In getting ready for my upcoming trip to France, I’ve realized that there’s still quite a bit from my last big trip to the UK that I haven’t gotten around to telling everyone about. Then, with the excitement of the upcoming new royal baby to celebrate, I realized that I’d left off at the perfect moment! I last finished describing the royal castle at Sterling, and next up on my trip was the city of Edinburgh. This absolutely fascinating and culturally rich city has so much to offer that I’m going to devote two posts to it, with this first one focusing on the three royal biggies in the city: Edinburgh Castle, The Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the lesser known The Royal Yacht Britannica.
You’ve got to start with the looming giant – perched high on a hill overlooking nearly everything in the city is the amazing Edinburgh Castle. Like Sterling, the history is vast, but a bit unlike Sterling, Edinburgh Castle is constantly evolving. Of course it started as a fortress, and housed royals like Mary Queen of Scots and her son James I, but it’s since become barracks for common soldiers, and currently plays host to the fabulous military show each year during the Royal Edinburg Military Tattoo. As you circle up to the highest point in the castle, you almost go back in time with modern barrack buildings tucked in amongst ancient security gates all the way up to the 12th century teeny St. Margaret’s chapel near the top – it’s really cool. Another interesting point is that up at the top, past the old chapel, you’ve got not only the old palace buildings, complete with an amazing great hall featuring a stunning, ORIGINAL wooden hammerbeam ceiling & amour galore, but you also have a 20th century structure that now houses the Scottish National War Memorial, a poignant, peaceful place. This massive structure really is the heart of Scotland – in addition to their own crown jewels still displayed in the palace, it is also now home again to the Stone of Scone, upon which most Scottish monarchs were crowned, and only returned from England recently (in 1996). The daily shooting of a cannon (not the famous Mons Meg, the 15th century cannon that keeps a silent watch in front of the chapel) reminds everyone that this bastion of might is still here and still proudly guarding this great city. Here are some photos from my morning spent running around the castle:
Did I mention the views from the castle are amazing? Because they are! A few more pics of those:
The next major royal site in Edinburgh, at the far end of the Royal Mile – the supremely awesome main street of Edinburgh which is far longer than an actual mile – is the Palace at Holyroodhouse, or just Holyrood. This is the official residence of the current Queen while she’s in Scotland, and as such it is largely closed, though there are some amazing rooms from Queen Mary’s time. The modern building encircles a really peaceful courtyard, and then the back tower areas feature some lovely preserved rooms, including Queen Mary’s bedroom and study. Be sure to listen to the story about where and how her secretary was murdered basically in front of her! There’s a massive portrait gallery and such, but, honestly – it IS just another palace. A really lovely one with a nice café attached, but the main attraction for me was the gardens and ruined abbey. Attached at the back of the palace are the ruins of the Augustinian Abbey of Holyrood , which – like several others I saw throughout the UK – are almost more romantic for being destroyed than they would’ve been had they survived. They’re also a gateway to the truly marvelous gardens. I’m not even a garden fanatic and I thought these were really special – not the formal, manicured gardens you often see, but more of a free, rambling wilderness. The meandering paths open up on one side to an expansive lawn heading over to the other towering landmark of Edinburgh – Arthur’s Seat, but more on that next time. I was lucky to be there right at the start of spring when the blooms were already pretty much out in full force, a colorful compliment to the stark grey stones of the abbey. No photos are allowed inside the palace (which may be why my memory of it isn’t more pronounced), but here are a few from out in the gardens:
The third big royal site in Edinburgh is probably the least visited, but maybe my favorite. It’s Queen Elizabeth’s royal yacht that she used for about 60 years to travel to the far reaches of the empire. Rather than flying all the way to New Zealand, or wherever, she took this boat. It is amazing and awesome and WELL worth the trip up to the northern end of town. One of the hop-on/hop-off routes includes this, so you don’t need a car to do it, and if you care at all about the current royals, you really should take the time. The comparison between the extremely formal and glamourous state dining room and the comfy chintz sofas is awesome, as is her actual bedroom, which is a quaint & non-descript as you wouldn’t imagine a queen’s bedroom being. The 60’s design and accessories are a trip to see, and the stories you hear and family photos displayed all over really show that THIS is the place where the royals really relaxed & were out of the glare of the spotlight, at least that we can tour today. Apparently the incredibly stiff-upper-lip stoic queen even shed a tear when the ship was retired! I won’t say more, because this is getting a bit long, but here are a ton of pics to help tempt you:
In looking through my notes & photos, I realized there is a fourth site in Edinburgh that is worth a peek for those interested in royals. Found in the also fabulous St. Giles High Kirk (right on the Royal Mile, where protestant John Knox preached) is a small chapel that is the home of the Order of the Thistle, which is the highest order of chivalry in Scotland, and its 16 members are decided by the reigning monarch, and held for life. Each seat in this little off-shoot of the main church has the 17 seats with the different heralds of each occupant over time, creating a record of all the members of the order. I think I snuck my way in with another group accidentally, but was really glad I did so. Hearing about the different heralds and seeing each seat’s history was really a cool extra royal moment!
Needless to say, I hope this post makes it clear that Edinburgh should be a must-see for any big British Royalty fans. The city has so much more to offer, though, that I’ll get into in my next installment.