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4:22 pm
– Edinburgh – Day 4 – Edinburgh Castle and The Witchery
 Saying goodbye to what seemed to be our own Dalhousie
Castle, we taxied back to start
our extended stay in Edinburgh. We'll be staying the next seven days at the
Roxburgh in the New Town section just off Charlotte
Square.
Today we performed what is required of any visit to Edinburgh
and that is exploring the assemblage of buildings dating to the 12th Century,
Edinburgh Castle. Sitting atop the basalt core of an extinct
Volcano, the castle has been variously a fortress, royal palace, military
garrison and state prison. The
original fortress was built in the 6th Century by the Northrumbrian
king Edwin for whom the city is named.
Mary, Queen  of Scotts, gave birth to James VI in the 15th century
palace here. There are a number of
buildings and you should leave a couple of hours to see the grounds properly.
I was mostly interested in the spectacular view from the
Argyle battery and the crown jewels now on display. Also on display next to the crown and
apparently a never-ending source of Scottish pride is the so-called Stone of
Destiny, a relic of Scottish kings.
Seized by the English it was only recently returned to Scotland
in 1996. Beth remembered seeing it
residing under the throne in London's
Westminster Abbey
on a visit some time ago. I was unable
to record a photo of neither stone nor the crown as photography is strictly
forbidden in this area of the  palace.
We were both surprised and saddened to notice the small
pet cemetery kept just outside the wall of the Argyle battery where rests the
remains of long ago forgotten soldier's dogs.
Tiny tombstones dotted this forlorn patch of green. Nearby, we took what looked to be quick
exit stairway down to the main ground only to discover that this was the original
main entryway to the palace area – quite a climb to be made on a daily basis.
As we were headed in a different direction, we didn't
explore the esplanade – the location of the famous military tattoo. We'll have to save that for another day.
Day 4 – con't
Staying in the same hotel, Beth's colleague, Elizabeth
Henderson brought to our room a lovely Canadian red wine (a
blend of merlot, cabernet, petit syrah) before we headed to dinner at The Witchery. Thoughtfully located next to the Scotch
Heritage Whisky museum, we had very little trouble finding it. Actually, we took a taxi as we felt we had
done enough walking for one day at the Castle. Not as spooky as it's name suggests, we
feasted magnificently with the two Elizabeth's dining on the pan-roasted wild
sea bass and I, staying in my carnivore frame of mind, devoured a
mouth-melting venison poached in red wine and juniper. We accompanied our meal with a very
interesting Rhone wine picked out by my lovely
spouse. Afterwards, in lieu of
imbibing a single malt, I somewhat overindulged in a bitter-chocolate
tort. Although somewhat steep of
price, I would definitely recommend the Witchery as a culinary treat for any Edinburgh
visit.
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