The Allure of The Edinburgh Castle in Historic Scotland
Interested in taking a walk back in time? Then there is no need to look any further than the shores of Scotland! Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, boasts its own stunning castle smack bang in the centre of the city.
The castle is open to visitors all year round.
It is perhaps more convenient to purchase tickets to enter the castle online before travelling, particularly if you are visiting for the Edinburgh Tattoo at the time of Edinburgh Festival.
The castle boasts a history that not many other castles can compete with.
It was built on a collapsed crater of an extinct volcano and is thought to have been constructed before the 12th century when it was the royal residence of King David I.
The castle continued in its role of a home to the royalty until the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
Over the years Edinburgh Castle has been the site of many conflicts including the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century and also the Jacobite Rising in 1745.
From the late part of the 17th century and onwards, the castle became a military base while at the bottom of the volcanic hill where the castle sits - the site for Holyrood Palace, is where the royalty took up their residence.
Even to this day our current Queen Elizabeth visits here on a fairly regular basis.
In fact, very few of the current buildings are that old.
The medieval fortifications were very much destroyed back in the 16th century during what is known as the "lang siege" or long siege.
However, St Margaret's Chapel remains, which is thought to be the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh and is thought to date back to the early part of the 12th century.
The castle was owned by the Ministry of Defence for many years but is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
It is Scotland's most visited tourist attraction and even if you are not to enter the castle itself, its well worth going up to the esplanade just for the views all around Edinburgh and beyond!
The castle is open to visitors all year round.
It is perhaps more convenient to purchase tickets to enter the castle online before travelling, particularly if you are visiting for the Edinburgh Tattoo at the time of Edinburgh Festival.
The castle boasts a history that not many other castles can compete with.
It was built on a collapsed crater of an extinct volcano and is thought to have been constructed before the 12th century when it was the royal residence of King David I.
The castle continued in its role of a home to the royalty until the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
Over the years Edinburgh Castle has been the site of many conflicts including the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century and also the Jacobite Rising in 1745.
From the late part of the 17th century and onwards, the castle became a military base while at the bottom of the volcanic hill where the castle sits - the site for Holyrood Palace, is where the royalty took up their residence.
Even to this day our current Queen Elizabeth visits here on a fairly regular basis.
In fact, very few of the current buildings are that old.
The medieval fortifications were very much destroyed back in the 16th century during what is known as the "lang siege" or long siege.
However, St Margaret's Chapel remains, which is thought to be the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh and is thought to date back to the early part of the 12th century.
The castle was owned by the Ministry of Defence for many years but is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
It is Scotland's most visited tourist attraction and even if you are not to enter the castle itself, its well worth going up to the esplanade just for the views all around Edinburgh and beyond!
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