The fortress on its volcanic crag above Edinburgh, home to Scotland's crown jewels and the gun that still fires across the city at one o'clock
Open to visitorsa Historic Environment Scotland site — many are free to wander; staffed ones charge and keep set hours
Standing remainssubstantial fabric survives to stand in front of
Edinburgh Castle sits on Castle Rock, the plug of an extinct volcano that rises steeply above the middle of the city. People have used the rock as a stronghold for well over a thousand years, and the castle you walk round today was built up in stages, from medieval royal rooms to the gun batteries added once artillery changed the way sieges were fought. The oldest part still standing is St Margaret’s Chapel, a small stone chapel from the early 1100s, named after the queen whose son, David I, had it built.
Inside you can see the Honours of Scotland, the crown, sceptre and sword that make up the country’s crown jewels, along with the Stone of Destiny, the old sandstone block used at the crowning of Scottish and later British monarchs. Mons Meg, a giant medieval siege cannon, sits up near the chapel. Every day except Sunday a gun is fired at one o’clock, a custom that began so ships out in the Firth of Forth could set their clocks by it.
Historic Environment Scotland runs the castle and you need a ticket; booking online ahead of time usually saves money and queueing, and it gets very busy through the summer. The castle stands at the top of the Royal Mile, an easy walk from most of the old town — St Giles’ Cathedral is partway down the same street, and Princes Street Gardens lie right below the rock. For a wide view back over the castle and the Old Town, walk up Calton Hill a little to the east.
