‘Close’ encounters of the Royal kind

We woke to a picture perfect Edinburgh day. Mild, sunny, cloudless and calm.

I had been very neglectful in not having pre-booked the ‘must-see’ attraction in this city, being Edinburgh Castle. I’m not sure how I’d overlooked this, but I had, and now I was kicking myself.
Last night when trying to book some tickets online I discovered that all tickets were sold out for today for all time slots. Even when I tried some of the slightly risky third-party resellers, nothing was available for today.
Never-the-less we thought we’d try our luck by fronting up to the Castle and seeing if there were any ‘walk up’ tickets available . If we came up with a blank, then a tour through Holyrood Palace would have to suffice as a consolation prize instead.
We left the apartment early (is there any other time to leave?), and followed some great advice from a local lady at the bus stop to buy an all-day bus ticket. This got us down to Edinburgh Castle just after opening time and after walking around the perimeter past the sign that said ‘Edinburgh Castle Tickets Sold Out’ we approached a young gentleman on duty at the entrance.
“We’re wondering if there might be any walk-up tickets available today?”
‘No sir, I’m sorry, all the tickets are sold out for today’ as he gestures toward the fairly obvious sign saying exactly the same thing.
“So there’s nothing available at all? We are flexible - we could come back any time . . . “
‘It’s a very popular attraction, sir - we get upwards of 7,000 visitors per day and unfortunately all the tickets are sold out for today’

It was time to use the last arrow in the quiver but delivered, I think, in good humour.
“But we’ve travelled all the way from Australia just to see Edinburgh Castle and you’re telling me we’re going to miss out?”
The young man seemed to appreciate our sense of humour and with a smile and a glint in his eye he leaned in and said
‘Well, there is ONE possible way - I can’t promise anything - but if you walk down the hill there to where the Hop On buses stop, you MAY be able to buy a ticket through them combined with their bus tour as they often buy blocks of Castle tickets to on-sell to their customers ’

We didn’t want the Hop on bus tour today, and it would be an expensive way to get a ticket to Edinburgh Castle but . . .

We thanked the young chap at Windsor Castle and then pushed through the rapidly building crowds heading smugly up to the Castle with their pre paid tickets. We spotted a Red bus, dashed across and spoke to the very good-humoured Scottish ticket seller by the bus.
Slightly breathless, we ask “We are wondering if we buy one of your bus tickets is it possible to get one that gives us access to Edinburgh Castle?”
‘Yes, we have Edinburgh Castle tickets - how many would you like? Do you want it combined with a bus ticket, or just the Castle ticket on its own?
“Um, just the Castle Ticket would be great thanks - and what time would that time slot be?” I ask as I hand him my credit card to process the transaction, expecting that the time available will be at a most inconvenient time later in the day.
‘Here you go sir, 2 tickets for entry for 15 minutes ago, but they give you a half hour window so if you rush back up you’ll just make it’.

Well, we thanked our new Scottish friend very much, rushed back up the hill and gained access with a matter of minutes to spare.
We caught our breath, picked up our audio guide and worked our way around all of the significant sites on this very impressive (and steep) attraction. Of particular interest was to see that the Stone of Destiny had made its way safely back into the Crown Jewels room under the safe guidance of Luke Maher and his fellow workers :)
A 3D printed model sits where it was carried from The Great Hall - see yesterday’s pictures of Luke Maher standing beside it in that very spot.

We left Edinburgh Castle and started our way down ‘The Royal Mile’ after a quick coffee stop before we proceeded any further. I had downloaded an Audio guide for a tour of the ‘Closes’ that branch off this famous street which runs for just over a mile from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace (which is the King’s official residence when visiting Edinburgh).

The ‘Closes’ are little alleyways that run off the Main Street and is where much of the interesting history of the city took place. The audio guide was excellent and gave us step by step instructions, information and history for approximately a dozen of these ‘Closes’ as we made our way down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace and snapped a couple of quick photos through the gates.

It was now time to head to our 3rd major point of interest for the day - the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was Queen Elizabeth’s favourite place since she named and launched it in 1953 and for which she shed a tear when it was decommissioned in 1997. The Brittania is now berthed permanently here in Edinburgh and is a major tourist attraction.
Another bus trip, a very brief lunch stop and we were onboard the Brittania where access was given to almost every part of the ship.
With the help of the detailed audio guide provided, seeing the Queen’s office, bedroom and relaxation areas was very interesting as well as all the areas that were used by other royal members and the crew.
It was a special treat to even have afternoon tea onboard and think about the procession of world leaders who had been hosted and entertained in the very same area and other significant events that had taken place onboard.

Two more bus legs back to our apartment, a quick visit to Aldi for some groceries for dinner and we were able to get back in the door before 7pm tonight…. just.

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