The overall rating of a review is different from a simple average of all individual ratings.
Advantages:
Lots to see, close to some great shops and other attractions .
Disadvantages:
No wheelchair access, but I suppose they can't really fit it out with lifts and escelators with it being a building of historic importance .
It really makes you sad. A landmark with the stature of Edinburgh Castle, standing atop it's extinct volcanic rock, and is crammed full of tacky little souvenir shops. I'm not saying that it shouldn't have souvenir shops, just that they're badly placed. What's wrong with putting them outside the castle??
The entry fee is around £6 per adult, which might seem a little expensive, but the size of the castle cannot be appreciated from the outside. I've been in twice, and it's very easy to lose 3 or 4 hours in there.
It contains many separate rooms, many of which have information boards on the wall so you'll know exactly what it was used for, in it's day. One tale I heard, was of a man who was imprisoned there. He tried to escape by scaling the castle wall. When you see the height of it you'll soon grasp the stupidity of that. He fell onto the jagged rocks hundreds of feet below and decapitated himself. His severed head and other body parts were allegedly placed on top of the castle wall as a warning to others.
You can visit the prison cells, various miniature museums, you can even see the Scottish Crown Jewels, although photography is prohibited in there. I had to laugh when one woman was told off for taking a photograph in the same room as the Crown Jewels. Unfortunately she'd only managed to take a picture of a safe-door.
From the top of the castle you can see down into busy Princes Street and it's many shops, and further north overlooking Leith a few miles away, where the Royal Yacht Britannia is moored.
Parking in the area is a complete nightmare. I made my way upto the esplanade in my car, bouncing over the cobblestones like Fred Flintstone, only to find out that parking was limited to coaches only. I don't know if that's a permanent arrangement, or I just caught them on a bad day, but it's happened to me on both visits. The best thing to do is make your way into Edinburgh by bus or taxi.
Outside of the castle leads you onto the Royal Mile and various shops selling souvenirs, whiskies and expensive cashmere garments. For the whisky connoisseur, I'd particularly recommend Royal Mile Whiskies, close to the castle. They have every type of Scotch you can think of and more besides. Last time I was there, they had a set of 4 whiskies, bottled in 1953, 54, 55 and 56. They were on sale as a set for the bargain price of £2,000! Please don't buy them. If I ever win the lottery, they've got my name on them!
At the other end of the mile, is Holyrood Palace, a tourist attraction in it's own right but only open to the public on specific days when Her Majesty is not in residence.
The only downside to the castle is that it's all hills, steps, hills, steps, hills, steps, and more hills and steps. It's not really suitable for the unfit or wheelchair-bound.
The Castle must be one of Edinburgh's most visited attractions, and the shops and other attractions in the surrounding area make it one not to be missed. For the old romantics out there, the castle is the perfect place for a marriage proposal. Worked for me!
Yeah, so I've been told. I was going to go for New Year 1999 until I found out that all the local B&B's had bumped up their prices five-fold for the millennium!
blockidge 31.01.2001 17:28
New Years Eve at Edinburgh Castle is fantastic too! (A little cold though)
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Jan 31st, 2001
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