15 August 2014
Accommodation – Dunedin House, Edinburgh
Weather – overcast with some sunny times
Temperature – mid teens
We caught the bus into central Edinburgh today and then
walked to Edinburgh Castle where we had been the previous evening for the
Tattoo. There were more tourists than ever before and a multiple array of street performers vying for attention.
A very amusing sketch...complete with galloping.
A little highland jig kept the crowds amused.
There are an amazing amount of tourist shops along the Royal Mile.
This fellow had a particular talent with white hoops.....just outside Edinburgh Castle.
As we had had our fill of audio guides on the tour, it was
pleasing to join a guided tour with an enthusiastic guide. Lesley, our Scottish leader, was humorous,
informative and energetic. As we strode
at a quick pace around the exterior of
the castle following the upheld gin bottle (aka water bottle), we were given a
thorough overview of the history of the castle.
St Margaret's Chapel, built by King David I, to honour his mother. It is the oldest building on the site.
The room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James VI.
The castle was built on a volcanic rock from the 12th
century. The oldest building is the St
Margaret’s chapel which is the only building to survive Robert the Bruce’s
destruction of the palace. It was
erected in honour of Margaret, mother of King David I. It is a tiny chapel with stained glass
windows and dates from 1130.
Edinburgh Castle has had a long a varied existence including
a prison, parliament, barracks and a palace.
Its primary asset was its elevation however, like all castles, when
besieged its weakness was the access to food.
It has been said that Edinburgh has never been taken by force but
history reveals many times that the residents have surrendered due to
starvation and thirst.
Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James I of
England/James VI of Scotland in the castle.
We were able to see the bedchamber in the castle. Sadly, she never saw her son from infancy as
she was incarcerated in the Tower of London and the young prince’s tutor turned
James against his Catholic mother.
The castle also houses the crown jewels of Scotland (unfortunately, no photos were allowed). The crown is a magnificent piece of gold, jewels and pearls with a red fabric bonnet. The crown is the second oldest in Europe and
has been used since 1540 including the crowning of the infant Mary, Queen of
Scots.
The Great Hall - the ceiling is made of oak and resembles an upside down boat.
After our history immersion David and I became Edfringe
groupies and attended four performances from mid-afternoon – a play, cabaret
and two comedy shows. As you wander the
streets of central Edinburgh you are inundated with pamphlets about
performances. One of these intrigued us
enough to attend a play titled The Road to Skibereen. We really enjoyed the one hour performance
which has won quite a few awards. As
soon as the play was over, bows taken, the actors quickly started dismantling
the set and stowing away the props for the next production. It’s non-stop in Edinburgh when it’s Fringe
time!
We had discovered the small booklet Free Fringe which
details day by day the free events at the festival……and trust me, there’s
hundreds! For a donation, you can attend
these events and generally sit with a drink and see up and coming stars. We enjoyed a blistering critique from a
former civil servant (not sure what the libel laws are like in the UK) and
performances by four novice comedians before attending a cabaret act of The Rat
Pack. Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin and
Frank Sinatra (well, not really) sang all the old favourites for fifty minutes. It was a packed and very receptive
audience. Once again, as soon as the lights
were on, it was all hands on deck to remove the props ready for the next act.
Tonight we managed to catch the bus before it ceased for the
day. It was a great experience joining
in on the buzz of the Edfringe Festival.
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