At breakfast a bunch of us were joined by Michael & Catriona, who were in Edinburgh & dropped by.
Here's a photo of the group. Left to right: Kate, Catriona, Dan, Shirley, Brett, Laura, me, Henry (owner of TDA Cycling) and Michael.
All of us, including another couple on this trip (Tony & Michel) were on all or part of the 2015 South America tour.Onto today's activities: First, Edinburgh Castle. Second, an apology for any facts I get wrong. The castle is total historical overload.
The Portico. A moat (behind me), heavy doors and the spiked gate.
I believe this is on the highest part of the hill, and is one of the oldest parts of the castle.
The oldest parts dated from 1170, with additions through the 19th century. As late as WW2, German & Italian POWs were here.
This part is where the Scottish crown jewels are housed. No photos & they wouldn't let me put on the crown. Note the date on the tower. No photos allowed inside, either
Meet Mons Meg - the ultimate weapon of her Medieval day. She shot 300 pound cannonballs up to 2 miles. She was a siege cannon, designed to knock holes in castle walls.
Part of another, later gun battery. There were at least two major batteries within the castle.
Structures at the top of the hill.
This is part of Queen Mary's Chapel.
Part of the Royal Apartments. The Royals preferred Holyrood Castle down at the other end of the Royal mile, as it was rather dull and chilly up here when the fog was around.
Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James VI in the closet next to this room (I dunno why the closet).
We popped over to the prison area & had a quick look. This is one of the doors.
Last photo of the castle is the Governor's Residence, which is still private.
That's enough for Edinburgh Castle. One two hour visit doesn't do it justice and only makes your head spin.
Make sure you rent an audio tour if you come here - it is well worth it and super informative, but I'd need multiple visits to soak it in.
We've just finished a short nap and are heading out for a while. I'll try to add some more pix of our walk down the Royal Mile later, if I get time.
Back after dinner. The laundry has dried nicely (I know you wanted to know that) and we're well fed.
After the castle we tripped down the Royal Mile, named because the distance between Edinburgh castle & Hollyrood Palace is about a mile and presumably becuase it was an occasion for the locals to watch the Royals travel by.
Remember the church that I said I would find out the name of? It is called the Hub and is a cultural & event (weddings, for example) centre. It was used by the church of Scotland, but never consecrated as a church. Here's a view of it from the other side.
My other chore was to find out about the walkway two stories above the street. Its called Victoria Terrace and was created when the street was re-designed to allow easier access to the Grass Market Square.
The Royal Mile has shops, restaurants & pubs both sides, similar to what I've shown you already. One of the more interesting aspect ts are the "Closes," hallway size openings in the continuous lines of the buildings. They extend back, with doorways to shops or apartments each side, and a small courtyard with 4 - 6 story buildings all around. There is one of the closes to the right in this photo, behind the red car.
Here's one of the courtyards - quite claustrophobic.
And a doorway off to the side - check out the date!
At the end of the Royal Mile is Hollyrood Palace. We didn't go into it ($$) and we were both getting footsore.
The fountain just inside the entrance.
After a break we went out to the Fiddler's Arms for a beer (Joker IPA) and dinner. The menu had "Locally caught Haggis, Neeps, and Taters." After a discussion with the waitress, I found out that Haggis caught early in the morning is best. So, why not - there it is. It was actually quite good. Even the Neeps were quite edible (my Mom wouldn't believe I ever said that!)Warm goat cheese salad on the side. Laura had a Steak and Guinness pie. Since it was too much for her, I helped out with it as well.
126 km tomorrow - our longest day. I'll try to do a report if I can sit down after that long in the saddle.
