Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 Edinburgh and Falkirk, Scotland
Updated: Aug 20, 2023
Today we visited the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh – about a 90-minute drive from Largs, followed by about half an hour of driving around trying to find a parking place! It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day – unlike previous visits when the wind whipped frigid air was enough to cut you in two. We hadn’t planned to come to Edinburgh today, in fact we were supposed to fly to Belfast for the day; but someone in our party (Laura!) forgot their ID and we could not board the flight – we rebooked for tomorrow.
Over the years we’ve visited Edinburgh castle many times, but I always find it thrilling, it stirs up early childhood memories and dreams of sieges and battles. Like everything nowadays it’s best to book ahead to guarantee entry to a major tourist attraction, and even lessor tourist attractions. However since this was an unplanned visit, I couldn’t reserve tickets. We found parking in the Castle Terrace garage, directly below the imposing cliffs and walls of the south side of the castle and walked up the winding Johnston Terrace and a couple of flights of stairs to reach the Royal Mile – the cobbled road that leads directly into the castle. By the time we reached the ticket office we were fighting quite a crowd and a long line to try and get tickets for today. I bypassed the ticket line by using my phone to go online and make a reservation – I managed to get an entry time for 1PM that afternoon!
With a couple of hours to kill we decided to walk back down the Royal Mile and check out the sites. So much history, everywhere you look there are amazing sites – little alleyways leading to the Old Towne, amazing statues, St. Giles Cathedral – and of course lots of shops and tourists. Just off the Royal Mile we found Saint Giles Café and Bar, a really great spot for lunch frequented by barristers from the nearby high court – coffee and sandwiches were excellent.
Strangely, in all the times I’ve been to Edinburgh I don’t recall ever visiting St. Giles Cathedral, it’s sometimes called the High Kirk of Edinburgh and is a parish church of the Church of Scotland located right on the Royal Mile. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries. The interior of the cathedral was magnificent, gorgeous stained-glass windows, an incredible blue vaulted ceiling and statues of historical figures.
At our appointed time we made our way up the hill, showed our tickets and entered the castle. Edinburgh Castle stands on Castle Rock and there has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century; the site continued to be a royal residence until 1633. From the 15th century, the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison – there is a still a small, largely ceremonial, British Army presence in the castle.
Ships in the Firth of Forth once set their maritime clocks by the One o’clock Gun. The firing of the gun dates back to 1861, as a daily time signal. The gun is still fired every day at 1pm, except on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day. The original gun was a 64-pounder. Since 2001, a 105mm field gun has instead been fired from the Mills Mount Battery. This famous time signal is located just outside the Redcoat Café. Passing through the Portcullis Gate, it's on the right at the far end of the Argyle Battery. As it was approaching 1PM we quickly made our way up the cobbled street inside the castle to join the waiting crowd. Even though you expect a big bang, it’s quite a shock when the gun goes off – it seemed to resonate in my chest and the crowd giggled in a mixture of fear and excitement.
The views from the top of the castle across Edinburgh and out to the Firth of Forth were magnificent, unfortunately so was the line to see the Scottish Honors (crown jewels) and we were a bit pressed for time, so we went on to the Great Hall. Thought to have been completed in the early years of the 16th century the Great Hall is one of only two medieval halls in Scotland with an original hammerbeam roof. The interior ceiling is a fantastic interleaving wooden structure, the walls a largely lined with ancient armor and weapons and there is a grand fireplace with a great display of lances arranged in a fan patterns.
The Scottish National War memorial is housed within the castle grounds, it’s a very somber and sobering place to visit. The walls depict the many battles that Scottish regiments have fought and thick books list the names of the fallen.
On the way back to Largs we decided to make a stop at The Kelpies, these are 30-metre-high (98 ft) horse-head sculptures depicting kelpies (shape-shifting water spirits), located near Falkirk. The sculptures were designed by sculptor Andy Scott and were completed in October 2013 - they form a gateway at the eastern entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal. The Kelpies represent the lineage of the heavy horse of Scottish industry and economy, pulling the wagons, ploughs, barges, and coal ships that shaped the geographical layout of the Falkirk area. A stop at the Kelpies is well worth it; there is a nice walk along the canal, a gift shop and café and of course the two magnificent beasts rising out from the canal. The sculptures are made from stainless steel panels attached to structural steel and it’s amazing how the artist has managed to catch the expressions of the horses.
All in all a great day, even if it was not what we had planned!
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