2025 Scotland: Edinburgh - Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, Holyrood Park

Built on Castle Rock mainly as a strategic military fortress, the historic Edinburgh Castle was a symbol of Scottish power that was fought over between the Scots and the British for centuries.  First completed as a Medieval castle in 1103 under King Malcolm III, it was continually expanded between the 12th-16th centuries with the additions of St. Margaret’s Chapel (12thC), King David’s Tower and fortifications (14thC), the Crown Square which included the Great Hall and royal apartments (15thC), and artillery platforms to support new technologies including cannons (16th C).  In addition to its military role, Edinburgh Castle served as the Royal Residence until 1633. Once the royalty moved across the Royal Mile to Palace of Holyroodhouse, the military took over and turned the castle into a true fortress and garrison, stripping away much of its decorative features including stained-glass windows.  Today, Edinburgh Castle is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the city and can be viewed prominently from many locations in the Old Town including Grassmarket where we were staying.  Several lengthy flights of stairs brought us from Grassmarket to Castlehill at the top of Castle Rock.  Just outside the castle is the Witches’ Well, created in 1894 by Celtic Revival artist John Duncan to commemorate the people executed for witchcraft in the 16th and 17th centuries.

We entered the site by walking through the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, a large open area with stadium seating set up on three sides to support the annual Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo held each August. To enter the castle, we walked through the Portcullis Gate which consists of a large archway flanked by bronze sculptures of Scottish hero William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce, installed in 1929 within neo-Gothic niches.

Being on top of a hill, spectacular panoramic views of Edinburgh can be seen from the castle walls including the Royal Mile, Holyrood Palace, Holyrood Park including Arthur’s Seat and even the North Sea on a clear day.   Some of the best vistas can be found on the battery walls including the Half Moon Battery on the east side which overlooks the castle entrance.  Fun views can be found while peering through the embrasures or holes where the cannons point out of.  Not only do the rectangular openings frame the scenery, but they give you a sense of the defensive areas that these cannons would have supported back when the castle was in use as a military base.

The Scottish National War Memorial is one of the most impressive buildings in Edinburgh Castle. It serves as Scotland’s place of remembrance for those who died from WWI up to current day.  On either side of the entrance are silver-grey granite sculptures of a lion and a horse, holding shields of the Union Jack and the Cross of St.Andrew respectively.  In a recess above entrance is a figure representing “the Survival of the Spirit” with an eagle symbolising strength, vigilance and remembrance at its base.  Fantastical, animal-like gargoyles can be found at the top of the tower and in smaller recesses are allegorical figures representing Courage, Justice and Peace.

Photos are not allowed inside the War Memorial out of respect for the dignity and reverence of the setting but there are photos on the internet of this beautiful interior.  Books of Remembrance or Rolls of Honour are kept within a sealed steel casket located on an altar within the memorial’s shrine, listing the names of the Scottish service men and women who died in each war.  Relief carvings depict military scenes including soldiers marching or in battle, and the wounded being nursed, as well as some religious scenes. A series of brightly coloured stained-glass windows created in 1927 depict relatively modern images including tanks, artillery, zeppelins, bi-planes, and soldiers blowing bugles.  Other windows are religious or historic in nature.  The theme of the décor reflects valour, sacrifice, justice and triumph of peace over war.

The only other building in Edinburgh Castle that does not allow photography, probably for security reasons, is the “Crown Room”.  This is where the “Honours of Scotland” are kept.  Made of gold, silver and precious metals, these are the oldest surviving Crown jewels in Scotland, consisting of the crown, sceptre, and sword of state that were first used for a monarch’s coronation in 1543.  During the wars of the 17th Century when Oliver Cromwell’s troops were attacking, the honours were hidden in a church in the hamlet of Kinneff, which we happened to stop by later on in our trip.

Built for King James IV between 1509-1511, the Grand Hall served as the 95-foot-long space where royal ceremonies and state banquets were held. It features a vaulted, Norwegian wood hammerbeam roof decorated with stone corbels with motifs including the Royal cipher, the Scottish Thistle, a female bust which is the symbol of love, and a Lion’s Head which is the emblem of Scottish Royalty and Christ.  A famous painting known as “Ensign Ewart capturing the French Eagle at Waterloo” depicts the cavalry charge of Ensign Charles Ewart of the Royal Scots Grey in 1815, symbolizing Britian’s defeat of French Imperial power.  The massive, ornate stone fireplace is adorned with four elegant allegorical figures carved in the Renaissance style.  Set high above the fireplace is “Laird’s Lug”, also known as “Lord’s Ear”.  It is a small iron grate used as a peephole for kings to listen in on the conversations of their guests. Many Medieval weapons are hung on the walls including swords, axes, spiked spears and rifles.  After Oliver Cromwell’s siege in 1650, the hall was transformed into barracks and a military hospital.  Between 1887-1891, it was restored to its original splendor, adding back the roof, paneled walls and stained-glass windows.

