09.00          City Tour of Edinburgh

We leave our hotel after breakfast, with a packed lunch and meet our guide in Charlotte Square for a guided walking tour of the City of Edinburgh.

When the Roman ‘Governor of Britain’ Agricola advanced North in AD79 and reached the mouth of the River Esk at what is now Inveresk, he encountered the Celtic tribe of Votadinii. The Votadinii controled the Forth River valley and based themselves at Dunedin, what is now probably Edinburgh Castle. There is plenty of archaelogical evidence that the Roman army mixed on a day to day basis with the locals.  After all most of the Roman army was made up of Celts (Gauls) from mainland Europe.   Although they fought, and defeated the Pictish leader Calgacus at Mons Graupius in AD84, the Romans could never master Caledonia and by 211 had retreated behind Hadrians wall, about a hundred miles to the south.  By 410 they had left Britain for good.

 

By the sixth century four Kingdoms had developed in what is now Scotland;
To the North, the Picts,
To the far West, the Scots
To the West, the Britons
To the South-East, the Angles.

For the next two of hundred years these four kingdoms struggled, beset by Viking raiding parties, until in the 9th century the King of Dalraida, Kenneth MacAlpin, fought his way to something like a united Scotland.  His Grandson, Duncan I, became the first King of Scotland in 1035.  Although at this time Scottish rulers tended to base themselves further north across the Forth, King Malcolm III Canmore (died 1093) built his castle at Edinburgh, and his wife Queen (Saint) Margaret built a chapel within its walls - now the oldest building in the city.  Her son, David I built the Abbey at Holyrood, a mile to the East along "The Royal Mile".  Castle and Abbey became the anchor points of Edinburgh; a thriving town grew up along side the road between them, connected to Lieth, Edinburgh's port and trade-link to the world. 

If Edinburgh did not grow outwards at this time, it did grow upwards. By the end of the 1500's it was established as the Capital of Scotland, and growing in population the inhabitants chose to build high houses close to the protection of the Castle: high tennement buildings most of which can be seen to this day.  When King James VI inherited the throne of England in 1603, Edinburgh ceased to be the principal site of the royal court, although it did continue to have its own Parliament. Everything changed after the Act of Union in 1707... Parliament ceased in Edinburgh, but the city prospered. The loch below the North side of the castle was filled in. New streets and and thousands of houses were planned and built in the Classical fashion.

This period of energetic building during the ‘Enlightenment’, which lasted into the 1800's, has left the city one of the most architecturally beautiful in the world.
During the Victorian era expansion continued to grow, but the Old Town tenements around the Royal Mile declined into slums where poor people lived in cramped and insanitary conditions. Industry flourished in Glasgow, but Edinburgh remained the preserve of professionals, which it has tended to remain.

Since the last war its prestige has risen not least because of the establishment of the Edinburgh Festival.  In the 1960's the city was being torn down and rebuilt at an alarming rate, but fortunately the New Town Conservation Commitee (formed in the 70's) put a stop to that. Buildings have been restored using traditional and sympathetic methods, and now the city looks as though it will remain as one of Europe's most beautiful and historically interesting living monuments.

11.00          Edinburgh Castle

Perched high on an extinct volcanic outcrop, Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline with stunning views across the old and new towns and out to the Firth of Forth.  We will see the recently restored Laich Hall, the Scottish Crown Jewels, the oldest regalia in Britain, and the stone of Destiny.  During the Wars of Independence Edinburgh Castle was captured by the English until Robert the Bruce's nephew, Thomas Randolph daringly recapture it by climbing its steep and craggy sides in the dead of night. Robert the Bruce granted Edinburgh a Royal Charter in 1329.

Within the confines of the Castle, there is much to see. It was the seat (and regular refuge) of Scottish Kings, and the historical apartments include the Great Hall, which now houses an interesting collection of weapons and armour.  The Royal apartments include a tiny room in which Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to the boy who was to become King James VI of Scotland and James 1 of England upon the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603.  The ancient Honours of Scotland - the Crown, the Sceptre and the Sword of State - are on view in the Crown Room. Nearby is the Scottish National War Memorial, a building designed and created shortly after the First World War; many who enter find the experience a moving one. 

Edinburgh Castle is also the home of the One O'Clock Gun. This is fired every day except Sunday at precisely 1.00pm to provide everyone with an accurate check for their clocks and watches. It will certainly startle you if you are anywhere near the Castle at that moment!  No one is sure who first used the castle rock as a settlement, but it was long before the Romans came sailing up the Forth and landing at Cramond.
The oldest building in all Edinburgh is to be found within the Castle precincts. It is St. Margaret's Chapel, a tiny Norman building which has been standing there intact for more than 900 years. It has survived all the sieges and bombardments to which the fortress on the rock was subjected during that period. On several occasions the castle was razed - but the demolishers invariably spared the chapel of the good St Margaret because of its religious significance. Today, members of the castle garrison still have the right to be married within the Chapel.

Before leaving the Esplanade, look in the north-east corner for a small iron wall-fountain; it is popularly known as the Witches' Well, and it commemorates the grim fact that, centuries ago, many women held to be guilty of witchcraft were put to death at the stake on this spot.  To the north, between the Castle and the Firth of Forth, the spectator has his first glimpse of Edinburgh's new town. To the east, below the Castle ramparts the visitor is recommended to take a close look at the Old Town.

Deep Sea World is a self-guided voyage through the living waters of the world, with themed areas depicting different aquatic habitats.  We will split into groups and have a half hour interactive session with a reptile! Deep Sea World is Scotland's National Aquarium, it's one hundred and twelve meters of underwater tunnels are the largest in the world.

Consisting of two main viewing areas, the display tanks, and the underwater tunnel, it provides enough aquatic life for all tastes.  Among the display areas you can view piranhas, tropical fish, rays and Amazonian fish.  That's not to mention the Lion fish, octopuses, puffer fish and the odd conger eel.

Once that has been absorbed, we will venture downstairs to the powered walkway that will guide us around the tunnel.  We will watch tiger sharks, rays, and conger eels swim freely above our heads.  A host of other fish occupy this under water domain, with one of the highlights being the divers feeding time, usually held on the hour.

21.15          Underground Ghost Tour of Edinburg

The site of many supernatural phenomena over the past few years, the vaults are the perfect place for the telling of ghost stories.  They are also ideal for describing the social history of Scotland's capital.  We will see the workshop's of the 18th century tradesmen, the remains of the slum dwellings, an ancient vault where gold bullion was once stored and find out why the vaults were abandoned.

In the 17th century, Edinburgh spread for only just over a mile, due to the walled fortifications around the city which protected it from invaders.  The city could therefore not sprawl but instead it went 'up'; the first 'skyscrapers' of about seven storeys were constructed here, which is why it is sometimes called the 'Medieval Manhattan'.  But let's remember this was the 17th century, long before such civilised inventions as bathrooms, toilets and plumbing.  Medieval Scots would throw all their personal and kitchen waste straight out the window, directly into the street below, perhaps straight onto some unlucky passerby.

Picture if you can, this swill of raw sewage seeping down the steps of the city, imagine the smell.  Rats inhabited this environment as well, enjoying the festering conditions and the tasty morsels, but these rats carried the fleas which carried the pestilence.  The pestilence was not a nice disease, not pretty or pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.  Sufferers would become very ill and huge pustules and boils would break out all over them and they would be racked with pains and vomiting until they died an agonising death, whereupon they would turn a purply black, hence it's other name 'The Black Death'.