Edinburgh City Part 6: Edinburgh Castle (Exterior)

PICTURE-HEAVY POST

One of the main reasons I went to Edinburgh was to photograph the castle. As Scotland's largest castle, and one of the more impressive, situated as it is on a rocky volcanic crag high above the city, looming over everything as a stony sentinel, it seemed the perfect subject for a display on castles for the Primary 4 class at the school I work at, and I personally adore castles and want any excuse to visit one. 

Looking left from the entrance bridge.
The guttering looks a bit like cannons.

Once at the castle itself, the city seems opened out all around, and just how high and isolated an outcrop the castle is seems very apparent. The views are amazing even on a dull and hazy day like the one of my visit. I am sure that on a clear and bright day that one would be able to see for many miles in any direction. I tried to take some photographs of the view, but they were mostly quite hard to make out, so none of them will go on the blog. 

Looking up from the entrance gate to the
Half Moon Battery, built for huge cannons.

So much of the rest of Edinburgh seems to have been built with at least some inspiration from the castle; all the castle-like details of the Scottish Baronial buildings that seem everywhere, the vistas that seemed planned to give you a good view of the castle, the gardens between Prince's Street and the railway that make the castle seem somehow separated from the city itself, etc. etc. Not many British cities still seem to have their old castle at their heart. Only Stirling, which also has its grand castle perched high above a steep rocky outcrop, seems to have some of this, but Edinburgh certainly seems built around its castle more than just geographically. Oxford, for example, still has its castle, but that castle has been swamped by the far grander buildings of the university and re-purposed so many times; it feels like it has been subsumed by its city.

Where the gates had once been underneath the Argyle Tower.

I took the photograph above because even before I read on a plaque that there had been many gates (five, if I remember rightly), the ribs in the vaulting made it clear that there had been defenses there before. I was surprised not to find holes of some sort to shoot down upon, or pour boiling liquids upon, invaders as I have seen this in other castles. Medieval warfare was grim, bloody and painful. Combined with the steep rocky crag the castle is built upon, the one main road up to the entrance, and the terracing that would make it so easy for archers or muskets to shoot down upon attackers, the castle is certainly not a structure that would have been easy to get into!

Looking up to what is now the castle shop!

Entry to the castle is not cheap. I think it cost me £16 just for myself. I then purchased a guide book, a few history books, post-cards and snacks all on top of that, making it quite an expensive visit. I am quite glad I had money saved up as otherwise I would not have ordinarily been able to afford such a trip. I think it is cheaper if you are a member of Historic Scotland - something I am seriously considering doing as I am quite fond of visiting historic sites (as visitors to my blog should know!). 

Staggered walls of castle shop.
Looking up at some clouds being interesting!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the weather was grim, bleak and windswept. The skies were grey, pale with wan sunlight and the wind made the day far chiller than the the day before, when it was sunny, warm and humid enough to have me nearly fainting. It was not the prettiest day for taking photographs; I prefer it when it is partially cloudy so that I get interesting contrast with the clouds, or at least when the clouds are being dramatic. The sky that day was dull, often quite flat, with the occasional interest of denser, darker and more leaden skies that came with unfulfilled promises of rain. Every now and again there was a slight break of blue through the cloud, but very little. 

Rear view of the shrine of the Scottish National War Memorial

One of the more recent buildings is the Scottish National War Memorial, built over what, if I remember rightly, had once been both a barracks and a church at different periods. I don't know how much of the architecture is 20thC and how much is an adaptation of older buildings, but I do know that it is a place of reverence and remembrance. Photographs are not permitted in the Shrine itself, to preserve the dignity and attitude of reverence, but I can say that it is both somber and beautiful, with the names of the war dead from all three branches of the military kept in a metal box designed to resemble the Ark of the Covenant. 

The archway, looking in from the approach.

The shrine is accessed via the inner courtyard, and under this arch. I don't know if this arch is a structural brace between the two buildings, or if it is a walk-way for uses I cannot fathom, or part of a tall gate that once sequestered off this royal section of the castle. Anyone who can explain it to me has my gratitude if they do so. 

The same archway, this time looking outwards.

