The Ci'y o' Embra

 

    The cannon blast echoed through the fort and down into the city. The time was one o'clock. The crowd's attention turned back to the groups standing in the small white circles painted on the pavement and people slowly began to walk away as the soldier manning the gun unloaded the shell and began to reset the cannon for use the next day. I turned to my friend Iain and we turned to walk towards parts of the castle that we hadn't explored yet.

    Edinburgh (pronounced Em-bra by the Scots) is a stunning city full of history and is a cultural epicentre of Scotland. Through the streets of Edinburgh, you can find bagpipers, buskers, tartan shops, and gift shops for visitors to proudly boast their Scottish heritage. One large part of Scotland's capital city stands prominently on the skyline. A testament to the long-fabled history of the city, Edinburgh Castle marks the ancient part of the city. That was the main attraction of the day for me and my friend Iain. 

    If you have read my post about Loch Lomond, then you will recognise my favourite Scot. Iain is a born and bred Glaswegian (inhabitant of Glasgow), Iain is a man of many stories and in my opinion, one of the best tour guides in all of Scotland. If Iain doesn't know the exact answer to a question he will do his best to answer it, and if he really doesn't know, he makes up an answer that satisfies. His demeanour and honesty make it hard at times to tell whether he is kidding about some of his "fun facts" or if they are, in fact true. I did my best at sifting through tales and truth, but the way he says things sometimes it is rather difficult to discern the fact from the fiction. 

    Iain and I started the morning with eggs, black pudding and breakfast haggis. - I had never had haggis before, and I had to try it again later on my trip but I will save the nitty-gritty review of haggis and my other new foods and drink in Scotland for another post. I'll just say that I liked haggis and would definitely eat it again. - After breakfast, we headed for a train station outside of Edinburgh and then jumped on the train into the city. I highly recommend this tactic because as with just about any major city, parking in Edinburgh appeared to be very difficult and expensive. Parking at a train station is much cheaper, and who doesn't like trains? 

    We made our way to the castle, our first stop on the trek. We had already ordered our tickets for admission, Iain is a member of Historic Scotland so he got in free, and I am a member of English Heritage so I got a well-discounted ticket. - If you are a fan of history and plan on exploring lots of English and Scottish historical sites, I highly recommend purchasing a membership to save money on tickets. - We walked up the steep streets of Old Edinburgh and arrived at the castle. We got to the castle around mid-day. Iain wanted to show me something that would happen at one o'clock at the castle, so instead of waiting around an hour, we found a nice cafe inside the castle grounds and ordered tea and pieces of cake to chat and pass the time. After enjoying our snack we headed to the central courtyard of the castle and found a circle painted on the pavement to stand in and watch the cannon go off. 

    The cannon at Edinburgh Castle is a tradition that has been around for more than a century and a half. Called the One-O'clock Gun, the cannon is ceremoniously set off on the thirteenth hour of each day. This tradition started as a way for Edinburghers to be able to quickly reset their watches each day. As the years have passed and watches have become increasingly more accurate, the purpose of the cannon has been lost, but the tradition lingers on. The white circles on the ground were a precaution against COVID that put groups at 2m intervals while watching the firing ceremony. 

    After one o'clock, we made our way through the rest of the castle grounds and went into the Scottish War Memorial. This area is a reverent site similar to the Vietnam Memorial or Ground Zero. Men were asked to remove their hats when in the memorial building, and a strict hushed silence was enforced. Iain had family members who has served and whose names were in the records within the memorial, the memorial meant to him more than I could ever tell. We stood for a time within the corridor of the memorial and made our way out to explore the rest of the castle.

    Other things at the castle included a huge cannon called Mons Meg, a massive 15th-century cannon with an interior diameter of 20 inches (510mm). The cannonballs that it threw weighed an impressive 386lbs (175kg). In terms of things that I would hate being on the receiving end of, this is pretty high on the list. 

    After we walked around and explored more of the castle, we became hungry and decided to leave the castle and head for a pub. We found a courtyard area in Old Edinburgh where in centuries past criminals would've been hanged, and opted for a pub nearby called The Last Drop (a great play on words if you ask me). At the pub, I ordered a plate of Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties - Haggis, turnips, and potatoes. I again found how much I enjoyed haggis. I also ordered a glass of Scotch, Scotland's National Drink. A truly cultural meal, and also delicious. 

    We explored Edinburgh a bit more, bobbing and weaving through shops and historical areas. We came across a cemetery with the only statue of a U.S. president outside of the states. Abraham Lincoln's tall figure stood atop a monument in memory of Scottish-American soldiers. As the afternoon became evening, Iain and I made our way back to the train station to wait for the train back to the car. After the train we made our way back to Iains house to settle in for the evening.

    I had been trying to get in contact with another friend who lived in Edinburgh, a former classmate who had moved to Edinburgh for grad school at Edinburgh University, but the day I was there, she had been sent to Glasgow. There was a small chance we could cross paths at the train station but her train was delayed and we missed each other by 5 minutes. 

-TDB