Edinburgh Castle

Update:
Scottish Flag, photo by Lauren:
Sydney and knight, photo on Sydney's camera (not sure who took it):

Emma's knight in shining armour, photo by Roxanne:

Wallace window, photo by Lauren:

Edinburgh Castle, photo by Sydney:

Matt sleeping, photo by Roxanne:

Edinburgh Castle, photo by Lauren:

Sydney and Sammy:

Cannons, photo by Jon:

Emma at the Castle:The earliest building (12th Century) is St. Margaret's Chapel, who is the mother of King David. The castle is built on an ancient volcano. The black rock is very visible on the west side:

The British flag (photo by Chris B):

The Scottish flag--St. Andrew's Cross:

Katy, Marshal, Whitney, Emma:

The view from the parapet back to the National Gallery and Scott Monument:

Chris remembers when he was three years old and wanted one of those short swords:

The view from the Castle north across New Town to the Firth of Forth:

Edinburgh

Update:
We arrived. Not all at once, nor really in any sort of timely fashion, but in small groups from the airport or various previous hostels we slowly trickled into the lobby of the hostel. Some, like Bentley, showed up by themselves after a full day of exploring, and others arrived in cabs from the airport, harried and jet-lagged and laying all our luggage in a giant pile, with Christopher watching over it all, periodically opening the box to his brand new guitar to peer in at it.
Many of us went on a first trek—to the Scott Monument and to read poetry on Calton hill—but many of us made small wandering groups of our own to keep mobile and fight off jetlag, as well as exploring our brand new city. We all finally coalesced for dinner and had our first meeting with all members present, accompanied by fine ramen made by Karla. Most of us were too tired to do much after this, but a fine few trekked up to St. Giles’ to hear a concert of Italian baroque music in benefit of the earthquake victims, and came back home around 10:30, dead and crashing into our bunks.
posted by Christian S.

Scott Monment to Castle, photo by Chris B

Matt, photo by Roxanne:

Ladies at the Scott Monument, photo by Roxanne:

Bess and Whitney on the monument, photo by Roxanne:

Rick, photo by Jon:

Lauren, photo by Roxanne:

Monument gargoyle, photo by Sydney:

Jon photo by Roxanne:

Edinburgh, photo by Whitney:

Bess, photo by Whitney (Photo of the Week in the Portrait category):

Arthur's Seat from Scott Monument, Jon's photo:

Fake Parthenon on Calton Hill, photo by Jon:

Dinner at the Youth Hostel, Photo of the Day by Jon:

Our youth hostel is on Leith Street. Also on the street is the birthplace of Arthur Conan Doyle.Everywhere on Leith Street and Princes Street (and probably elsewhere) is construction, as they are putting in a tram system. As far as I can tell, everyone hates the idea. James McDonald Reid, who told stories and played the bagpipes for us, said that it is the Liberal Democratic Party's fault, as a minority party needed for the majority coalition in the Scottish Parliament, the trams are their pet project, and they hold the rest of the government hostage--trams for their cooperation. Politics everywhere! The Scott Monument:

Walter Scott:

The National Gallery and the Castle:

Carisbrooke Castle

...where Charles I was held prisoner (and from which he escaped) before his beheading:

Four Years Old at Warwick Castle (1997)

Warwick was great for Chris. They have a touchable waxworks display all along one level, showing preparation for battle during medieval times. Visitors walk from room to room listening to a soundtrack and moving among statues and real people dressed up in costume. Chris tried to get the weapons from every soldier on display. He would just walk quickly over, grab hold, give a little tug, sigh, and move on to the next weapon. They must be used to little boys, however, because all the arrows, bows, swords, daggers, crossbows, etc., were tacked down quite securely. Then at the end we walked into a little shop, and there were plastic swords with scabbards for £2. Then we found (or Chris found, I should say to be more accurate) a suit of armour for £6, which includes shield, breastplate, and helmet with moveable visor. Chris is now Sir Christopher, and takes his knightly duties quite seriously. He loses his privileges every once in a while--right now his sword is gone for a time because he stabbed John in the stomach after dinner. But overall, he hasn't been too bad.

Trebuchet at Warwick Castle (2007)

John helped man the trebuchet:

Warwick Castle

Magical Warwick (or Disneyfied Warwick, depending on your mood and whether you have a child with you):

Chris (at age 10) enjoys the waxworks
and the actors:A knight in shining armour:

The Peacock Garden:

More waxworks:Students on the battlements: