In Edinburgh - 3 September 2008
For our second day in Edinburgh, we visited The Palace of Holyroodhouse,
the official residence in Scotland of Her Majesty The Queen, which stands at the end of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile against the spectacular backdrop of Arthur’s Seat, the site of an ancient volcano (in the top left hand corner of this photo).
This fine Palace is closely associated with Scotland’s rich history and today is used by The Queen and other members of the Royal Family when carrying out official engagements in Scotland. It is very beautiful.
The State Apartments are renowned for their magnificent plasterwork ceilings and unrivalled collection of tapestries. One of the most popular rooms in the Palace is the Great Gallery, hung with Jacob de Wet’s portraits of the real and legendary kings of Scotland. The interior was absolutely stunning and we’d have loved to have recorded some of the things we saw – sadly not permitted!
The Palace is perhaps best known as the home of Mary, Queen of Scots and was the setting for the many dramatic episodes in her short reign. Mary witnessed the brutal murder of her secretary, Rizzio, by her jealous husband Lord Darnley in her private apartments.
During the 1745 Jacobite rising, the Palace served briefly as the headquarters of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The ruins of the 12th century Abbey enhance the Palace’s romantic atmosphere.
According to legend, King David I founded the Abbey in 1128 on the very spot where he had a vision of a stag with a cross between its antlers. Despite being the burial place of several Scottish Kings and the site of the coronation of Charles I in 1633, the Abbey was abandoned after the roof collapsed in 1768.
During our visit we managed to savour The Art of Italy Exhibition. This highly acclaimed exhibition of 16th and 17th century Italian art highlights some of the finest paintings and drawings of the Italian Renaissance in the Royal Collection. Naturally we weren’t allowed to take any photos inside the exhibition but I wonder if you can smell the lilies that adorned the entrance?
Opposite the Palace, and in complete contrast, is the Scottish Parliament. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore inside but the building was impressive, designed as it was by the Barcelona architects EMBT and their partners RMJM Scotland who won an international competition to design a new building for the Scottish Parliament in 1998.
We had an unexpected treat before we left Edinburgh – a telephone call from an old school friend, Maggie and Keith, asking us to call in. It was a very short reunion because circumstances had prevented us from having a longer time together but it was great to catch up briefly and make promises for the future. The heavens had opened before we left the Royal Mile and made our way to their house, and rain continued as we left the city. We decided to get as close to Lindisfarne as we could and find somewhere to spend the night. We passed through Berwick-upon-Tweed which we thought was lovely.
Finally, we found a lovely B&B at North Ancroft Farm House, Ancroft, TD15 2TA, 01289 387422, just south of Berwick.
We had a great dinner at The Black Bull in Lowick and enjoyed a great night’s sleep and a lovely breakfast.