Linlithgow Palace

For St. Andrew's Day, we decided to view Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots and home to the Royal Stewarts. It has some lovely sculptural decoration still extant and most of the walls are still intact. You can climb to the top of the watchtower and see stunning views of Linlithgow Loch which stretches beside the castle.

Unfortunately, I had problems with my camera, so the photos I have all came from my phone, a poor substitute at the best of times. Several of these also came from the phone of my partner, so I cannot claim credit for the entire series.

The entranceway to the Palace

Windows of the Banquet Hall as seen from the courtyard

The courtyard fountain

Detail from the fountain

Detail from the fountain

Detail from the fountain

Admiring the view

The loch as seen from the palace

The palace and town from the watchtower, including St. Michael's Kirk tower (rt)

The palace from the peel

The cobbled road leading to the palace

Leaving the palace and entering the town

Wandering about Edinburgh

Here are a few photos I've taken during walks around Edinburgh. Most are with my phone, so they're not great quality. The first set are from the Hermitage of Braid, essentially a local nature reserve open to the public; the former Hermitage building is the visitor centre. After that are some random images from my wanders, including some of the wonderful grotesques that adorn the buildings of Edinburgh.

The Hermitage of Braid

The Ice House, a pre-industrial fridge

Leaving the Hermitage

Edinburgh's Maker Faire at Summerhall

The Netherbow Wellhead outside of John Knox House

The castle in fog 

Calton Hill

A gargoyle above Starbucks near Bristo Square

A Green Man on the Royal Mile

The Secrets of Rosslyn Chapel

Last Sunday we made another day trip, this time out to the village of Roslin on the outskirts of Edinburgh to see Rosslyn Chapel. You may recognise the name if you've read The Da Vinci Code or seen the movie. Like the movie, there is a secret vault beneath the chapel, however unlike the movie, it is completely unaccessible. During the Protestant Reformation, the chapel, which was Catholic,  was deconsecrated and remained unused. Rather than convert it over to use as an Anglican chapel, the St. Clairs, the owners and builders of the chapel, decided to seal up the vaults beneath which held their ancestors.

Since then, the St. Clairs have not allowed the vaults to be unsealed nor have they allowed any intrusive experiments or archeology to be done. They feel, apparently, that their ancestors should rest in peace.

This of course has given rise to all sorts of stories about what lies beneath Rosslyn Chapel, and some of them which the docent told us about are: the scions of the St. Clair family; a dozen Knights Templar in full armour; a piece of the true cross; the Holy Grail; The Ark of the Covenant; the Holy Rood of Scotland (the Stone of Scone); aliens; and Elvis.

Unfortunately they will not allow photos to be taken inside the chapel (suspicious, no?) so I only have images from the outside. Both the inside and outside are highly decorated in stonework. The building was made from sandstone, so much of the sculpture has deteriorated over time, especially on the exterior, often making it difficult to determine what the figure was intended to be. The chapel was restored during the Victorian Era, and restoration and preservation has been an ongoing task.

Not far away from Rosslyn Chapel is Rosslyn Castle, a partially ruined castle. The non-ruined portion is let out as holiday accommodation and is fenced off, making it difficult to photograph the castle well. The views from both the chapel and the castle are outstanding and these sites definitely worth the bus ride from Edinburgh (~30 minutes).  Incidentally, Roslin, the village which grew up around the chapel, is also home to the Roslin Institute, the biological research centre where Dolly the sheep was cloned.

And here are the photos:

Approaching the chapel grounds

On the right is the Original Rosslyn Inn dating to 1666 while ahead is the chapel visitors' centre

Rosslyn Chapel

Another view of the chapel

Walking down to the castle

Something lurks

Rosslyn Castle

The countryside around Roslin