Scotland Day 4

How can I even explain the awesomeness that was castle day? Today we started off by walking up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh castle. We have the explorers pass which gives us entrance to many locations all over Scotland, without having to wait in any ticket lines and saves lots of money. We are also traveling off season, and we are heartily reaping the rewards of next to no crowds or waiting.




Edinburgh castle is stunning from the outside, but the views from the battlements, with a bagpipe playing below in Princes Street gardens just smote my heart. I have read quite a bit on the history of the castle, and Chris dutifully listened to all my blathering the past few months so we felt pretty well informed. We got quiz sheets (they had these out for free everywhere so far) for the kids at this castle, but they didn’t really need any extra incentive because they were so excited about the massive cannon, the Crown Jewels ( known as the Honors of Scotland), the incredible views, and weapons. We couldn’t take many pictures of the insides, but my favorite part had to be St. Margaret’s chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh.

The Scottish English crest


Just inside the portcullis


The inner tower. We probably didn’t miss much by not being able take pictures inside. After Robert the Bruce destroyed a lot of the castle, they have since changed the insides into displays of war memorials.

A burial site for officers dogs
St Margaret in the chapel



A replica of St Margaret’s gospel book
Here is the chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh!

You can see Arthur’s Seat in the distance

Mons Meg! We were speculating how the heck they got those cannon balls into the cannon

Looking into the battlements from by the big cannon, and outside the chapel
The Walter Scott monument in the distance !
We couldn’t take pictures inside the national war museum but it was most impressive for the outside anyways

The Crown Jewels of Scotland were just amazing- as I said, no photos allowed but I’m all the more glad for that, since we could just soak it up. If you’re curious about what exactly those are, here is a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honours_of_Scotland

Displayed with the The Honours aka the Crown Jewels, is the Stone of Destiny. Which I strongly encouraged you to read about. It has the best back story!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_of_Scone

After walking three and a half miles around Edinburgh castle and the Royal Mile, and trekking the equivalent of 15 flights of stairs, we headed back to the home base for lunch and rest before we headed out to Craigmiller Castle.

We saw a real live bagpiper on the way back to the car. The kids were slightly startled at how loud it was but they really liked it
Reading and food break
Craigmillar Castle


The kids has a blast running around this castle. It is one of the best preserved castles in Scotland, home to the famous Craigmiller Bond, the plot to murder Lord Darnley, (Mary Queen of Scots’ second husband). We practically had the place to ourselves. The receptionist gave us kid’s quizzes but the most fun that C and A had was exploring, which they were encouraged to do by the staff, since it is a safe and pretty indestructible place. I took so many photos since nothing was off limits. I’ve also decided the layout is perfect, and we can move in anytime.

Outer Courtyard
Two ancient yew trees planted in the courtyard. No one know exactly how old they are, but they were well established by Mary’s time. The history they have seen!
This placed passed hands as did most old castle, the family crest here is from one of the later families
Used to the kitchen, then it was converted to stables
I have so many pictures of this place, so I will only post some of them here but the kids just loved running around here!
The very top! You can see Arthur’s Seat in the distance and beyond that Edinburgh castle


I’m very grateful I “ trained” with the kids, they’ve been just rocking all this walking. Per usual, Cosima took her second nap (two hours!) at Craigmiller. Apparently the Scottish air agrees with her.

The “castle day #1” was an epic adventure! We are definitely seeing more castles on this trip, but this was one of the days where we got to visit two in one day! How lucky are we?



The rocky outcrop that the Preston family built this castle on. Notice the layers of the rock!
Caidoc wrote me a message in the courtyard ❤️
Chapel
Surveying my new house

We walked over six miles and climbed thirty flights of stairs! We are having a great time moving so much, and the kids are really enjoying being outdoors so much. Scotland has been a great vacation with smaller kiddos.

One thought on “Scotland Day 4”

  1. SOooo incredible! Your photos make us feel like we are THERE. The weather looks amazing. Such a fantastic trip for you guys!! #lifelongmemories Love, Mom and Dad

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