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The Royal Mile, in Edinburgh, is approimately one Scots mile long and runs through the heart of Old Town. On the highest end of the Royal Mile is Edinburgh Castle. At the lowest, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 16th century. The palace is the setting for state occasions, official entertaining and is home to the Queen during Holyrood week, which takes place at the end of June to the beginning of July.
After our dash to purchase our tickets before closing time, our visit began in the Palace forecourt. We stopped to catch our breath and admire the palace which was colorfully lit and ornamented for the Christmas holidays.
Entering the Palace, I snapped some beautiful pictures of the courtyard before noticing the signs (much to my dismay) informing us that photography was not allowed!
Nevertheless, we began by climbing the Great Stair which features a 17th century Baroque ceiling features plaster angels holding the Honours of Scotland. The bannisters were decorated with beautiful garlands and we realized that we were lucky to be here during the Christmas season.
Only parts of the Palace were open to the public and we moved on from the Great Stair into the Royal Dining Room, finding that it was originally part of the Queen’s apartments.
Other parts of the palace open to the public included the King’s apartments, which encompassed the presence chamber and privy chamber (now the Evening and Morning Drawing Rooms), antechamber, bedchamber and closet.
The suite of rooms on the first floor of the north-west tower incorporates an audience chamber and a bedroom. These rooms were occupied by Lord Darnley, Queen Mary’s second husband, in the 17th century. A second set of identical rooms on the second floor of the tower were occupied by Mary. The outer chamber contains the oratory and was the site of the murder of David Rizzo, Mary’s secretary and confidante. Many tourists are often convinced that they can see his blood stains on the floor here.
Noticing the waning light outside, I was anxious to find the exit and explore the Holyrood Abbey. The ruined abbey was founded n 1128 by King David I. The abbey church acted as a parish church until the 17th century, however, fell into disrepair after the 18th century. Wishing that the lighting would have been a little better, I was still able to get some haunting pictures of the ruins. I almost expected the naked, stripped and tortured ghost of Bald Agnes (Agnes Sampson), who was accused of witchcraft and said to roam the palace, to appear in my photographs!
It was the end of the day and although we had to vacate the premises, we considered ourselves fortunate to have been able to see an important part of Scottish history.
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Palace of Holyroodhouse
- https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/palace-of-holyroodhouse
- Address: Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8DX, UK
- Hours: November 1 through March 25, 0930-1630, daily (last admission 1515). March 26-October 31, 0930-1600, daily (last admission 1630). Closed May 16-27 and June 27-July 8.
- Admission: Adults, £12.50, Over 60 / Student (with valid ID), £11.40, Over 60 / Student (with valid ID), £11.40, Under 5, free, Family ticket, £32.50 (2 adults and 3 under 17s). Other combination tickets available.
- Getting There: Train via Edinburgh Waverly station. The palace is a 15 minute walk from the station. Bus number 6 and 35 stop near the palace. If travelling by car, a public car park is adjacent to the palace.