Edinburgh Castle

As soon as we arrived in Scotland, I found a bookstore where I could read anything I wanted! After 3 months of not being able to read anything, it was fun to be surrounded by so much English!

May 13, 2015

We enjoyed our walk through the Old Town as we made our way upwards toward the Castle.

       

 Here's the same cathedral as seen from the top of the castle. 

The castle sits high on a tall extinct volcano. The city began to build up all around it.

You can see how we took our "guided tour" (with earphones), but there were far too many people there to be able to hear a tour guide.

Ouch!

We enjoyed the great views of Edinburgh surrounding the castle in ALL directions! This castle truly was a city within itself: a city within a city.

This castle was witness to many of the defining event of Scottish history. So many important events took place here! No wonder, with its history spanning over 1000 years. There is evidence of it's having been occupied since prehistoric times. By the medieval period, it was an important royal residence.

This was the most besieged castle in the United Kingdom, being the focal point of much intense military activity!!!

                                                     It was the most besieged castle in the UK, being a focal point of much intense military activity.

Here we see Mary, Queen of Scots!!!

We passed three bagpipe players on the streets of Edinburgh. They not only looked wonderful in their traditional costumes, but they were skilled musicians!







It reminded us of the day of Ken's birthday just before Christmas 2014 when we suddenly heard bagpipe music coming from the living room! What? When we went to see what was going on, there was our son, McKay, playing the bagpipes! We were absolutely speechless! He had gotten bagpipes 5 1/2 years ago, had them made according to his specifications, and had been taking lessons all of this time so he could surprise us. And surprise us, he did! We are hoping he is continuing with this new skill.