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Castles
in Edinburgh.

It’s 20:06 in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh

A castle on the rock, and others nearby.

Edinburgh's castle needs no introduction, sitting on its volcanic rock at the top of the Royal Mile, a palace, garrison and prison in its time. But the city has others worth the trip. There's a ruined tower house in parkland on the south side, where Mary Queen of Scots stayed, and a tower house of the 1590s above the Forth at Cramond. Further along the shore stands a castle built like a stone ship. Go early to beat the crowds at the top.

Edinburgh Castle→
Edinburgh Castle Dog Cemetery→
Blackness Castle→
Craigmillar Castle→
Lauriston Castle→
Today18 hours agoEdinburghEdinburgh CastleAttractionEdinburghCraigmillar CastleAttractionEdinburghBlackness CastleAttraction

Today calls for a castle.

8° and clear in Edinburgh. Dry enough for the ramparts and the walk round the walls.

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From our guide16 hours ago

Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Still an official royal residence, and previously frequented by everyone from Mary Queen of Scots to Queen Elizabeth II – even Bonnie Prince Charlie reportedly used the Great Gallery for opulent evening balls – the lavish Palace of Holyroodhouse makes for an absorbing place to visit. The grand medieval Holyrood Abbey stands adjacent to the palace.

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Did you know15 hours ago

The first Edinburgh Military Tattoo, in 1950, had just eight items and an audience of 6,000 on simple benches round the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.

It grew out of Something About a Soldier, the first public military tattoo in Edinburgh, the year before. Today more than 220,000 people see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo live on the Esplanade every August, and a further 100 million watch it on television. The Lone Piper, a silhouette high on the top of the castle, marks the close. In the early days the piper stood on a small platform beside a sheer drop, and now wears a harness.

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Did you know13 hours ago

Edinburgh Castle has had a cemetery for soldiers' dogs since the 1840s.

The first dog buried here was Fido, the companion of the castle's commanding officer, in 1847.

See Edinburgh Castle Dog Cemetery
Stay12 hours agoEdinburghThe Scott Hotel1.1 milesEdinburghMoment George IV Bridge2.2 milesEdinburghOld Town Chambers2.2 miles

Stay near Craigmillar Castle Park.

The three good places closest to it: The Scott Hotel, Moment George IV Bridge and Old Town Chambers.

See Craigmillar Castle Park
Castles10 hours ago

Blackness Castle.

A 15th-century castle on the shore of the Forth, built like a stone ship run aground, later a garrison fortress and state prison.

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Autumn9 hours ago

What Craigmillar Castle looks like in autumn.

Edinburgh's other castle, a ruined tower house of the late 1300s in parkland south-east of the city, where Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566.

Read about it
Quiz7 hours ago

Each day the One O'Clock Gun is fired from Edinburgh Castle. What happens at the same moment on top of the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill?

Castle of the day5 hours ago

Edinburgh Castle.

A royal castle on its rock at the top of the Royal Mile, in its time a palace, garrison and prison, and home of the oldest Crown jewels in Britain.

Read about it
From the JournalThe journal4 hours ago

Dunbar's Close

As you walk down the Royal Mile, from Edinburgh Castle, you’ll find Dunbar’s Close on the left-hand side once you enter the Canongate.

Read the story
Did you know2 hours ago

In 1811, 49 French prisoners escaped from Edinburgh Castle through a hole in the wall, and all but one got away.

The vaults held hundreds of prisoners of war between 1757 and 1814. In 1811, 49 French prisoners hacked a hole in a wall and let themselves down the south crag on ropes. All but one got away, and the hole is still there.

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Did you know1 hour ago

One of the earliest depictions of the Stars and Stripes is scratched into a door at Edinburgh Castle.

Men captured fighting for the United States in the War of Independence were held in the vaults under the castle, along with prisoners brought from France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Denmark and Poland. They were kept here through the 1700s and 1800s, sleeping in hammocks in rows like these. One of them scratched his country's flag into a door, and it is still there to be seen.

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