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A section of the old boundary wall built when King JamesV of Scotland created Holyrood Park in 1540. Today it is a managed wild park in the centre of Edinburgh. |
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Park guide. |
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Click to enlarge Edinburgh skyline from Queen's Drive with Salisbury Crags on the right and Edinburgh Castle on left. The perimeter wall runs behind the trees. |
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15th century St Anthony's Chapel above St Margaret's Loch. |
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Whinny Hill with East Lothian fields in the distance. |
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Dunsapie Loch and Dunsapie Crag,where traces of an early fort have been found,possibly Iron Age. Beyond is the East Lothian coastline with Bass Rock barely visible on the horizon just to the left of Berwick Law (small pointed hill). |
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Heather on Whinny Hill. |
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Bell heather and whin bushes : Arthur's Seat,the highest point, from Whinny Hill. |
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The Palace of Holyroodhouse and ruined 12th century Holyrood Abbey, from the hill above St Margaret's Well, looking towards the Firth of Forth and the hills of Fife. Holyrood Palace was built by King JamesIV at the time of his mariage in 1502 to Margaret Tudor,sister of HenryVIII of England.Their son JamesV extended the palace and had rooms lavishly decorated in the French Renaissance style.The palace has been changed and remodeled during the intervening centuries and today the north-west tower is the only surviving part of the original building. Holyrood is the official Scottish residence of Queen Elizabeth II and for most of the year is open to the public.In July this year it was the venue for the wedding reception of the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and her husband Mike Tindall. |
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A closer view of the turrets. |
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James V (1512-1542) and his french queen Mary of Guise, parents of Mary Queen of Scots. |
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Tapestry made in Flanders around 1500. JamesV built up a collection of over 200 tapestries,some of them bought on his trips to France. Tapestries were hung on walls for insulation as well as decoration.They would be rolled up and transported from one residence to another and cared for by tapestry repairers. Image source : Wikipedia. |
16 comments:
Scotland is always so magic, and then your pictures. The one of the wall is a piece of art in itself. Thank you.
Nice photo's, I was there in 2010, but didn't visit the Palace inside.
It was closed because there was an offical visit of somebody, can't remember who.
I *ALWAYS* love your tours! The pictures are so grand. Edinburgh as a city is pretty built up? Does it mix the new with the modern?
I spotted that heather right away. I bet heather honey is delicious. Thanks for the bit of history to go along with the photos. I'd love to tour the castle! :)
Hope you are well! Hugs xxxx
Oops...I meant, does Edinburgh mix the new with the OLD....
What a treat to see these (always fabulous) photos. In 1973, I spent a month or so in Pollock Halls at the University during the Festival studying the works on stage, in performance and on walls that season.
It was a busy (great!) time with long walks all around town, back to back performances, informative classes, beer at the Fringe club (where I was introduced to Princess Margaret late one night because I gave up my seat for her.)
My fondest memories were climbing up to Arthur's Seat with a small gang of fellow students. We made at least 4 climbs. I wonder if the sheep still roam?
Your photos are wonderful and with each there is so much to be learned about this land and this area. The heather makes me think of literature and poetry and your shots of the distant hills are simply dreamy.
I feel that you are being inspired with this glimpse of nature and await your marvelous interpretation!
Bises,
Genie
Hi, Ruby, each photo of yours has poetry in itself - heather and grass in the wind, Edinburgh skyline fringed by the high spires of churches, the blue chateau and the ruined abbey, woods and a loch, stone walls, etc. - all these arouse longing for a distant Scotland.
Whinny Hill would be named after whin shrubs. I’ve heard countryside of Scotland blooming yellow in May.
Enjoy your week.
Yoko
Edinburgh is so lovely place! All photos show it. The ninth photo is fabulous. I'd like to walk around there. It looks to be cool there though it's still hot in Japan. Also I saw heath for the first time.
Holyroot Palace has nice atomosphere. Thank you for imformation of JamesV. Tapestry made in Flanders is interesting.
Have a great time.
Sarah.
Park guide map is helpful to understand where each shot was taken.
All photos are producing traditional and peaceful atmosphere. Especially I like the second shot with the summery clouds in the sky. I noticed a bird was flying.
Heathers or heather bells are adding flavor to the filed. In the third shot, are they rosebay willowherbs?
Thank you for showing an interesting and attractive place again.
Such history! Such views! Such gorgeous greens! And the lovely heather hues. Oh, and the wonderful textures in the stone wall. And the turrets! What a wonderful tour you've provided. The pictures are stunning. Lucky lucky you to be able to roam such places. And lucky us to get to glimpse them through your blog.
Kim,the city centre has been pretty well built up since the 18th and 19th centuries and earlier.Central Edinburgh probably has less of a mix than other cities.
Suzanne, the sheep went years ago,I imagine they couldn't keep tabs on them......no gates and too many dogs!
What a beautiful land Scotland is!
lovely images as ever Ruby! I like the connections - James V and Paris and Notre Dame - wonder how Mary of guise liked it in Scotland? The Dame a la Licorne set of tapestries are the most wonderful ever - did you ever go to see them at Musee Cluny? I didn't go to see them this time but I went into the gardens, where I found the water pump, very thankfully too. It's a bit of a shock to go from intense heat to this rainy cold weather. Morelle xx
A wonderful tour. I was there about ten years ago - but just for a couple of days. You've awakened my urge to return with your beautiful images!
Great pictures... place looks so lovely and its rich history is fascinating.
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