Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is an impressively large fortress that sits above the city on Castle Rock. There’s been a royal castle on the site since at least the 12th century, with it continuing to be a royal residence until 1633.

This was our first trip to the castle and we were impressed by how easily it was to pre-book the tickets and collect them with a smartphone. We’d also gone there near the opening time and though the place was understandably busy, it never seemed too overcrowded – visiting mid-week no doubt helped with this.

The views from the grounds were just as impressive as you would expect and we spent a long time walking along the walls taking photographs.

We also spent a long time exploring the various museums on the site including the National War Museum of Scotland,

and the Royal Scots Regimental Museum,

though I confess to getting quite military history fatigued after we’d spent time in all of them.

The castle is also of course home to the Honours of Scotland (crown jewels) which you are not allowed to photograph, but which were very impressive. They are located in the Royal Palace where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI in 1566.

One of the most impressive rooms was the Great Hall which had been built for James IV in 1511 and is still used today for state functions.

The castle is also the site of the Scottish National War Memorial. Understandably as a memorial to the dead you cannot take photos inside but it is a stunningly beautiful building and has some lovely statues guarding the entrance.

There is a tremendous amount to see and do at the castle and it’s definitely one of Edinburgh’s must-sees. You can find more photos here.