Defensive Fortress, Palace and much destroyed Abbey

Edinburgh Castle

One advantage of staying in university accommodation is the fresh cooked all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast - cereals, yoghurt, fruit, pancakes, sausages, bacon, black pudding, kippers, coffee and juice machines, you name it they had it. With full stomachs, we headed to Edinburgh Castle.

Holyrood Palace

We climbed the hill (very defensible) to the Castle where we took a tour of the castle (headed by a kilt wearing Scotsman). We saw the Crown Jewels of Scotland (known as the Honours of Scotland) which sadly aren’t used anymore (they use the English ones instead). 

We also saw the Stone of Scone (aka Stone of Destiny) that was used to crown Scottish royality until the English stole it and used it in their coronations. It was returned in 1996 under the agreement it will go back to London (with a receipt) for any future coronations for a maximum of 5 days.

We headed down the hill and down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace, the royal palace of Scotland. The Queen’s official residence in Scotland, its usually only in use for a week per year so we were allowed through a lot of the palace. We saw were the gallery where Scots are knighted (eg Sir Sean Connery); we saw the bedchamber of Mary Queen of Scots where her life was threatened in 1666.

Ruins of Holyrood Abbey

We also went on a tour of Holyrood Abbey, which is in ruins but still stunning. It had been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries until the weather finally took the roof off in 1768.