SUNDAY
EDINBURGH
SUNDAY
EDINBURGH
| The fortress that is Edinburgh Castle. Last time I was here I had a film camera and had to be careful with the number of photos. Get ready for a crapload more of them now. |
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*DUPLICATE PHOTO WARNING* Remember the duplicate photo warning? Yeah, they're back. |
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| The Argyle Battery, built in the 1730's. This is not to be confused with the alkaline battery which was developed around the turn of the 20th century. |
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| Remember the time ball atop the Nelson Monument? The problem with that is when there was fog no one could see the ball. So in 1861 they started shooting off a cannon, the One O'Clock Gun, at the castle to kind of act as a backup. This is the current gun. |
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| The New Barracks is the largest structure in the castle, built to accommodate a battalion of 600 men with their officers. Again, "new" is a relative term. It was completed in 1799. |
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| Let's walk through Foog's Gate. It was built during the reign of Charles II and is the main entrance to the citadel. |
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| We just caught the start of the tour when we got to the castle. He was a pretty good guide and would ask little questions about this and that. If you take the tour, just remember that if the question is about a Scottish king, the answer is not a James, even though there were a lot of them. |
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| A small window in St. Margaret's Chapel. We'll get back to that later. |
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| A look through the wall of the Forewall Battery, rebuilt by King James V. |
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| The Fore Well, what used to be the main water supply to the castle. It was so important that during a siege in 1573 one of the reasons the castle garrison surrendered was that the well was blocked up by falling rubble. Let's face it, they were probably losing anyway. |
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| In Defense. That's pretty much it. |
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| The Scottish National War Memorial houses books listing the Scottish soldiers who died in the two World Wars and more recent conflicts. |
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| It was here in Queen Mary's Chamber on June 19, 1566 that Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to Prince James, the future King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England. |
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| Laich Hall was created in 1617 as an outer reception room and dining chamber for King James VI. |
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| They have clearly fixed it up a bit. This looks way too good to be original to 1617. The room is still used today for government functions. |
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| The Great Hall was built in 1513 for King James IV. It was converted by that sourpuss Oliver Cromwell in 1650 into soldiers' barracks, but restored back in 1877. The other halls in the castle are the Pretty Good Hall, the Above Average Hall and the It'll Do In A Pinch Hall. |
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*DUPLICATE PHOTO WARNING* It's the Dog Cemetery, a burial place for regimental mascots and officers' dogs. If Beetle Bailey had been stationed in Edinburgh Castle, I think Sgt. Snorkel's dog Otto would have been buried here. |
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| I arrived on my own in this train station on September 11, 1999 when I came down from Pitlochry ahead of the old folks to catch the Hearts match. It's not a particularly interesting story, but it is true. Oh, and you can see Calton Hill in the distance too. |
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| Mons Meg was constructed in 1449 on orders from Phillip III of Burgundy as a gift to King James II. (That's the fourth James I've mentioned so far. I told you there were a lot of them.) They broke it in 1680 shooting it off for some ceremonial occasion. |
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| And we're back to St. Margaret's Chapel. It is the oldest surviving building in the castle and in Edinburgh, built in the 12th century. Apparently they still rent the place out for really small weddings. |
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| The former Governor's House was turned into the Officers' Mess. I don't know where Major General Eeles lives now. |
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| This is some old military stuff in the National War Museum. You know, like swords, hats, bayonets and such. |
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| Medal, medals, medals! You want medals? We've got medals! Medals that look like coins, medals that look like stars, even medals that look like fancy crosses! And just look at those ribbons! All you need to do to get one is something heroic. Or try to find one on eBay. |
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| In stone vaults beneath the Great Hall and Queen Anne Building was where where prisoners of war used to be held. |
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