British Isles Tour - Day Ten Edinburgh, Scotland

  Scotland!  Today we would get to tour a country I have long wanted to visit! 

We were met on the docks by a real Scottish native!  I love how proud the Scot people are of their heritage and land. 

Our tour guide drove us on a panoramic drive through Glasgow, past St. Andrew’s Square and the Cathedral. 

The drive to Edinburgh took about 45 minutes, through beautiful green country which we were certainly getting used to and loving.

Upon entering the city of Edinburgh, you can look up at Edinburgh Castle, which we visited a short time later.

In Edinburgh, we took a panoramic tour of the Old and New Town.

Our next stop was the Palace of Holyrood.    

This palace was founded as a monastery in 1128, and is the Queen’s official residence in Scotland.

 

 
 Although the  Queen spends most of her time in England, when she does come to Scotland where she is ruler there as well, she spends her time here.

Situated at the end of the Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyrood is closely associated with Scotland’s turbulent past, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived here between 1561 and 1567.

Successive kings and queens have made the Palace of Holyrood the premiere royal residence in Scotland. 

The unicorn is Scotland's national animal.  This may seem like an odd choice, "but perhaps not for a country famed for its love for and long history of myth and legend.   The unicorn has been a Scottish symbol since the 12th century, when it was used on an early form of the Scottish coat of arms by William I."  

I know this is long, but it is absolutely fascinating about the unicorn:

In Celtic mythology, the Unicorn of Scotland symbolized innocence and purity, healing powers, joy and even life itself, and was also seen as a symbol of masculinity and power.

During the reign of King James III (1466 - 1488), gold coins were introduced that featured a Unicorn, and at the time of King James VI of Scotland’s succeeding of Elizabeth I of England, and the resulting effective union of the two countries, the Scottish Royal Arms featured two unicorns as shield supporters. In a gesture of unity, King James replaced the one on the left with the English lion.
The symbolism was potent, for the lion and the unicorn had long been painted as enemies, vying for the crown of king of beasts, with the unicorn ruling through harmony and the lion by might.

Today, the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland still has the English lion on the left and the Scottish unicorn on the right, and the Royal Coat of Arms for use in Scotland has them the other way round.

The heraldic unicorn is pictured as being chained, because according to folklore a free unicorn was a dangerous beast.

Back in the van, we started out climb toward Edinburgh Castle.  The castle dominates Scotland's capital city from its great rock.

Human habitation of this site goes back to the 9th Century, although it is unclear what its original purpose was.  However, we do know that Iron Age warriors defended this great castle of Edinburgh.  The nation's oldest poetry tells of a war band feasting here for a year before riding to their deaths in battle. 

Upon our arrival we saw lots of scaffolding and observed that they were taking down the stadium seats from the world famous annual Military Tattoo, which is a display of stunning military sets from around the world.  We all wish we could have seen that!!

The Scots and English struggled for control of the castle during the Wars of Independence. In 1314 it was recaptured from the English in a daring night raid led by Thomas Randolph, nephew of King Robert the Bruce.

 Here is the plaque which commemorates that event.  The castle was recovered in 1313 after it had been in the English hands for 20 years.

 

 The sign states that for over 2000 years, this fortress was defended by an outer gate with an inner gate on this site. 
Edinburg Castle's story "has helped shape the nation's story.  Battles and sieges were fought over it, royalty lived and died within its walls, and countless generations have been inspired by it."

These statues of Robert the Bruce . . .

and William Wallace were added in 1929.  (He doesn't look much like Mel Gibson, does he?!)

Home of Royalty

The castle has sheltered many Scottish monarchs. They include Queen Margaret (later St. Margaret), who died here in 1093, and Mary Queen of Scots, who gave birth to James VI in the Royal Palace in 1566.  




 We were actually able to see Mary Queen of Scots' apartments, including the room where King James VI was born.


 Paintings of some of the kings hung in the apartment.
 
When you go through these places, all you can think of is the history of the monarchy and much of its troublesome past, unlike today's time when the Royalty is thought of with so much pride.  Queen Elizabeth has been a wonderful queen and wears the crown so well.


Mary Queen of Scots' great-great-great grandson Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie - captured Edinburgh but was unable to take the castle during the 1745-6 Jacobite Rising.  In 1996, the Stone of Destiny, on which kings were enthroned for centuries, was returned to Scotland. It is now displayed in the Crown Room.