Through this archway, inwards, is a courtyard. The inner courtyard is called the Royal Square, and it is surrounded by the Great Hall, the Scottish National War Memorial, and the Royal Palace (which holds the Honours of Scotland; the nation's crown jewels, comprised of a rod, sceptre, crown and sword, and the Stone of Destiny). This was not quite as grand as I had imagined, but Edinburgh Castle, with all its military architecture, cannons and defensive location, was primarily a working fortress and not decadent palace. That's not to say the interiors are not sumptuous - I will post later another blog entry with some colour photographs of the interiors - just that I have been to fancier places. It was a dreary day when I was visiting, and it lent the castle interiors a dreary atmosphere, even with their warm simulated candles. I suppose with fewer visitors, more comforts and all the big stone fire-places containing a lit and roaring fire, it would seem a lot more cosy.

The Royal Palace. At four storeys and with a tower, it's quite tall.

I visited both the Royal Palace, some rooms of which are apparently still used for state functions (I can assume only small ones, though) and are finely wood paneled and luxurious. There's a lot of heraldry about the place - I guess that sort of decor was done to impress visitors (the nobles that once would have come, not present day visitors) with the long hereditary claim to the throne, especially as it was a rather contested throne.

Mary Queen of Scots gave birth in rooms in the older parts of the building, to the boy that later became King James VI of Scotland and I of England, and a few Kings later, Mary and William of Orange became King and Queen and it got complicated, Jacobites and Hanoverians fought over who would be King, and whether parliament could interfere in the succession and 'divine right of kings', quite literally with battles and suchlike, culminating in the Battle of Culloden (not to far from where I now live) in 1746. Politics then was more complicated than what you get in a George R.R. Martin book, and just as deadly, even if with fewer dragons.  The depute head at the school I work at has tried explaining the complexities of the Jacobite uprising to me, but I must admit I lose track of which factions were on which side, and why, and the complexities of fractioning Christian sects of the time that underpinned a lot of the conflict confuse me utterly. As with most conflicts, I am at a loss as to why all of it should have escalated as far as lead to murder, death and battle. 

I have forgotten exactly where this door is, but I think it is
an entrance into what is now the Visitor's Information Centre

Edinburgh Castle is on an ancient site, apparently used as some that could be fortified from as far back as the Iron Age, and still in use a while later, as Edinburgh is mentioned (as a large banner at the castle proclaims) in the Y Gododdin, some of the earliest Welsh poetry, as where warriors feasted for a year and a day before going off to die in battle. A quick hunt of the internet makes it seem an epic poem worth reading - in English translation for me, perhaps in modern Welsh for Raven. It's a lot of history; more than I could take in through only one visit; I'd have to read more books and visit a second time at least, to even start making sense of it all. A lot of the castle's history is military history as it was an army fortress for just about as long as Britain has had a proper army rather than just those called up to fight for local lords, and before that it was a fortification too. It's still a military place now, though now one of museums and offices, the annual Royal Military Tattoo (for those who don't know what that is, it's about marching bands, dance and pipers, not about getting inked!) and suchlike, rather than a working fortress. Military history is not really my area of interest (unless you count the 'Sharpe' novels by Bernard Cornwell. I'm pretty sure that does not count, though!)

I think this is the Argyle tower and junction with the top
of the Laing Stairs, but I am not entirely sure. 

I enjoyed myself and I really enjoyed the architecture. It's a pretty large complex, the sort that brings to mind the epic 'Gormenghast' of  Mervyn Peake, but less malevolent in architecture, yet with the slopes of the hill up to the crag all covered in old stone buildings, some more Gothic than others. I took so many photographs while I was there, but many of them ended up relegated to my discard pile. I hope you enjoy the exterior photographs here - later I will display some of the colour interior photographs. I think the autumnal grey of the weather just made the place seem colder and learning its conflict-ridden history just makes it seem a place full of the blood and sweat of warriors and soldiers from centuries past. The stones are greyed and the sky is greyer; monochrome photography seemed fitting. 

Edinburgh City Part 4: Pictures of Us

St. Giles' Cathedral is in Parliament Square in Edinburgh, and I was posing in Parliament Square, trying to get the beautiful Gothic (and it is original Gothic, not Gothic Revival) architecture of the cathedral in the background. 

I was going for a classic Lolita look, just in black, with my Baby, The Stars Shine Bright dress, a velvet blazer and two different cameo necklaces. The fingerless lace gloves were so that I could fiddle with the camera and keep my fingers warm at the same time, and the head-dress is a rosette style one by Alice And The Pirates. The waist-ties are undone on the dress because I didn't find out until after I had gone out just how uncomfortable it was to have them tied under my blazer!