There are several military museums within the grounds of Edinburgh Castle.  The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Regimental Museum focuses on the history and campaigns of this calvary regiment that has been existence since early 1700s.  The Royal Scots Regimental Museum displays artifacts from this group that was founded in 1633. The largest museum is the National War Museum of Scotland which contains artifacts from 400 years of Scottish military history.  The museums contain displays of military artifacts including arms and weapons, uniforms, medals, paintings and dioramas of famous battle scenes, recruitment posters, maps, personal items and more.  A highlight found in the Scots Dragoon Museum is an actual gilded bronze eagle and standard (regimental flag) captured from Napoleon’s army at the Battle of Waterloo.  One diorama shows Ensign Kennedy who was mortally wounded while clutching the British Standard.  A Sergeant tried to remove it from his grasp but was unable, so he hoisted the dead solider and carried him back to their home base.  Another interesting exhibit showed examples every day objects being used to hide secret messages including a chess set with compartments that concealed a map, saw, compass and currency to help out a prisoner of war escapee.

In addition to the cannons that we saw pointing out of embrasures, there were also two special guns.  An extra-large 6-ton cannon or “bombard” nicknamed “Mons Meg” was created in Mons, Belgium in 1449 and was gifted to King James II in 1457.  With a barrel diameter of 20 inches, it could fire huge cannonballs weighing up to 385 pounds that could travel over 2 miles.  As per its name, the “One O’Clock Gun” is a daily tradition where a 105mm field gun is fired exactly at 1pm each day, harking back to 1861 when businessman John Hewat introduced the idea as a way to signal the time to ships and locals alike.  Today, it is fired merely for the enjoyment of the tourists. In front of the National War Museum is a bronze sculpture of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig sitting on his horse on top of a rocky terrain. One and a half times larger than life-sized, the sculpture honours the first Earl of Haig’s wartime leadership during World War I and his welfare work for ex-servicemen.  The Prisoners of War Exhibition recreates the conditions that prisoners faced between the 1700s to early 1800s.  On display are wooden doors with graffiti scratched on them, items crafted by prisoners including wood boxes, chess sets, intricate models of ships, prisoners’ rations, and examples of living quarters for ordinary sailors and soldiers as opposed to officers.

While most of Edinburgh Castle is devoted to the military, there are still Royal Apartments above the Crown Room that were the residences of the Stewart monarchs starting with the reign of King James IV in the mid 15th centuries until King Charles I in 1633.  One of the rooms is the birthing chamber where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to King James VI.  A large display contained embroideries created by Mary while in exile in England after fleeing Scotland.  The oldest surviving building on the site is St.Margaret’s Chapel, a small Romanesque stone structure built in 1130 by King David I to honour his mother, Queen Margaret.  The chapel fell into disuse and was used as a gunpowder store in the 1500s before being restored in the 19th century.  Nearby is a small, enclosed pet cemetery that was established in the 1840s as the final resting place for regimental officer’s pet dogs and mascots. The oldest visible grave from 1881 is for Jess, a terrier belonging to the military band of the Black Watch 42nd Royal Highlanders.  

Palace of Holyroodhouse (aka Holyrood Palace) has been the official residence of the British monarchy in Scotland since the 16th century and is used for official events and ceremonies.  Built with a blend of Renaissance and Baroque styles, major additions were added in the 16th and 17th centuries. The oldest surviving part of the palace is the King James V Tower, built between 1528-1536.  It was where Mary, Queen of Scots had her chambers and the site of the murder of her secretary David Rizzio, who was killed in front of her by her husband Lord Darnley and his accomplices. The decorative stone fountain outside the palace is topped by a crown hoisted by armed soldiers holding spears. Below are historical figures including Rizzio and Queen Margaret, followed by sculptures of lions and unicorns and then a series of lion heads.  Erected in 1858, it is based on a fountain built by King James V in 1538 at Linlithgow Palace, 24 kilometres west of Edinburgh.  The Quadrangle is a central open courtyard area designed in the 1670s to resemble a monastic cloister.  It has 3 floors plus an attic with the ground floor serving as service areas (kitchen, storage, etc.), the first floor has State Apartments and the Royal Apartments are on the second floor.  The decorations of the façades are progressively more ornate as you get higher up, reflecting the functions of each level.  There are Doric columns on the ground floor, then Ionic on the first floor and finally Corinthian columns on the second for the Royal Apartments.  In the centre of the courtyard is a stone fountain sitting on perfectly a manicured lawn.

