Capturing the castle

Written by Helen Fowler

The name Edinburgh Castle can be misleading, since it's not so much a single castle as a complex of buildings from different eras. One of these is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, St Margaret's Chapel, which dates back to the early 12th century.

The castle also home to the Scottish National War Memorial, a moving memorial to fallen soldiers, and the National War Museum of Scotland. So no shortage of activities there; your problem is more likely to be trying to fit everything into a single visit.

A trip is not cheap - adult tickets cost £12, children's are £6 - but the cost is probably justified; the castle offers the chance to see much of Scotland's history come to life, with the added bonus of views across the entire city, stretching as far as the Firth of Forth over to neighbouring Fife. It's also fascinating to see inside the buildings that dominate the Edinburgh skyline from their perch on an extinct volcano. So successful is the castle, it has become Scotland's second most popular tourist attraction.

Some of the castle's exhibits are enough to justify a trip in themselves, for example, the Stone of Destiny, Scotland's famous coronation stone. It resides in the castle's Crown Room, alongside the Crown Jewels, following its 1996 return from Westminster, after 800 years in exile from its native land.

If you are visiting the castle around lunchtime, you might see the 'One O'Clock Gun' firing its daily bombardment. Originally intended to help sailors on ships in the Leith region of the city check their timing for navigational purposes, the gun has long since lost any nautical significance. But it has become a well-loved part of daily Edinburgh life.  

Another way to see the castle up close is to buy a ticket to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo each August during the Edinburgh International Festival, when the esplanade serves as a stage for pipe bands and heroics from around the world. If, that is, you are lucky enough to get hold of a Tattoo ticket, which usually sell out well in advance.

But, as Craig Douglas rightly points out in this posting, nobody needs a ticket to watch fireworks set off from the castle wall at key points in the Edinburgh calendar, such as Hogmanay and the end of the Festival.  

Be warned, there are some steep climbs involved in a visit to Edinburgh Castle. Visitors with babies would do best to leave the buggy at home and use a sling or back carrier. Some doorways, especially the mediaeval ones, are narrow and a double buggy is almost impossible.

If, at the end of your visit, you are tired after all that climbing and exploring, I can recommend a reviving cup of tea at The Hub Cafe on the Royal Mile, a couple of minutes' walk from the castle entrance. With so much to see and do at the castle, you are likely to have deserved that cuppa.