Both of these photographs above are by K., just taken on my camera. I did the re-touching afterwards. The following two photographs are of K. by me. I'm usually the one wearing Goth, and she's usually the one wearing Lolita, but for a change that was swapped that day. I think K. is the better photographer! 

. 

The next time I go to Edinburgh (and there has to be a next time!) I will have to take some proper photographs of St. Giles' cathedral - especially the famous lantern spire. There are several other beautiful churches and other buildings on the Royal Mile that deserve photographing too. I was in Edinburgh for only 2 days and took so many photographs as it was - another trip with more photography time would be even more productive, although I think I would have to be much pickier with my photographs and write my blogs as a travelogue; I have written four blog entries about my Edinburgh travels already, and that's before getting as far as the castle!

Many thanks have to be given to K. for letting me stay in her apartment in Edinburgh, for being an excellent tour-guide, and for helping me out when I lost things and thought I would not be able to get home. She is a fabulous host and very kind. 

Edinburgh City Part 3: St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral

A Cathedral for a Sunday

Old residential style buildings are visible on the right.

I was actually on my way to take a short-cut through a shopping mall, being lead by K. to the castle, and insisted we stop so I could photograph some of the architecture around the road junction as I could see this Cathedral, something that looked like a very fancy Gothic Revival church in a late Gothic, almost Tudor style, converted into a restaurant called the Glass Box by the use of much modern glass and steel, and another church with towers done as open lanterns (which I took a photograph of that as at the end of this entry), and a few other interesting things.

Rock doves, I think, perched on an artificial cliff...

Edinburgh city has an over-abundance of glorious architecture. I tried to take as many photographs as I could, but I simply did not have time to photograph everything I saw that was interesting. Much of the beautiful architecture is Gothic and Gothic Revival - my two favourite styles, especially in their more elaborate variations. This is not the fanciest building in Edinburgh by any means, but it was fancy enough to catch my attention - as were several in the immediate vicinity. I will have to go back there and take more photographs because with cars and pedestrians and buses and lorries all getting between me and good photographs the last time, a trip on a quieter day is in order. I do hope to go back to Edinburgh because I only had chance to explore a small fraction of the city, and I didn't get to go on any ghost tours, nor visit the dungeons, nor visit any cemeteries or necropoli (and most cities for the living have their cities for the dead). 

Some lovely Gothic grandeur for an entrance. 

The sign at the right of the entrance relates some of this building's history (although with photographs taken at that distance it is quite unreadable here) and says, among many other things, that it was built in 1814 and designed by the architect James Gillespie Graham, and that it had originally been surrounded by residential buildings to keep it tucked away from anti-Catholic vandals, rather than the being in broad view at a busy road junction as it is now. I guess trying to remain hidden to a degree is why it has no tall spire or tower. I did not go into the Cathedral, being an apostate that left Christianity for Neo-Paganism, and feeling somewhat awkward actually in places of Christian worship. I always feel like however beautiful it is, it is sacred to someone else's God, and I don't belong there. 

Lovely lantern towers on a church I spotted across the road
 from the cathedral. Not sure which church, though.

Edinburgh has so many beautiful buildings that I could probably stay there a month and not photograph all of them. I hope my readers don't mind how much I am posting in the way of architectural photography. October is going to be a picture-heavy month, and Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture is going to feature quite prominently. 

One of the fascinating things about cities is how much history every single building and square foot of land has - even newer buildings are often built over older buildings, and in some places you get catacombs as buildings are built over the cellars and sub-basements in increasing levels, with the newest buildings not always having access to their own cellars, I would not be surprised if this is not the case in some parts of Edinburgh; I certainly went to enough buildings where because of topography and various extensions, what is ground floor in one place would be basement to another in the same building - "upper ground floor" and "lower ground floor" being common stops on lifts! I know London has 'lost' underground buildings, some being branches now disconnected of the London Underground Railway, some of them cellars detached from their parent buildings, and some of them parts of old sewerage and drainage systems, and Paris is famous for its catacombs, but I don't know about Edinburgh. If any Edinburgh readers can shed light on this (pardon the pun) then I would be very interested.

Edinburgh City Part 2: Hanover St. Bank

While Gothic and Gothic Revival styles are my favourite, I don't mind a bit of Neo-Classical architecture now and then. 