Seeing the crown jewels of Scotland (the oldest in the British Isles) and The Stone of Destiny, was really a thrill.   The stone has been used in the coronation of English monarchs and from 1714 all the sovereigns of Great Britain (apart from Edward VIII, who was never crowned). It was last used in 1953 for the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

It is interesting how much that stone has been fought over between England and Scotland and moved back and forth, but in 1996 due to a growing dissatisfaction among Scots at a constitutional settlement, the British Conservative Government decided that the Stone should be kept in Scotland when not in use at coronations and was then transported from Westminster Abbey in London to its present location here in Edinburgh Castle.  It will then be transported back to Westminster Abbey when it is is required for future coronation ceremonies.  (Note:  A couple of days later we were able to see the coronation chair which, indeed, was missing The Stone, and they told us this same explanation that it would be coming back for the coronation of the next ruler.)

Mary Queen of Scots' mother, also, died here in 1560.

Army Headquarters

Just as the sign says, the castle became a military base in the 1600s. Some buildings were rebuilt and new ones were raised to house a huge garrison - and provide a secure jail for prisoners of war.  

The military weapons displayed in these rooms were not only interesting, but absolutely creative in their method of display.  This is a replica of the sword William Wallace/aka Braveheart used.

Every day at 1:00 p.m., the cannon shoots off.  Why at 1:00 instead of 12:00 noon, you ask?  So that the Scots can save money on the ammunition.  Pretty smart, in my opinion!


We stopped at the gift shop before we left the castle.  This made us all laugh!

One can definitely see why Edinburgh Castle is Scotland's leading tourist attraction.  With so much to see and so little time, we are definitely going to need to go back!

After the castle visit, we were dropped off on the Royal Mile to do a little window shopping and to enjoy the beautiful town itself. 

Here is one man's version of William Wallace.

Of course, kilts were for sale everywhere you looked.


Even some of the doormen at restaurants or hotels wore kilts.  We thought this one was very unique!


Other Scottish items sold along the streets.



Doug doesn't know a stranger.  He stops to talk to so many people along the way.  This man just turned out to be Denzel Washington's brother from Seattle who owns a kilt shop there and comes to Edinburgh to buy the real thing.  So interesting!

Very narrow passage-ways in between buildings.

This is a very famous tavern named Deacon Brodie's Tavern.  William Brodie (28 September 1741 – 1 October 1788), more commonly known by his prestigious title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and an Edinburgh city councilor.  Definitely, a well-thought of man.  Part of his job in building cabinets was to install and repair their locks and other security mechanisms and repair door locks.  (That's the reason the sign has him with a set of keys in his hand.)   

At night, however, Brodie became a burglar and thief to fund his mistresses and gambling habit.   He used his daytime job as a way to gain knowledge about the security mechanisms of his clients and to copy their keys using wax impressions.  

Brodie's deeds were finally discovered and on 1 October 1788, he and an associate were hung using a gallows Brodie had designed and funded the year before.  According to one tale, Brodie wore a steel collar and silver tube to prevent the hanging from being fatal. It was said that he had bribed the hangman to ignore it and arranged for his body to be removed quickly in the hope that he could later be revived. If so, the plan failed. Brodie was buried in an unmarked grave at the Buccleuch Church in Chapel Street. 

 The contradiction between Brodie's respectable facade and his real nature inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Stevenson's father had furniture  made by Brodie.

Great picture, Beverly, of the "Jolly Judge."  So glad he was smiling when you took it, right?!

The superstitious love to touch statues in the hope that luck, brains — or a miracle — will rub off on them.   This is David Hume, who lived from 1711-1776, who was a leading light of the Scottish Enlightenment, a great intellectual period, so when you pass by, you can't help but touch his toe for this purposes, too!  So many people have done this that his toe shows bright gold underneath.

We went into a little cafe for some lunch where we met two Scottish men who cooked our food, then served it themselves.  They were so proud of their efforts!

We had fish and chips again.  Not only was it delicious, but a huge portion which two of us shared.

Then it was back to our van for our ride to the ship.

Again, fun things to see and do in the port shop before we got back on the ship.  How this guy kept from knocking everything over is beyond me!

 
  
That night after dinner we saw the Comedian Jeff Nease’s show.  He was really funny!

Tomorrow and the Next Day:  Day at Sea and then Inverness/Loch Ness, Scotland