Beautiful Edinburgh

Once again we lucked out on the weather.  We awoke to wind and rain, but as we got up and got moving, the storm passed.  By the time we left the hotel the sun was peaking out, the winds were dying down and the rain was moving on.  Oh, it was still cold.  But at least it wasn't cold and rainy!

Today's mission was Edinburgh Castle

Built in the 12th century, it has been a fortress for kings; a prison for enemies of the state, including American prisoners during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812; a home to the Scottish crown jewels, and the impressive - though oddly so - Stone of Destiny or Stone of Scone.

This is the view from the summit of the castle to the Firth of Forth.  You can see why it made for such a good defense position.

William Wallace and

Robert the Bruce flank the main gates.

Another spectacular view from the summit.

There were some BIG guns!

One in particular fires every day at 1 o'clock.

They used to fire every hour on the hour, but it's cheaper to only fire it once.  It's like Big Ben for Edinburgh.

Windy today but clear and beautiful.

We saw the crown jewels - not as impressive as the ones in London, but a great story behind them, including them being stolen, buried, hidden and broken.  And then, there's the Stone of Scone (pronounced skoon).

It's an oblong block of red sandstone that was used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and later the monarchs of England and the Kingdom of Great Britain. It's about two feet by 16 inches by 10 inches and weighs about 336 pounds. It was last used in 1953 for the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...if you watch her coronation, you can see it under her chair.

It used to be kept out in the open down in London, but in 1950 four college students stole it and delivered it to an abbey in Edinburgh, wrapped in a Scottish flag.  Ultimately it was returned to London, but after Queen Elizabeth's coronation, she returned it to Edinburgh.  When Charles is crowned, the stone will be sent to London for the ceremony.  I've read a couple of stories about the origins of the stone, but it seems no one can agree...it's just tradition...and God knows this country is full of them.

Brett/Tom, this is for you.  On the mall in front of the castle this monument stood out.  It says "Officers and Men of the Gordon Highlands Who Lost Their Lives in the South African War 1899-1902"  Lain to rest by their comrades.  Don't know if these are your people or not...cool monument, though.

Back outside the castle and on our way to a pub, we came across this statue.  It's David Hume...who could out consume Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel...

But our friend's the Sammys correctly stated that he couldn't out consume us...at least not on this trip.  Side note:  We've had at least four beers a day since we got to the UK.  It's like we're on a mission from God.

We had a fine lunch at the Royal McGregor and then did some shopping.  A stray shower passed through, so we ducked into the World's End for a pint.  Just outside of this pub, the cobblestones give way to asphalt.

At the Battle of Flodden, most of the Scottish nobility were killed by the English leaving Scotland defenseless, so the citizens rapidly built a stone wall around the city to protect it: The Flodden Wall.  Parts of the wall can still be seen and its course ran underneath where the World's End pub is.  In fact, part of the wall is one side of the pub's foundation.  The wall wasn't very helpful defending the city, but at the time, it was the point at which the world ended and Edinburgh began.

By the way, today's phrase of the day is Neeps & Tatties.  On many menus you'll see Haggis (no, I refuse) w/neeps and tatties.  Those are turnips and potatoes.  

It's supposed to rain tomorrow...sounds like a museum day!