Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle stands above the city of Edinburgh. The castle is built on an outcrop of rock and forms the focal point of the city centre.

We started our visit to the castle early in the morning. The gates had not opened when we arrived, so we paced around the car park and took photos over the walls of the surrounding city. The wind howled around us; cold but thankfully it was not raining.

Inside the castle is a collection of buildings, walls, roads, and sites to visit. There are a few distinct museums, exhibitions, and ornate rooms to explore. We spent a little under five hours walking around.

We made sure to see the one o’clock time signal being fired. A short film of the firing is embedded below and available on my YouTube channel:

Edinburgh Castle is a combination of stronghold and modern palace. The buildings have been maintained and transformed in style and purpose over time. Only select areas are open to the public and much is off limits.

The staff dotted around were helpful and forgiving of my silly questions.

With such a mix of sites and entities within the castle, the experience came across as somewhat uncoordinated. I felt a lack of consistency across museums and exhibitions. Different labels, styles, and presentation approaches. Nothing too great to distract from the visit but a lack of common styling that enforced the notion each component was independent from the last. This despite all being covered by a single entry ticket.

A highlight of Edinburgh Castle is seeing the treasure room. Sadly photos were not allowed inside this section of the castle.

Thankfully photos were allowed in most of the castle’s exhibits. A selection of photos are appended below.