Edinburgh Castle
Aaron
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Sunday, August 8, 2010
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0 comments
Early morning, the first destination of my Scotland trip was to the capital city of Scotland and its main attraction would surely be the Edinburgh Castle - "A mighty fortress with many treasures & a favoured residence of Scotland's Kings and Queens". That was what the brochure said. LOLx
The castle is full of people and a four-hour visit there gave me tons of knowledge, a worthy place to spend much amount of my GBPs. =.= A museum complex converted from a fortress, something we don't find in Malaysia. Old castle walls with modern interior.
Greeting us was the crowd of tourists, waiting in line to purchase the entrance tickets. Well, took some time (not too long) before we got our tickets. There are so many layer of gates after the moat, ancient ways to prevent enemy from taking over the castle. Quite a safe place.
After 2 gates, we reached this wide open area with some outlook points for visitors to capture the view of this majestic city. The scenery of this town is superb, exception and beyond verbal description.
First museum that I entered was the National War Museum of Scotland. As its name described, the building exhibits everything about the Scots infantry, about the people that serve the army and wars encountered since the early ages.
The building that follows exhibits the information about The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. This Regimental Museum speaks the history of the various regiments in the Scottish army and their merging in becoming the Carabiniers and Greys; and also the time line in which these regiments are stationed and the wars they encountered.
The information about another army team, the Royal Scots followed in another building up the hill. Just the same old thing in a different department of the army.
After all these Regimental Museums, I entered another level up the hill where the Scottish National War Memorial greeted me on my right. This building houses many memorial plaques and also books that listed the army personnel that lost their lives in battles and wars. In respect of those deceased, photography was not allowed. Too bad for you guys as its interior is very beautiful.
Then, while trying to take more pictures of the capital city, I stumbled upon this mini graveyard. The graveyard does not house human bodies but bodies of the dogs. The dogs buried here are canines that served as mascots to the army. A very cute and peaceful place.
I took many of Edinburgh views from the top of the hill with my crappy SE W705 too. Then moving up the stairs, there is this big cannon awaiting me. She has a name too - Mons Meg. A 6-ton siege gun with the ability to fire stones weighing 150kg over to 2miles. Okay, that's powerful. @@ Too gay to be true, but believe it.
Just beside the humongous cannon is a small building - the oldest one in the city. St Margaret's Chapel is just a simple chapel with a small altar. Normal outline but exceptionally beautiful, especially the glass windows decorating the building. ^^
Coming up was the best part of my visit there in the mighty castle - the building that houses the Scottish Crown Jewels. Before I got to admire the relic of the Scots, I was treated with 1000 years of Scotland's royal lineage and history.
From the story of Stone of Destiny to the Crown Jewels, those stuffs were truly informative. Finally, in a secured vault, there lies the Crowns Jewels. Too bad that good stuffs are not allowed to be photographed again. LOLx
Next few places I visited includes the Great Hall (which exhibits the armory from the olden days), the Royal Palace (birthplace and residence of many Kings and Queens) and the Prisons of Wars (dungeons and what was left behind by captives) among others.
Time was not by my side today. As the clock ticking closer to the gathering time, I took my chance to glance at a few more parts of the complex before leaving the fortress for good.
It was a totally worthy tour around the hill top although the price for it was quite staggering for most people out there. For those who treasure knowledge, it is a must to visit this castle. For those narcissistic persons, it's quite a good place to get some photos for your Facebook. LOLx
The castle is full of people and a four-hour visit there gave me tons of knowledge, a worthy place to spend much amount of my GBPs. =.= A museum complex converted from a fortress, something we don't find in Malaysia. Old castle walls with modern interior.
Greeting us was the crowd of tourists, waiting in line to purchase the entrance tickets. Well, took some time (not too long) before we got our tickets. There are so many layer of gates after the moat, ancient ways to prevent enemy from taking over the castle. Quite a safe place.
After 2 gates, we reached this wide open area with some outlook points for visitors to capture the view of this majestic city. The scenery of this town is superb, exception and beyond verbal description.
First museum that I entered was the National War Museum of Scotland. As its name described, the building exhibits everything about the Scots infantry, about the people that serve the army and wars encountered since the early ages.
The building that follows exhibits the information about The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. This Regimental Museum speaks the history of the various regiments in the Scottish army and their merging in becoming the Carabiniers and Greys; and also the time line in which these regiments are stationed and the wars they encountered.
The information about another army team, the Royal Scots followed in another building up the hill. Just the same old thing in a different department of the army.
After all these Regimental Museums, I entered another level up the hill where the Scottish National War Memorial greeted me on my right. This building houses many memorial plaques and also books that listed the army personnel that lost their lives in battles and wars. In respect of those deceased, photography was not allowed. Too bad for you guys as its interior is very beautiful.
Then, while trying to take more pictures of the capital city, I stumbled upon this mini graveyard. The graveyard does not house human bodies but bodies of the dogs. The dogs buried here are canines that served as mascots to the army. A very cute and peaceful place.
I took many of Edinburgh views from the top of the hill with my crappy SE W705 too. Then moving up the stairs, there is this big cannon awaiting me. She has a name too - Mons Meg. A 6-ton siege gun with the ability to fire stones weighing 150kg over to 2miles. Okay, that's powerful. @@ Too gay to be true, but believe it.
Just beside the humongous cannon is a small building - the oldest one in the city. St Margaret's Chapel is just a simple chapel with a small altar. Normal outline but exceptionally beautiful, especially the glass windows decorating the building. ^^
Coming up was the best part of my visit there in the mighty castle - the building that houses the Scottish Crown Jewels. Before I got to admire the relic of the Scots, I was treated with 1000 years of Scotland's royal lineage and history.
From the story of Stone of Destiny to the Crown Jewels, those stuffs were truly informative. Finally, in a secured vault, there lies the Crowns Jewels. Too bad that good stuffs are not allowed to be photographed again. LOLx
Next few places I visited includes the Great Hall (which exhibits the armory from the olden days), the Royal Palace (birthplace and residence of many Kings and Queens) and the Prisons of Wars (dungeons and what was left behind by captives) among others.
Time was not by my side today. As the clock ticking closer to the gathering time, I took my chance to glance at a few more parts of the complex before leaving the fortress for good.
It was a totally worthy tour around the hill top although the price for it was quite staggering for most people out there. For those who treasure knowledge, it is a must to visit this castle. For those narcissistic persons, it's quite a good place to get some photos for your Facebook. LOLx
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