Edinburgh Castle

The ancient Edinburgh Castle sits perched on top of Castle Rock in the centre of the city, looking down on the Old Town and acting as the central focal point of the surrounding area.

This unique and impressive castle owes its striking form to the volcanic rock on which it is constructed, giving it the appearance of an imaginary citadel from an old romantic painting. The volcano has been extinct for a good 340 million years, although the residents of Edinburgh are quite confident that it’ll remain so for the foreseeable future.

This volcanic rock formation is very rare, especially in the UK. It provides sheer cliffs on three sides and a sloping approach on the other, natural defences that are responsible for the city of Edinburgh being here in the first place.

Human settlers arrived here in the days of pre-history and no-one can confidently say when man first decided to make Edinburgh his home. The earliest records are of Roman origin and date back to the 2nd Century.

Edinburgh castle is full of wonderful architecture from more than 1000 years of history; a place to discover all there is to know about this city’s role in the turbulent history of the British Isles - from the first meeting of the Scottish Parliament, in 1140, to the Jacobite Risings more than 600 years later.

Today the castle is a major tourist attraction where you can catch breathtaking views of the city, see the Scottish Crown Jewels display (the Honours of Scotland) and visit the National War Memorial.

Edinburgh Tattoo

Edinburgh Castle also hosts the annual world famous Military Tattoo each August. 1000s of people arrive each year to watch the spectacular display of marching bands, dancers, battle re-enactments and fireworks on the esplanade of the castle.