The Hindu Business Line : Great Scots!

Edinburgh is a city rich with history, mystery and legendary figures. It is more like two cities rolled into one — on one side is the Old Town of mediaeval alleyways, half-timbered houses and hidden closes under the gaze of Edinburgh Castle; on the other is the lovely New Town with its squares, parks and neo-classical buildings.

The castle dominates the city and is perhaps unequalled in the whole of the British Isles. Perched on an extinct volcano, its story is Scotland’s story. Having read so much about its gory history, it gave me the creeps when I first viewed it from Princes Street, but I was intrigued and decided to visit it first thing in the morning before it became too crowded.

The castle was built in a strategic location that commands views over many miles. A fortification of some kind has stood here for about 3,000 years, and it’s easy to see why. This craggy rock provides a dramatic natural defence that is almost impregnable. From the Argyle Battery, visitors have a clear view to the north, across Princes Street and the New Town to the Firth of Forth and beyond. From other parts of the castle, you can see south to the Pentland Hills, and to the east and west across the whole Lothian region.

Crown jewels

Top of the list for many visitors is The Honours of Scotland, the nation’s crown jewels. The crown, sceptre and sword of State are the oldest royal regalia in the United Kingdom. These precious symbols are displayed in the Crown Room of the castle’s Royal Palace. The room was built especially for the Honours in 1617, as part of the ‘home coming’ of King James VI (also King James I of England) to Scotland to celebrate his golden jubilee as King of Scots. Another interesting feature is the firing of a gun from the battlements of the castle at 1 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. The One O’ Clock gun was not introduced as a tourist attraction (though it has become one) or to alarm pedestrians on Princes Street below (which it does). It started as a means of giving an accurate time check to the ships in Leith Harbour two miles away.

The National War Museum and the Scottish National War Memorial are also located in the castle. The museum has a fantastic display of weapons and regalia as well as a collection of personal possessions and letters sent home by Scottish soldiers serving overseas. The memorial commemorates the Scottish servicemen and women killed in the two World Wars. We went to St Margaret’s Chapel to enjoy a quiet moment before making our way out. Margaret was born around 1045 into the royal family of England. After the Norman invasion of 1066, she fled to the court of Malcolm III of Scotland, whom she subsequently married. Disaster struck in 1093 when Malcolm and his eldest son were killed in an ambush. The pious and deeply religious Margaret died soon after. The chapel, reportedly the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, was built by Margaret’s younger son. In 1250, Margaret was canonised as St Margaret of Scotland, for her acts of piety and charity in her adopted country.

Queen’s residence

Our next stop was the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Founded as a monastery in 1128, the palace is The Queen’s official residence in Scotland. Situated at the end of the Royal Mile, it is closely associated with Scotland’s turbulent past, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived here between 1561 and 1567. Successive kings and queens have made the Palace of Holyroodhouse the premier royal residence in Scotland. Today, the palace is the setting for State ceremonies and official entertaining.

Shivers went down my spine as I travelled from room to room listening intently to the audio guide. Spine-chilling episodes from Mary’s life were narrated, including the brutal killing of her secretary Rizzio by her jealous husband, Lord Darnley, in her private apartment. It was hard to imagine that the fine baroque palace could have witnessed something so terrifying.

The palace suffered long periods of neglect until Queen Victoria decided to revive the custom of the royal family staying at Holyroodhouse when on business in Scotland. Some of the rich tapestries, panelling, massive fireplaces, and antiques from the 1700s are still in place.

The Picture Gallery boasts many portraits of Scottish monarchs. The Queen’s Gallery was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 as part of the golden jubilee celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of her accession to the throne. It provides purpose-built, modern facilities to enable exhibitions of the Royal Collection in Scotland for the first time.

Behind Holyroodhouse is Holyrood Park, Edinburgh’s largest. With rocky crags, sweeping meadows, and the ruins of a chapel, it’s a wee bit of the Scottish countryside in the city and a great place for a picnic. Edinburgh is the perfect city for walkers. There are some steep climbs, but these are mostly in the Old Town which has so many interesting places to stop — 17th-century tenement houses, small museums, traditional and new shops, sudden vistas of distant hills — that a tour of several hours needn’t leave you feeling footsore and weary.

But, if you ever feel tired of walking, you can always loosen up and unwind at the Princes Street Gardens.

The gardens were once a lake where trash used to be dumped. The lake was drained in order to gain easier access from the New Town to the Old Town and the transformation resulted in the magnificent gardens. The gardens are divided into the eastern and western sections.

In the East Princes Street Gardens, there’s a monument dedicated to Sir Walter Scott. Hidden behind a row of trees is the railway station. The tracks were built in such a way as to never disturb the peace of the gardens.

Had it not been for the sound of the engines, you would never know about the existence of the station.

It was afternoon and the gardens were filled with strollers and sunbathers. The sycamores and chestnuts shifted to and fro and for once the breeze was warm.

Office-goers looked content as they munched on sandwiches before heading back to work. The city’s beguiling allure does work powerfully on everyone.

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