These photos happened because I had to sit around and wait on the Saturday. K. and her friend Clark had to get their student bus passes, and I wasn't feeling well, so didn't want to go indoors where it might be stuffy to wait with them. Edinburgh was a lot warmer than Inverness was when I left, and even having taken off my scarf and jacket I was over-heating, plus I did not realise just how crowded central Edinburgh would be on a Saturday afternoon - I am not used to big cities and masses of people, and do not cope well with crowds. I was feeling pressed in and getting faint with the stress and the heat, and had nearly fainted in a heap outside a fast food restaurant on Prince's Street! As such, while K. and Clark sorted there bus ticket, I parked myself under the grand facade of this bank. 

It's currently a bank and a branch of the TSB, but I do wonder what this building was built for. Its temple style make me wonder if it was a Neoclassical chapel of one of the Christian denominations that shied away from the Gothic style for their chapels, or whether it was always a bank and that the severe lines of the Ionic Order were a statement of security, stability and seriousness. Either way, while Neoclassical architecture is not my favourite style, I rather liked this building, and while I waited, took these photographs. 

As I was right up close to the building, sitting on a ledge and trying not move around too much, I have not got any photographs of the building as a whole, but the entire building seems to be of a design quite directly inspired by Classical temples, although the colonnade here is only a portico, rather than supporting a roof and arcade down the sides of the building. The next building down hill also had columns, hence the photographs taken looking down one set of columns to the next in different style. 

I know that usually my architectural photographs are in black and white, but with the stone of this building being such a pale grey anyway, I thought it would be better to take some colour pictures, that and I wanted to capture the fact that it was actually sunny in Scotland (just in case nobody believed me! :P ). The day after the weather went back to cloudy and dreary, so it was short lived, but it was actually sunny for a whole afternoon. 

Edinburgh City Part 1: Scottish National Portrait Gallery

A few weeks ago, not long after my laptop broke, I went on a weekend trip to Edinburgh. Raven was away in Glasgow for four days, and I had nothing planned for the weekend, so took the opportunity to visit my friend K. in Edinburgh. I had hoped to meet up with my friend Laura from Sheridan's Art while she was on holiday, but she left Edinburgh the same morning I arrived, but a lot earlier than when my coach came in. 

Enough Gothic twiddles to keep me happy!

The ::Scottish National Portrait Gallery:: is on Queen St. and just around the corner from the bus station. I was struck by the beauty of the Gothic Revival building, especially the warm colour of the red sandstone and the statues of various historical figures (K. and I had fun trying to figure out who each of them were). I didn't initially know it was a gallery, and when I spotted the sign, and the big signs advertising an exhibition on Ruskin (who I'm not particularly fond of, especially in light of how he treated the women in his life, but I appreciate his contribution to the Pre-Raphaelite movement) I decided I had to go in.

And this side just faces an alley!

 The interior is even more glorious than the exterior. As a lot of the actual paintings are still in copyright and as special exhibitions areas have photography within them prohibited, I didn't take any photographs of the paintings. I did, however, take photographs of the glorious atrium with its Victorian mural of famous Scottish historic figures. It's a splendid building, glimmering with gilt and brightly coloured. I kept joking with K. that if I ever become a dark queen, my castle of doom will be as well decorated! It's so rich, such a vibrantly painted interpretation of the medieval tradition; I just adore it. My favourite things are the hanging amber lights - I guess they were once candles or gas lights, but even as electric lights they are fabulous!

Gloriously decadent in the Gothic tradition.

I was having fun playing with the saturation.

The exhibitions are informative, well lit (I hate going into galleries and museums where the light is either glaringly bright, or too dim to see anything) and the paintings are, of course, amazing. Best of all, entrance is free, which is important when you've spent most of your money just on coach fare to Edinburgh from Inverness. I did, however, donate a few coins on exiting. I thoroughly recommend it to all visitors to Edinburgh (and any residents who haven't been there already) and I will certainly be returning (probably taking even more photographs of the exterior!).

I must say, when I spend over 4 hours on a coach getting south to Edinburgh, I am strongly reminded of just how far north Inverness actually is, and there is plenty more Scotland even further north! Having traveled so far down on the coach, I really made the most of my trip, so there will be quite a few more photographs of Edinburgh architecture to come! I even went to the castle, partly to gather photographs to show the children at work as the Primary 4 class currently have castles as their topic - I do love it when work and hobbies intersect!