Visiting Edinburgh Castle

Hi, I'm David, a local Edinburgh tour guide and author of the Edinburgh City Guide. If you're new to my channel, a very warm welcome to the capital of Scotland. This is episode number eight in my series showing you all my top 100 places to visit in Edinburgh. Don't forget to check out all my other videos and you might like to buy and download my new 100 page Edinburgh City Guide, which is crammed full of everything you need to know to have an amazing time in Edinburgh. So, on with today's very special location, Edinburgh Castle, which most people will want to visit when they're in Edinburgh. Located at the top of the Royal Mile, it's staggering to realise that not only has there been a castle here since the 12th century, but it's also built on an extinct volcano. Highlights include Scotland's Crown Jewels, the Stone of Destiny, the 12th century St Margaret's Chapel, the regimental museums and the Royal Palace If you're visiting Edinburgh for the first time, Edinburgh Castle will probably be at the top of your list of places to see. I've lived in Edinburgh for 50 years and still marvel at this huge, imposing castle perched high upon an extinct volcanic plug in the city centre. To know the history of the castle and the precious artefacts contained within is to know the story of Scotland and this makes it a must-visit place in my eyes. Before we visit Edinburgh Castle and I give you a wee guided tour, I thought I'd just show you Edinburgh Airport and some of the options you have, particularly the tram into the city centre. You can get the tram from just outside the airport terminal. And it's so easy, you just pay for your tickets at the machine before you get on the tram and that's really important, make sure that you buy your tram ticket before you get on otherwise you'll have to pay a much higher price. And it takes a little while, maybe 45 minutes to get into the city centre so it's dead easy. Dead easy, there's luggage storage as well on the trams. So just come out of the airport terminal, straight onto the tram. Buy a return from the vending machines or ask the very friendly staff next to the tram stop for help. Okay, next stop will be Edinburgh Castle and I really hope that you enjoy my guide today. Thanks. Edinburgh Castle is one of Scotland's most iconic visitor attractions and attracts over a million visitors every year, so book your tickets early. The castle is located in the heart of Edinburgh at the top of the Royal Mile and sits quite spectacularly upon an old volcanic rocky crag, making it the most dominating feature in the city landscape. The obvious strategic advantage of this large rock has been utilised since the Iron Age, with the possibility of there having been an Iron Age hill fort occupying the site. Being built on a naturally occurring volcanic rock gave Edinburgh Castle a powerful, defensive position with steep cliffs on three sides, making it extremely difficult to scale. It was also protected by a loch, Nor Loch, which was drained between 1813 to 1820 to make Princes Street Gardens. Today, Edinburgh Castle is still only approachable from the east via the Royal Mile and the Castle Esplanade. Edinburgh Castle has a long fascinating history and has been the focal point for many battles and sieges, none more important than the Scottish Wars of Independence when the castle changed hands between the Scots and the English on many occasions. Statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce were added to the castle gatehouse in the late 1920s to commemorate their important roles in Scottish history. Today, Edinburgh Castle is perhaps most famous for its spectacular Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which takes place on the Castle Esplanade every August. The sight and sound of mass pipes and drums is one of the most uplifting and rousing experiences any visitor to this wonderful city can have. Book your tickets for the tattoo early as they are in strong demand. Something that often gives visitors a big fright when visiting the castle, or indeed the city centre, is the sound of a huge gun going off from the castle ramparts. Even the locals can jump at the sound of it if they've not visited the city centre for a while. Don't be alarmed though, the daily one o'clock gun fires blanks and it's just for ceremonial purposes. The gun was originally fired as a time signal for ships in the Firth of Forth and the daily tradition carries on to this day. To get the most from your visit take one of the guided tours or an audio guide which is available in a large number of languages. Don't forget that the castle has a great cafe if you're hungry or need a wee rest. The castle is open all year round except the 25th and 26th of December and it's very easy to find at the top of the Royal Mile. There's an excellent restaurant, cafe and shop along with brilliant tours. I strongly recommend buying tickets online in advance and you also get a small online discount. Family tickets are also available which can save you money and under fives go free. The audio tours are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Mandarin and some other languages too. I really hope you found this video enjoyable and useful. Don't forget to subscribe for all my other videos in the series and my new Edinburgh City Guide which I'll link to in the description. I offer a number of special walking tours in Edinburgh which are the perfect introduction to the city. To find out more visit my website www.adventuresinscotland.com and I'll put a wee link in the description. Thank you so much for watching and I really hope to be I hope to be able to meet you personally and show you around my beautiful home city. All the best, bye for now.