or they would be destroyed. Sir William Chambers (The Lord Provost of Edinburgh) decided to pay Bobby’s licence and presented him with a collar with a brass inscription “Greyfriars Bobby from the Lord Provost 1867 licensed”. This can be seen at the Museum of Edinburgh. The kind folk of Edinburgh took good care of Bobby, but still he remained loyal to his master. For fourteen years the dead man’s faithful dog kept constant watch and guard over the grave until his own death in 1872.
Baroness Angelia Georgina Burdett-Coutts, President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA, was so deeply moved by his story that she asked the City Council for permission to erect a granite fountain with a statue of Bobby placed on top. Bobby’s headstone in the kirkyard reads “Greyfriars Bobby – died 14th January 1872 – aged 16 years – Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all”.
the Heart of Midlothian is a mosaic located outside St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. The heart marks the location of the entrance to Edinburgh's Old Tolbooth which was demolished in 1817. Locals will often spit upon the heart as a sign of good luck. While the tradition is now one of good luck, it was originally believed to be done as a sign of disdain for the executions which took place within the Old Tolbooth.
Salisbury Crag & Arthur's Seat - These imposing rock formations lie to the west of Holyrood Park, at the bottom of the Royal Mile. The name Salisbury Crags derives from the first Earl of Salisbury, who accompanied Edward III of England on one of his invasions of Scotland.
Arthur's Seat is an ancient volcano. There is no Scottish tradition of King Arthur, but William Maitland proposed that the name was a corruption of Àrd-na-Said, implying the "Height of Arrows", which over the years became Arthur's Seat (perhaps via "Archer's Seat").
The Rose Fountain, directly below the castle, in Princes Street gardens
Below, this is how Princes Street gardens looked in the 70s, on my first visit to Edinburgh!
Love this view from the castle - Edinburgh in one photograph. Here we have a modern Big Wheel in Princes Street gardens, directly in front of the Scott Monument, Princes Street shops, the New Town, the Port of Leith, and the Firth of Forth beyond.
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