Tag: edinburgh castle

Videos of Scotland – Castle videos

Posted on by Dave

I have been shooting videos for the last 3 years and HD videos of Scotland for the last year and I have now started to add it them to the website . This will be an ongoing process which will continue throughout this year . I have videos of Edinburgh Castle and Eilean Donan Castle which are available as downloads to mobile phones  . The project as a whole is titled ” Videos of Scotland” and will also be for sale on CD .

Two hundred year old graffiti in Edinburgh Castle’s prison vaults is one of the inspirations behind the development of a major  exhibition within the castle .The exhibition explores the castle’s connections with the American War of Independence as well as 18th century European conflicts including the French Revolution, through the stories of the men who found themselves gaoled at Edinburgh Castle.The prison vaults lie beneath the Queen Anne building in the castle’s Crown Square. The exhibition is one part of a £3.5 million construction project within the Queen Anne building to provide a permanent all-weather education centre; function and exhibition space and additional café space.

“Edinburgh Castle is Scotland’s most popular visitor attraction,” Dr Murray said. “More than 1 million visitors are drawn each year by its spectacular location and history. They can see the Crown Jewels, the One O’Clock Gun and the Stone of Destiny as well as the Great Hall, St Margaret’s Chapel, and Mons Meg. “This new exhibition will explore more of the castle’s complex story, with links to Scots-born John Paul Jones – renowned in America as founder of the US Navy  and in Britain for capturing one of the Royal Navy’s warships – and the turbulence of revolutionary Europe at the end of the 1700s.”Edinburgh Castle is a world-class attraction and today’s well-traveled tourists have high expectations.”The vaults at Edinburgh Castle were constructed around 1500 and later used as soldiers’ barrack-rooms and a bakehouse. However they were used for many years as prisons of war from the 1750s into the early 1800s. Graffiti carved into prison doors reveal the names and sentiments of many of the men there, and some of them etched crude drawings of their vessels. One drawing shows a gallows and noose, with the inscription Lord Nord (North) – the British Prime Minister at the time of the American War of Independence. Another shows a ship flying what appears to be the stars and stripes: one of the earliest known depictions of the American flag.
The Castle is at the top of the Royal Mile . If you walk down the Royal Mile you can see a large number of gift shops , pubs and restaurants . At the foot of the Royal Mile is the new Scottish Parliament building and the Palace of Holyroodhouse , the official residence of the Queen in Scotland.

videos of Edinburgh Castle and Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle switches lights off for Earth Hour

Posted on by Dave

Eilean Donan Castle will  switch off its lights as part of conservation group WWF’s Earth Hour.
Owners of buildings and individuals across the world have been asked to turn out lights for 60 minutes from 2030 GMT on 28 March.
The Forth Rail Bridge and Edinburgh Castle are also part of the switch off.
Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House will also be blacked out.

What’s in a name? Edinburgh Harbour plans dropped

Posted on by Dave

Plans to rename Leith Docks as Edinburgh Harbour have caused outrage among local residents. A 4000 signature petition was produced at record speed and now the plans to have been dropped .Locals believed the move would remove Leith’s historic character.

The docks are at the centre of a multi-billion pound redevelopment of the area which will take between 25 and 30 years, and has been underway for a decade.

Residents had said that if the name change was pushed through, they would campaign to have Edinburgh Castle renamed as Leith Castle.

Forth Port, the group behind the regeneration plans, have claimed that the proposed change was misunderstood. A spokesman told The Journal: “The master plan was submitted to Edinburgh council under the name of Edinburgh Harbour. There were obvious reasons for this. It will be a new international cruise harbour and it needs international recognition.

“Leith is moving away from it being a working port, to a new community: there is new housing, businesses, places to shop, to really utilise the waterfront in Edinburgh.”

He continued: “It was submitted as Edinburgh Harbour as part of the redevelopment project. People were misinformed – we are clearly not dropping the name of Leith Docks. It will all fall under the banner of Leith Docks, and it’s a misrepresentation of our position.”

