Day 15 – August 1 – Edinburgh

by The Travel Guy

We’ve got a day to ourselves to see the parts of Edinburgh that we haven’t seen yet.  As a few of the things we wanted to see, like the Royal Yacht Britannia and Holyrood Palace were a fair distance from our hotel, we decided to use one of the Hop on – Hop off Tour buses to provide us with transportation around the city while giving us a little more information about the city.

There was the usual information being passed along as we passed through many parts of the city.  Our first objective was to see the HMY Britannia.

A large turnout to see the Britannia for the last time at sea

The ship was commissioned to be built by King George VI, just a short time before he passed away on 6 February 1952.  Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne and she was then responsible for completing the Britannia.  The ship is over 400 ft. long and 55 ft wide.  The Britannia was decommissioned at the end of 1997 and the Conservative gov’t of the time committed to replacing it if they were elected.  Labour won the election and announced that a Royal yacht was viewed as an extravagance that could no longer be afforded in the 21st century and that there would be no replacement.

Deana ringing Britannia’s bell

Jeff on the stern deck

Deana checking out the Rolls Royce that traveled with Britannia in the early years when visiting countries without a suitable viewing car

Edinburgh won the bid to display the Britannia for everyone to see in their newly revitalized dockyard district.  They have done a wonderful job of providing background information with many wonderful pictures displaying the history of the monarchy as it related to the Britannia.  The audio guide provided a great narration as you walked through the entire ship.

Royal dining room capable of seating 54.

Narwhale tusk

Narwhale tusk presented by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau to the Queen at Frobisher Bay, NWT, in 1970

Britannia’s “living room” that played host to many foreign dignitaries, such as Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and many others.

Deana checking out how the onboard laundry was equipped to clean and iron the many uniforms the crew was expected to wear. It had sufficient laundry equipment in the case that the ship needed to be used as a hospital ship. It never was.

The engine room was absolutely spotless and apparently this is exactly how it looked everyday, whether they were under power or in port.  US General Schwarzkopf was reported to have been given a tour of this area and then remarked “so that’s the museum, now let’s see the working engine!”

Britannia’s spotless engine compartment

It was interesting to note that there were pictures of both the Queen Mum and Princess Diana in the lower decks with the crew.

Famous picture of Princess Diana welcoming Prince William and Prince Harry on board

After HMY Britannia we Hopped On the bus and followed the tour to the Palace of Holyroodhouse (aka Holyrood Palace).  As this is the official residence of the Monarch of the United Kingdom when they are in Scotland, no pictures are allowed inside the Palace, only the forecourt and the Abbey (what’s left of it).  There is evidence of the original abbey being created on the site in 1128.  James IV built a new palace just west of the abbey in the 16th century.  Over the years additions were made to the palace’s square shape, in particular 1671 to 1679 thanks to the architect Sir William Bruce.

Deana near the fountain in the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse

Queen Elizabeth II spends a week at Holyrood Palace each summer when there is a formal ceremony where the mayor of Edinburgh gives here a ceremonial key to the city and then she returns it to him for safe keeping.  At this time there are numerous official ceremonies and engagements.

The tour gives you a pretty good idea of the history that has been seen by the tapestries and woodwork that grace this wonderful palace.  The palace has also seen its share of dark days.  In March 1566, Mary, Queen of Scots (we seems to be running into her a lot) witnessed the murder of her private secretary, David Rizzio.  Her husband of just one year, Henry Stewart (Lord Darnley), and several nobles used the private stairs from Lord Darnley’s apartment to enter the Queen’s apartment where she was eating supper with Rizzio and several others.  They dragged Rizzio through the Queen’s bedchamber into her outer chamber and stabbed the Italian 56 times dinner.

The abbey of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, that fell into disrepair after the Scottish Reformation in 1570’s

After the tour exited the Palace we were able to take pictures in the abbey.  The abbey was looted in 1544, during the War of Rough Wooing, and after the Scottish Reformation the abbey was left in disrepair and some parts were actually pulled down in 1570.  But you can see how the palace was simply built around the abbey.

The “new” palace (on the left) was built around the remaining structure of the abbey (on the right)

After the Holyrood we walked up the Royal Mile to see it from the lower end before Hopping back onto our bus to return to the start of the tour.  We then walked along Rose Street where we found a nice pub for dinner.

Unusual building at the bottom of the “Royal Mile” in Edinburgh

In the evening the Royal Tattoo was doing dress rehearsals at the entrance to Edinburgh Castle so we got to see some of the fireworks, from our room at the CastleView House.

A few of the fireworks being tested prior to the Royal Tattoo ceremony that will take place in a couple of days.