Edinburgh Castle

Whenever we mentioned to people we were spending time in Edinburgh this trip, they all said we had to visit the castle. It does certainly dominate, or seems to dominate, the part of the city we were walking through. What I found particularly interesting was that it covers a large area and is made up of a lot of buildings. I suppose my experience with castles is quite minimal. I find myself comparing this one to the castle in Lisbon. Perhaps because Edinburgh castle is still in used, with military barracks and a governor there, that its presence with buildings, windows, streets, etc seemed more modern and functional than anything one might think of as a castle ruin.

The unfortunate thing about the castle for us was how touristy it is. I get it. We were two of thousands of people, yes thousands, flocking to it and I’m sure all of those folks had friends who said the same thing as ours, ‘don’t miss it’. I’m glad we went and saw it, but it wasn’t as great as I wanted it to be. For example, I’m hard pressed as I sit here to recount precise history about it other than Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to James there.

We needed to purchase tickets and knowing the weather was going to be nice, we did this on a Wednesday. The only slot available was an arrival time between 12:00 and 12:30 with just a few tickets left. This, I thought, would mean they are controlling the numbers of people inside. I think perhaps they are and cringe to think without controlling entrance numbers it could have been more crowded. Yikes.

We paid the nominal additional cost to each have an audio tour. This gets you a download on your phone of a very long series of stories you can listen to through your own headphones while wandering around. You can choose them in the order they are offered as well as punch in a number at particular locations to call up that specific info. This was a fortunate choice as it gave us something to escape into amidst the throngs of tourists. I think the little bit of information I did learn was through that audio tour.

Where the crowds annoyed me the most was when we decided to walk into a few of the buildings with exhibits. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m something of a museum whore and like to linger. I’ve been on the other side of interpretive efforts and appreciate that teams of people curated objects, built displays, wrote text, and created a story flow to educate the visitor. So I want to take time to understand what they have worked to convey. When I can’t, I feel frustrated and almost like I’m disrespecting the place.

This was especially true walking through the exhibit on The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum. It isn’t a large building so they’ve designed an exhibit where you wind through wide hallways around large display cases, maps and text. There is a lot there. And I got very little of the details. I felt like cattle, having to walk through based on the pace of those ahead or behind me to keep the flow. Since the lighting wasn’t bright, it was hard to fully read interpretive material in the limited amount of time available. I saw a lot of cool, old stuff, from uniforms, to portraits, to officers’ objects and horsemanship paraphernalia. But I can’t give details on any of it and that felt and still feels frustrating. It is clear that this regiment is unique and important with an impressive military history for Scotland and globally, since they’ve been everywhere over the decades.

We also went through the old prison space which wasn’t quite as crowded allowing us to linger a bit more and actually contemplate and read about what we were seeing. We declined going into two other exhibits due to the crowds, which is a shame. I hate that my comments aren’t glowing and wonderful. Certainly, it is cool to say we’ve been there. To be able to be up on that high point, see the stone and brick structures, sense the history, see the defensive perspective they had in a 360 degree view… all that resonated.

I’m glad we went but I wish I could wholeheartedly say that anyone in Edinburgh should go. Maybe what I’m trying to say is that if you do go, be prepared for the throngs of tourists and the touristy nature of the place (I didn’t mention the (eyeroll) Whisky tasting cafe). Perhaps those that visit at off-season times of the year have a better time. Clearly September is still very much high season. That type of tourist experience is not one I seek out. I think I’ll probably sit and listen through the audio tour on my own time and, combined with looking at photos on the web, I’ll get more out of it.