“We accept there is a high degree of public complaint over the issue. Although this is built on misinformation, we felt it was important to show people we are part of the community and prepared to work with them.”

Forth Bridge lights go out

Posted on by Dave

The Forth Bridge is set to join a number of Edinburgh buildings and those around the world in switching its lights off to highlight the battle against climate change.

The Parliament joins Edinburgh Castle and the Forth Bridge in marking Earth Hour, which will be held on March 28. A number of iconic landmarks around the globe, including the Eiffel Tower and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, are also taking part.Over 500 cities are taking part in the event, which is being organised by conservation charity WWF. Dr Richard Dixon, director of WWF Scotland, said: “It is great news the Parliament has given its backing to Earth Hour.”
Parts of Edinburgh Castle may have to be covered in grey wire mesh permanently to prevent further debris falling.
Historic Scotland officials are looking at covering Edinburgh Castle rock with massive sections of mesh to try to stabilise the wall. The city council is already looking at preventing buses and taxis from parking below the castle rock for at least 18 months while tests are carried out. A ban on coaches entering the esplanade is being explored to help protect the castle rock and improve safety for visitors.

A spokesman for Historic Scotland, the agency responsible for the care and maintenance of the castle, said a decision on whether to keep any mesh in place in the “long term” would not take place until initial works had been completed. The spokesman added: “The precautionary measures are designed to identify and secure areas of rock which might be at risk of coming loose.

“It is the latest stage in an on-going monitoring, care and maintenance programme which aims to conserve the castle rock in the best possible condition and minimise the number of rock falls which are the inevitable result of the natural erosion which has been taking place for millions of years.”

David Storrar, regional architect for Historic Scotland, added: “The castle rock is a national treasure and we carry out regular specialist maintenance work to protect it and maintain rock stability.

“Our consultant engineers recently identified eight areas on the north-west face where it would be prudent to carry out precautionary stabilisation work.

“This will involve drilling into the rock and inserting stainless steel pins to keep it firmly in place.”

Visitor figures fall for top tourist attractions

Posted on by Dave

Visitor figures for the UK’s top tourist attractions have been published today . Edinburgh Castle had over one million visitors in 2008 , although the total for the year represents a drop of 8% . The Falkirk Wheel weighed in with 500,829 visitors , 2.5% less than 2007 . Kelvingrove Art Gallery is Scotland’s top tourist attraction, despite a huge 35% fall in visitors last year.

The museum  was the leading attraction in Scotland with 1,445,098 visits last year,and the 13th most visited site in the UK.

However, the fall in visitors has been the pattern experienced by most of the leading tourist attractions.

Visitors to Edinburgh Castle, the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, the National Museum of Scotland, and the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow  all fell from 2007.

The figures were released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) who maintain that new research of their membership showed that most expected to maintain or increase their visitor figures this year.

The National Museum of Scotland last year closed part of its premises for refurbishment, which may accounts for part of its 27% fall, to 614,894 visitors.

10 most popular attractions in Scotland

1 Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow: 1,445,098 visitors, change from 2007 (-35.3%)
2 Edinburgh Castle: 1,128,394 (-8%)
3 National Gallery complex in Edinburgh: 842,958 (-10.3%)
4 National Museum of Scotland: 614,894 (-27%)
5 Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow: 562,595 (-18.8%)
6 The Falkirk Wheel: 500,829 (-2.5%)
7 National War Museum in Edinburgh: 474,133 (+1%)
8 Museum of Transport, Glasgow: 456,324 (-14.8%)
9 Stirling Castle: 403,778 (-8%)
10 Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness: 270, 097 (-3%)

Getting to the Falkirk Wheel is fairly easy by taxi or bus. There is a bus service from the centre  of Falkirk . Airport transfers can take visitors from Edinburgh Airport or Falkirk by taxi to the Wheel