The castle was a fort and royal residence since the 11th century. This is a huge place with many different sites to see. Crown Jewels(You can not take pictures of the Crown Jewels), The jewels were buried after Cromwell came to power and hidden for 100 hundred years. They are not as impressive as the English crown jewels. There is a big chunk of rock called the Stone of Scone, which is the coronation stone of Scottish kings. Swiped by the English it sat under the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey from 1296-1996 when Queen Elizabeth agreed to send it home on the condition it be returned to Westminster Abbey for coronations (amazing what can become a historical object)
Scottish War Museum commemorates 149,000 soldiers lost in WW I, 58,000 in WW II, and 750 and counting lost since then. One out of 3 Scottish men died in WWI. (could not take pictures)
Great Hall is from 16th & 17th century, which was a ceremonial meeting place and included a peephole where the king could spy on his subjects. This room had some nice paintings.
St. Margaret’s Chapel
This is the oldest building in Edinburgh dedicated to Queen Margaret who died here in 1093 and was sainted in 1250. This building was used as a powder magazine storage for 400 years. This is a very small building but has nice stained glass windows.
This is the oldest building in Edinburgh dedicated to Queen Margaret who died here in 1093 and was sainted in 1250. This building was used as a powder magazine storage for 400 years. This is a very small building but has nice stained glass windows.
Even the pipes on some buildings are special with gold trim
Prison’s quarters
Pet cemetery
They really built the castle on a rock foundation
National War Museum of ScotlandThis museum covers 4 centuries of Scottish military history with uniforms, weapons, and even soldiers letters to give it a personal touch. (unfortunately by the time we got here we were too tired to really enjoy the exhibits).
Spectacular views through the canon holes
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