Photos are not allowed inside the palace but we were given audio guides that told us interesting facts about each room along with images of the room. Following our tour, I sat at the outdoor café and took screenshots of some of those images as well as finding more on the internet.  The first area that we encountered was the Grand Staircase, where the walls are lined with tapestries and 16th century Italian frescos while the magnificent 17th Century Baroque ceiling is adorned with plaster angels holding the Honours of Scotland.  The stairs lead to the State Apartments which includes the room that had been used as a Guard’s Chamber, the King’s Drawing Room, and a Dining Room before being converted into a Throne Room in 1871.  Today a pair of thrones are on display which were designed for King George V and Queen Mary. On the next level up is the Royal Apartments where the King’s Bedroom is found, featuring a four-poster bed covered in red damask.  We also saw the suite of Mary Queen of Scots including her bedroom and the outer chamber where the murder occurred.

The Music Room was added in 1670 under Charles II for the purpose of holding private musical performances and intimate receptions.  This elegant room is decorated with gilded cornices, pale wood paneling, ornate plaster designs with musical motifs, giltwood chairs, a candelabra and musical instruments including a piano and a harp.  A curved alcove enhances acoustics for chamber music recitals.  The most interesting room is the 150-foot-long Great Gallery, the largest room in the palace, which serves as the main processional and state gathering place.  The room has two grand, marble fireplaces, a row of windows spanning the entire length of the room, facing a wall containing 96 portraits of Scottish monarchs painted between 1684-1686 by Jacob de Wet the Younger on behalf of King Charles II.  Our audio guide told the amusing story of how King Charles hoped these portraits would support his claim to the throne since he obviously had the genetic trait of the “family nose”.

The Gothic and Romanesque styled Holyrood Abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I after experiencing a miraculous event where he encountered a white stag during a hunting expedition and saw the vision of the Holy Cross (or Rood) between the deer’s antlers. In thanks, he created the abbey for the Catholic priests of the Canons Regular of St.Augustine.  Many historic events occurred at the abbey over the centuries including coronations, weddings, funerals and births.  Various parts of the abbey were destroyed during conflicts over the years and then fell into total ruin in the late 17th century due to religious and political turmoil added to structural damage caused by harsh weather and years of neglect. Today, the surviving ruins of the abbey include the central hall of the nave which features soaring, pointed Gothic arches, ribbed vaults, and large windows with intricate, ornamental stonework including a section that delineates the previous existence of Gothic windows. From the exterior, you can see flying buttresses that remain to support one of the remaining walls.

Although the roof has been destroyed since the 17th century, enough of the abbey remains so you can image its former grandeur. Royal vaults beneath the abbey contain the remains of Scottish monarchs including King David II, James II, James V and Lord Darnley (2nd husband of Mary, Queen of Scots).  Grave slabs of Augustian canons and abbots are embedded in the nave’s floor while tomb markers of noble families and Royal Dragoon guards line the walls.

The gardens in Holyrood Palace cover 10 acres of landscaped terrain with lawns, flower beds, sculptures and fountains.  A multi-surfaced sandstone sundial was created in 1633 and presented by King Charles I to his queen Henrietta Maria to commemorate his Scottish Coronation at the Holyrood Abbey. There are twenty dials with metal surfaces carved as spheres (or gnomons) that allow the sundial to cast a shadow.  Rectangular mounds near Holyrood Palace are the remnants of the foundations and walls of Holyrood Abbey's eastern end and associated monastic buildings. These visible earthworks and stone outlines mark where the choir, transepts, and possibly other abbey structures once stood, extending eastward from the ruined nave you still see today. The mounds correspond to the original footprint of the medieval abbey, built in the 12th century by David I, and evidence suggests they may also include graves, chapels, or the abbey house itself. From the palace grounds, we could see clear views of the hills in Holyrood Park.

Holyrood Park is a 650-acre Royal park just east of Holyrood Palace that is known for its dramatic hills, steep crags, picturesque lochs, grassy meadows, and an extinct volcano called Arthur’s Seat that is the highest point in Edinburgh at almost 825 feet. We had planned to hike around the park and climb to the top of Arthur’s Seat during our 7-day stay in Edinburgh.  Unfortunately, there was a huge bush fire in Arthur’s Seat just a few weeks before our trip and much of the park was closed.

