Edinburgh Castle & The Queens Mile

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle - Monday 26/09/10

No trip to Edinburgh would be complete without a trip to Edinburgh Castle. Thats what Dad told me but I suspect it was also because he told me there are things we have to do otherwise he would get into trouble with Mum when we got back to New Zealand.

At entrance to the castle

The day was wet but not cold. We caught a taxi to the castle and got there just in time to hear the 1 O’Clock gun. This is a traditional thing that was started to allow the local people to check the time on their clocks was set correctly. It does not operate on Sundays.

The size of the castle was enormous. Once inside it was like being in a small village with a number of buildings, pathways and roads within the walls. Around the walls there were a lot of black cannons. These were used as a form of protection against the enemy. The height of the rooms we went into is something I have not seen back at home in New Zealand. There were large portraits of the past heroes and Mary Queen of Scots.

In the museum there was lots of war medals and memorabilia. Dad said he had never seen some many Victoria Crosses in one place.

One of the many canons

After leaving the castle we walked down the Queens Mile towards High Street. Dad could not resist going into a shop dedicated to only selling Whiskey. I am sure he would haver liked to have done the Whiskey tour, and no he did not buy any, at least not at this shop.

Later that night we went to my godmothers house in Easter Road. It is really a flat above and in between a set of shops. It was a nice flat and we had dinner there. Kelly cooked us chicken and had stuffed the breast with haggis then wrapped it in bacon. It was nice. Before we left we took some photos, and as you can see I am now much taller than Kelly.

After leaving we went back to our room as we had a trip planned for the next day to see how you get a boat from one canal into another. Sounds easy? Not when the other canal is 135 metres high.

Note the height difference

Last year I was shorter than Kelly!

The sign says where I am

The exit

 

Inside castle grounds

Mitch on Guard

Shots within the Castle Walls.