Edinburgh Castle
Thursday 29 May
Thursday 29 May
Yesterday had a bit of a mishap, managed to damage a tyre on the car so this morning I was on to the emergency number for Europcar. They couldn't have been more helpful. Called at just after 7.30 this morning and the car was fixed by just before 11.30. They took all the details of size, type and speed rating and at 10.50 a van pulled up which was a complete tyre service van. It had a machine for removing and replacing tyres, a wheel balancing machine and compressor complete with air tools. Made short work of the job.
While I was waiting for the car to be fixed Deb went to a laundry to get our dirty clothes washed. Deb found it on the Internet and when she turned up it was a service laundry so she left the clothes there to be picked up later.
We had decided to go to Edinburgh Castle so got a bus. The stop was about 50 yards from the guest house and the route went right into Edinburgh. We got a taxi from the city to the castle and we arrived there just before 12.30. The queue for the tickets reminded me of the line up for immigration when we arrived in Canada. It about 15 minutes before we could purchase tickets.
We arrived just before the 1.00 o'clock gun which is fired every day except for Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday. It has been going on since 1861 and was linked to the observatory tower where there was a ball that dropped when the gun was fired. The gun and ball were used to let the ships in the port to set their chronometers. It was also used to assist the railways in setting their clocks. At the time clocks and watches weren't all that accurate so for the railways it was a safety measure.
We purchased a guide book and an audio guide. Debs cost 3.00 pounds but mine only cost 2.50 pounds because I am an old fart. They were the best investment we have made so far this trip. There were numbered plaques throughout the castle and when you put the number in it gave us the story.
Within the castle walls are the Scottish War Museum and the Scottish War Memorial. We wandered through the War Museum and there were heaps of of very informative displays from about the 1700's to the present day. Next time I come over I will spend a bit more there. The War Memorial is absolutely brilliant. There are memorials to all the Scottish Regiments and some of the facts were appalling. One of the Scottish Regiments had 2 battalions that were sent to the Western Front. They suffered over 2,000 casualties. From my reckoning each battalion consisted of 1,000 men so to me that means that each battalion was wiped out and replaced.
The Scottish Crown Jewels display was really interesting. It showed the line of succession to the Scottish Throne and how the Honours as the jewels are called, were so important to their authority. The building where the Crown Jewels are stored also has suite of rooms where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI of Scotland and James I of England and where later James stayed when he returned to Scotland. The rooms have been restored and the decorations in the room are exceptional. The British Government use these rooms for receptions etc..
As mentioned earlier we arrived at 12.30 and didn't leave the castle until 5.25 which didn't give us much time to get to the laundry to retrieve the washing. Tried to get a taxi close Edinburgh Castle, however there was a bicycle race in progress in the city and there were a number of streets blocked off which caused traffic chaos. We had to walk nearly back into Edinburgh to get a taxi. The taxi driver was not very complimentary about the officials who had organised the disruption to traffic. Managed to get the laundry in time.
Will have to go back again to see what we missed this time.
Deb and Den
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