The castle itself is huge, but the audio guide we rented was the best I've ever seen. It gave a brief overview of each numbered exhibit, plus an option to hear more if you were interested. One of the more interesting exhibits to me was the tiny little room where Mary gave birth to James. Reportedly when her husband Lord Darnley came to see the child she told him, "He is so much your son that I fear it will be worse for him." Lord Darnley would be dead within a year, and Mary would be suspected of complicity. She would be forced to abdicate her throne to her infant son and would flee to England seeking protection from her cousin Elizabeth. But Elizabeth kept her imprisoned for 19 years before finally signing her death warrant. James would be schooled at Edinburgh Castle, and eventually, after Elizabeth died, be crowned James I King of England.
Another interesting part of the castle were the life sized statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace. They both believed in independence for Scotland and fought against English rule. Here's a photo of the statue of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland:
The King's Room was a large hall that would have been used by the king for entertaining important people. Now it houses a display of suits of armour and a variety of different weapons from the time of Edward I, Bruce, Wallace and James I.
The castle sits atop volcanic rock that is 350 million years old. It appears to have been simply carved out of the rock, but on closer inspection, you can see how the masons simply used the rock that was there and added on to create the walls of the castle.
It creates quite and impressive and intimidating view from the city below:
This is our last day in Edinburgh. Tomorrow we will rent a car and explore the Highlands, the moors and the lochs.
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