Edinburgh Castle (HS)

This most famous of Scotland’s castles dominates the city of Edinburgh. At the centre of Scottish life for more than nine hundred years, the castle was one of the strongest fortresses in the kingdom. It has served as a royal palace, arsenal, gun foundry, state prison, and as a place of safe-keeping for the State Records and Crown Jewels.By the late 17th century the castle had become the principal garrison in Scotland. Barrack blocks were built and old buildings converted to military use. At the time of the wars with France in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many prisoners of war were held here. Their graffiti can still be seen in the vaults beneath the Great Hall.Today all the principal buildings have been restored and are open to the public: St Margaret’s chapel built in c 1130; the Palace where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her only child, the future James VI; the Great Hall of 1503 with its magnificent hammer-beam roof; the beautiful Laich Hall and the Scottish National War Memorial.A principal exhibit is ‘Mons Meg’ the great siege canon given to James II by the Duke of Burgundy in 1457. The ‘Honours of the Kingdom’ exhibition traces the history of Scotland’s Crown Jewels and culminates in a visit to the Crown Room housing the Scottish Regalia and the Stone of Destiny.Free audio tour, restaurant, coffee shop and specialist bookshop.