3 July 2007
Edinburgh Castle is an ancient fortress that sits on Castle Rock in the centre of Edinburgh. It dominates the skyline of the city when seen from almost any vantage point, and is the city's most popular tourist attraction. This photo, taken from Princes Street Gardens, gives a good indication of the castle's elevated position.
The castle contains the "Honours of Scotland", the Scottish crown jewels and regalia. Other buildings inside the fortress include the Scottish National War Memorial, the National War Museum of Scotland, former Royal Apartments, and the museum of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment). There is also an exhibition about the various prisoners that have been locked up in the castle over the centuries.
The castle esplanade hosts the Edinburgh Military Tattoo each year, which attracts 200,000 spectators and is watched on television by 100 million people around the world.
The one o'clock gun is fired from the castle each day except Sunday.