Royal Mile

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh extends from the Edinburgh Castle to the Palace at Holyrood. Last Saturday, I walked down to the Royal Mile and explored some whisky shops. These are some pictures I took that day with brief commentary.

I first went to St. Giles, Cathedral. Church of Scotland. My favorite thing inside is a collection of colors (flags) carried in battles from the past millenium. No photo rule I respected on the flags.


Somehow, I ended up paying a whopping £13 to be admitted to the Castle. This time, there was no angry, armed guard. I did not take a photo the Scottish crown jewels and the stone of destiny because the guard seemed ready to enforce the no photography rule. I did take a lovely tour with this guide.


Here is a view out the north facing side of the castle, below is New Town.


The soldiers of the castle adopted dogs from time to time. If the dog or owner was important enough, the dog was buried in this little doggie cemetary.


This building was erected as a memorial to the Scottish soldiers who died in WWI, the war to end all wars. In the middle is an alter with the names of all the soldiers who died in WWI on a scroll in a casket-like chest. Unfortunately, WWI did not end all wars, but the Scotts, always looking to save a buck, simply add names to the scroll rather than build a new monument. But, every Scotsman who has died in service is listed in that chest.


This castle was built on this volcanic rock and sits high above the city. It has been taken only by siege and once by stealth, but never by force. The alter in the previous paragraph is built onto the highest point of this rock which burst through the floor as the foundation of the alter.


The castle has been used to hold prisoners of war for many wars, including what they call the American War for Independence. When you tour the prisons, there is a room with three doors on display where prisoners have carved names and dates. Some of the dates were very old. This, however, was by far my favorite, an early version of the Stars and Stripes carved by a prisoner. (While I was relatively certain there was a no photo rule here as well, I looked for both a sign and a guard. Seeing neither, I photographed a 230 year old door carving which should be fine.)