Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 15 on 18/7/2004.

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Royal castles and palaces

John Hannavy’s castle trail takes him to the very best royal castles and palaces

Our subjects this month are Scotland’s two greatest castles, and the country’s three finest palaces. Between them, they have embraced centuries of Scottish history, and visiting them today presents a unique picture of Scotland’s past all within a relatively few miles’ driving.

To many visitors to Scotland, the image of Edinburgh Castle sums up their expectations of Scotland – whether it is the sight of the huge fortress bathed in summer sunlight, or seeing its floodlit form silhouetted against a black sky from the stands on the Esplanade during the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo. So where better to start than the great fortress in the royal apartments of which Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to the future King James VI of Scotland (later James I after the Union of the Crowns) in 1566.

This castle occupies a site which has probably been fortified in one form or another for about 1500 years, but the oldest fragments of today’s castle probably date back no more than a mere 900 or so!

Much of what is most easily identified with the castle today dates from extensive remodelling projects from the middle of the 18th century through to the end of the 19th – the Esplanade, for example, was laid out in the 1750s, and the impressive gatehouse dates from the 1880s. But deep in the heart of the complex, St Margaret’s Chapel dating from the early years of the 12th century, reputedly occupies the site where the Queen of Scotland worshipped in the second half of the 11th.

At the opposit.....

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By John Hannavy

Section : Scottish Castles

Page number : 16