We checked daily on the status of the closures but they did not reopen by the time we had to leave the city.  We had one last chance to visit the park on the last day of our trip (22 days later), when we would return to Edinburgh to fly home the next morning.  Arthur’s seat was still not accessible but we could at least walk around other areas in the park.  We arrived back in Edinburgh around mid afternoon, but when we arrived at the main parking lot at Queen’s Drive at the top of the park, we found the entrance blocked. Feeling defeated, we decided to give up and proceed to Sheep’s Heid Inn for an early meal. Once we parked the car by the restaurant, we realized that we were very close to the bottom of the park and might be able to walk in from there. As we strolled in that direction, we found that access to Duddingston Low Road was also blocked, but there was a long, steep staircase that would allow us to finally access Holyrood Park. Climbing for what felt like for forever while passing through grassy slopes and rocky areas, we arrived up to a plateau.

Luckily, there was a bench at the top of the stairs and we gratefully sat there to rest while taking in the spectacular view of the city below.  As expected, the path leading up to Arthur’s Seat was still blocked, now over 5 weeks after the fire.  Although the flames had been extinguished, there was still danger of falling rocks and crews were still assessing the damage.  Unable to complete our originally planned circuit of the park up to Arthur’s Seat, we instead headed clockwise along Queen’s Drive which runs in a circle around the outer edges of the park.

While making this trek, we saw people heading towards and standing at the top of what was probably Crow Hill.  Had we been able to get here at the beginning of our trip as we first hoped, or even if it wasn’t so late in the day before we could finally get into the park, we might have considered making this climb.  But by now we were exhausted and worried about the prospect of rain and darkness, so we just admired the hill from afar and continued on our way.

We had some nice views as we passed Dunsapie Loch, which is an artificial reservoir created in 1844.  Small waterfowl were swimming in the water and rocky outcrops of volcanic and sedimentary geology including Dunsapie Hill could be seen in the distance.  Continuing along, we reached Margaret’s Loch and from there we spotted the ruins of St.Anthony’s Chapel which was likely built in the early 15th century.  We were debating whether or not we had time to hike up the hill to reach the ruins for a closer look when the skies darkened and it started to rain.

This made our decision easier and we counted our blessings to have made it this far in our quest to visit Holyrood Park since it was looking hopeless just a few hours ago.  We turned around and retraced our steps, continuing to enjoy the vistas.  Descending back down the stairs was much easier although the big wide steps still were a challenge for my short legs.  We were gratified to pass a much younger man as he made the climb that we had completed earlier and noted that even he was huffing and puffing.  It is too bad that we were not able to explore more of Holyrood Park including access to Arthur's seat (which finally reopened on October 19) but I'm glad that we were able to get a taste of the beauty of the surroundings.

We rewarded ourselves with dinner at Sheep’s Heid Inn, which is the reputed to be the oldest licensed eatery in Edinburgh, dating back to 1360.  The inn had many royal visitors in the past including Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Queen Elizabeth II as well as famous literary figures such as Robbie Burns and Sir Walter Scott.  Theories about the etymology of name of the inn include its history of serving a sheep’s head dish (no longer on the menu!) or the story that King James VI presented the owner with a ram’s head snuff box.  Today, the place is decorated with the heads of rams mounted on the wall and there is a plaque commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s last visit.  From the gastropub menu, we started with pan-fried scallops served with crispy prosciutto, roast butternut, wild garlic salsa verde, and crispy sage, as well as beef croquettes with a horseradish sauce.  For our main course, I had the signature dish of slow-cooked pork belly, pork fillet wrapped in prosciutto, roasted apple ketchup, dauphinoise potato, broccoli, and a rich gravy.  Rich went for the Scottish favorite of Chicken Balmoral, which is a chicken breast stuffed with haggis, then wrapped in bacon and served with a whisky or peppercorn sauce, all on top of a bed of mashed potato and broccolini on the side.  He ordered the same dish at Last Drop Inn on our first day in Edinburgh and liked it so much that he wanted to have it again.  We ended the meal by sharing a sticky toffee pudding. 

Then Rich had a surprise for me.  He asked the waitress whether we could take a peek at Skittles Alley, Scotland’s oldest surviving bowling alley dating back to 1880, which was found at the back of the restaurant.  Skittles is a traditional pub game similar to bowling where players knock down skittles pins by rolling a wooden ball down an alley.  Skittles consists of 9 wooden pins arranged in a diamond shape with a smaller, lighter ball that has no holes.  The lane is shorter and narrower than a contemporary bowling alley.  The Skittle’s Alley at Sheep’s Heid can be rented for private functions.