The United Kingdom has the one of the highest number of Castles per capita in the world and since we are basically closet nerds and love visiting Historical sites then we are in our element in Scotland.  With a number of Castles now under our belt we thought it would be a good idea to share a series of posts on the exploration of all the various Castles we visit around Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales and the rest of the World.

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We start the series with the most visited castle in Scotland – Edinburgh Castle. With over 205,000 visiting during the month of August alone you will often find it packed with tourists. At a cost of £15 for adults its not cheap either. In fact, if you plan on being in Scotland even for a few days it is definitely worthwhile buying a Historic Scotland pass. We have the one year version and it only costs $45 which you can quickly pay off with just a few visits to various Castles.

In its dominating position overlooking the capital city, the grandeur and historical significance of Edinburgh Castle has made it a globally famous icon of Scotland and part of the Old and New Towns of the Edinburgh World Heritage Site. Know matter where you are in Edinburgh you can basically always see the Castle towering over the heart of the city.  Its a great marker if you are either; a) A lost tourist or b) Stumbling home drunk.

There are three distinct ways to actually approach the Castle with the direct route up the guts along the slowly rising Royal Mile (its actually longer than a mile) or via the two steeper footpath-only access routes up either side.  I would recommend heading up the Royal Mile with all the other tourists,  just don’t fall for the guy dressed up as William Wallace, and then when you are finished head down the north side to Princes Street Gardens.

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Due to its popularity the crowds can be annoying but there are plenty of secluded areas to enjoy a moments respite from the tourist hoards. The highlights for us were:

  • The Crown Jewels known as the Honours of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny which was stolen by the English for over 700 years before being returned in 1996 (be prepared to line up for at least 20 minutes or so);
  • The One O’Clock Gun salute which is fired every day apart from Sundays (take a guess what time it goes off…);
  • Several Military Museums;
  • One of only 2 dog graveyards in Scotland;
  • St Margaret’s Chapel which was built around 1130 and is the oldest building in the whole of Edinburgh;
  • One of the oldest cannons in the world “Mon’s Meg”;
  • The Castle Vaults and a really cool Prisoners of War exhibition;
  • The Royal Palace; and
  • Last but not least, spectacular views out over Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Castle was actually the first traditional Castle I have ever been to. And unfortunately I was slightly disappointed. I have always pictured Castles as being half in ruins with huge turrets and traditional battlements across the walls. Putting that aside it is still a great Castle but I would choose others over it.

Overall we give it a 6 out of 10.

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