| Product: |
Edinburgh Castle |
| Date: |
16/04/08 (126 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Fascinating, well-laid out displays, lots to see, great value for money
Disadvantages: Can be some steep climbs, lacks interactive displays, need good weather to go round.
Edinburgh Castle is one of Scotland's most famous landmarks and a highly popular tourist attraction all the year round. The castle has evolved over the years - some parts date back as far as the 13th century, others are more recent, although there is evidence of human settlement on the site as early as 850BC. The castle has also served a number of different purposes over the years - from defensive structure to home and soldiers' garrison. These days, though, it's a great day out.
Because the purpose of the castle has changed over the years, this means that all tastes are catered for. If you enjoy looking round old castle buildings, there are plenty of those to see. If you like military history, there are a number of excellent and informative displays to keep you entertained; if you prefer reading about the history of a place or the people associated with it, then you can do that too.
The approach to it is at the top of a steep climb, so if you're unfit or a little infirm, you might prefer to get a taxi up there. The road leading to the castle opens out onto a broad forecourt, from there you have more or less got a panoramic view of Edinburgh. Go on the right day and the views across the city are stunning. The only downside is that (according to a guide book we had), the grandstands for the Edinburgh Tattoo are constructed very early, which can obscure the views, so if you want to see out across the city, you need to go earlier in the year.
Admission to Edinburgh Castle is very reasonable I thought. Adult admission currently costs £11 - with the standard reductions for concessions or children. You can also buy an audio tour which will take you round the castle for an extra £1. I can't comment on this aspect, as I didn't do this. I'm sure it adds some extra information, but to be honest, the signs and information placed around the castle are highly informative, so you're not going to miss out on too much if you decide not to do the audio tour.
Although the entrance fee initially sounds quite high, there's so much to see and do that you definitely get your money's worth. I spent almost three hours looking around - and even then, I skipped a couple of the exhibitions or rooms because they didn't interest me. If you do the whole lot, you could easily be there for 4 hours or more. It's definitely worth taking your time to look around to soak up the atmosphere and see every bit, as it's a wonderful building.
Once you're in the castle itself, it's very well laid out. You can basically take pretty much any route you like around the castle. There are signposts placed at various intervals which help you both to find the sections you are interested in, as well as helping you make sure you don't miss any of the parts out. There are also two lots of toilets within the castle compound and a number of different gift and bookshops and a restaurant, so you've got everything you need within the castle walls.
As well as signposts, Edinburgh Castle is full of display boards containing useful information and interesting facts. These are very well written, highly informative, but short. One of the problems I often find when visiting historic sites is that the displays often try to cram in too much information, leaving you feeling like you are back in school in a history lesson. The information boards in Edinburgh Castle, on the other hand, just give you the basic information. Of course, part of this is to encourage you to buy a guide book or an audio tour to find out more, but you can get round the castle just fine with these boards alone and find out plenty about the history of the place.
As I've already said, one of the nice things about Edinburgh Castle is that there's more to it than just a pretty, historical castle. There are plenty of exhibitions or mini museums on a range of subjects too. For example, for a long time, Edinburgh Castle was a garrison, so there is a museum of military history within the compound. The Scottish Honours (crown jewels), including the famous Stone of Scone are housed within the castle and the visitor is taken through an extremely well-thought out and highly informative exhibition going through the history of the Honours, before being taken into a small room where the artefacts themselves can be viewed. This makes Edinburgh Castle quite unique, as it will appeal to people who don't particularly like castles.
On the downside, you do need to be relatively fit to go around the castle. As most people will be aware, it sits at the top of a very high hill overlooking the city and the easiest way to reach it is by foot (although you can get a taxi to it). Once inside the castle, there is still plenty of walking to be done - again, much of it uphill, so the elderly or infirm may struggle to get to parts of it.
Equally, much of the castle is out of doors, so if the weather isn't great, you may want to consider coming back another time. Certainly when we went, it was very windy and bitterly cold, although thankfully it wasn't raining. If you went when it was raining, you might be tempted to skip bits of it out and that would be a shame, as you wouldn't get your money's worth from it.
Despite the fact that there is good signage within the castle, it can still be easy to miss things out accidentally, as some of the exhibitions or rooms are slightly hidden away. In particular, we almost missed out on the State Rooms, as they were hidden behind a tiny doorway, which looked as though it just led to a gift shop and nothing else. The fact the doorway was also partially hidden behind scaffolding didn't help, and it was only when we looked at the signposts that we realised we had missed this part out.
Another disadvantage is that whilst the exhibitions are very good and interesting, they do rely heavily on text, diagrams or simple display cases. There are none of the interactive style displays which many museums now use, so kids might start to get a bit bored and fidgety, once the initial novelty of being in the castle has worn off.
Overall, Edinburgh Castle is a brilliant place to visit and well worth a few hours of anyone's life. If you've never been there, do yourself a favour and get up to Scotland to see it!
Basic Information
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Edinburgh Castle
Castlehill
Edinburgh
EH1 2NG
UK
Tel: 0131 225 9846
http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/
Opening times: 9:30am - 6:00pm1 Apr - 30 Sep, 9:30am - 5:00pm 1 Oct - 31 Mar
Admission price (full adult) £11 (2008 rate)
© Copyright SWSt 2008
Summary: A great day out for everyone
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Last comment:
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leighsady - 03/05/08 We still haven't been up there yet, we always say every year, but this year we will, and we'll go to the castle too. Great review. xx |
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