Edinburgh Castle

Yesterday we bought jump on, jump off bus tickets on one of the several tours that go round the city of Edinburgh. After we had our bearings a little we decided that we would walk up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. The Royal Mile is very touristy but quite good fun, with plenty of interesting people to watch and some amusing street theatre. And of course there is the reward of the castle at the end. We had organized British Heritage passes before we left home, so while the masses had to queue at the gate, we just strolled right on in as if we owned the joint! We couldn't have asked for better weather as you can see from the photos. The view from the castle was amazing and it is easy to see why it was such a defensible location in times of trouble.

There is lots to see at Edinburgh Castle and some of the displays are excellent. I particularly enjoyed the section devoted to the Crown Jewels of Scotland as the story of how they were hidden away and then were rediscovered was quite fascinating. We also enjoyed a 20 minute presentation from a Scots "Cavalier" who told us the story of King Charles I and his relationship with Scotland. As far as Kings go, he was not much chop - and maybe that's why he ended up with the chop! Much to our surprise the Cavalier's name turned out to be..... Alastair.

I must confess that everyone was thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day so we haven't had a chance to find any good live music....yet! Even as I write, Rod is having a little snooze (it's 3.30pm) but we will put that down to a busy morning, won't we!

There are more photos of Edinburgh here.