When I discovered that the Unicorn was the official animal of Scotland, everything I ever knew about Scotland made sense. The murder mysteries that included fairies and scared trees. The love stories that included love that spanned centuries and traveled between times. The stories of the highlands and the low roads leading to a romantic castle on the shore of a Loch where magic lights appear and spirits bring lovers together. It all had to be true if Unicorns were the official animal of Scotland.
Just to be clear, the people I met in Scotland assured me that they knew unicorns were mythical creatures, and that I would not see any unicorns roaming the streets or fields of Scotland. But they said that in the same breath that they told me about the many sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, known affectionately as Nessie.
However they might deny it, I must admit that during my visits to both the Castle in Edinburgh and the ruins of the Urquhart Castle on the shore of Loch Ness in Inverness, I was waiting for the fairies to peek out and smile at me. And there were times I thought they just might be around, hiding in a darkened alley or behind a piece of furniture. Such is the magic of Scotland, with a unicorn as its official animal, one believes that anything could happen!
Urquhart Castle was destroyed by the clan that lived there to keep the fortification from being used by the Jacobites. Since they felt they could no longer keep it secure, they determined blowing it up would be the wise choice. Then the ruins were left to rot on the side of Loch Ness for centuries. It was only in modern times that the Scots determined that this would be a great spot for tourists to visit the romance of a castle and at the same time sit near the coast of Loch Ness and search the waters for Nessie. I know that my husband and I enjoyed doing both.
Ruined castles have now unhidden staircases, towers standing solo reaching towards the sun. The buildings around them slumped in ruin but still given the site a romantic air, because that is what castle are all about in our day. A romantic place for people to fall in love. But really this castle was the scene of many bloody battles. After reading its history I understand why they blew it up.
But still, for many a tourist it was a place of wonder to explore and take many photos, while imagining the place when it was intact. I loved our visit to Inverness and Urquhart Castle. In fact, my husband and I want to go back to spend a week there one day.
The Urquhart castle was taken over by the government in 1913 and developed over the years to the attraction seen today. There is a lovely visitor center on the hill above the castle. I must warn people with mobility issues, that this visit includes much walking from the parking lot to the visitor center and then more walking down to the castle. Also within the castle there are many steps and uneven walkways. It is the ruins of a castle from the 1600s. Just be aware.
The next Castle was Edinburgh Castle, the home of the kings and queens of Scotland as well as the current home of the Royal Jewels. Edinburgh Castle is differently not a ruin.
Staring up at from the Royal Mile, you start to realize the size and majesty as you get closer and closer. But then when you are about to enter the Portcullis Gate of Edinburgh Castle, it looks small again, until you past through the gate.
It took a while get through the gate, as we were not the only tourists there who wanted to enter this magical world. You must book your time and date in advance in order to get in to experience the many wonderful places to see. I personally loved just walking around and around the cobblestone road upward to the top. We enter the Great Hall, the Memorial for Fallen Soldiers and paid our respects to those that died for Scotland. We went through a small museum about the Scottish Military. We looked at the long line to see the Crown Jewels and decided we did not want to stand in a line, so we continued our walk. I enjoyed seeing St. Margaret’s Chapel, the oldest building at the castle. Then at one o’clock, our attention changed as we heard the explosion and resounding blast of the one o’clock cannon. Everything stopped for a moment in silence before we all continued our visit.
While I was waiting for the cannon bast, I believe I found the place where the fairies hang out at Edinburgh Castle. While looking over the stone walls I saw a little garden area. Supposedly this is the cemetery for the soldiers’ dogs. And yes, I did see tombstones. But I did not see any way to enter this garden. And to me it looked like the perfect spot for a fairy tea party. Okay, I might just be imagining it, but since my time at the Castle, I have had several dreams about this garden and there are always fairies in it.
The Edinburgh Castle is well worth the wait to go through and the crowds that enter. As you walk closer to the top, the numbers of people thin out, and you get that feeling that you could go back in time and see the medieval residents of the castle. But seeing from the outside and imagining is the best, because, in reality, I would probably would have been a serf and not welcome there.
After we left the castle, we returned to the Royal Mile and found the most important place for my husband, an Ice Cream Store. With ice creas in hand, we walked along the Royal Mile happily eating ice cream, seeing the sites, including Victory Street, which is supposedly the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter stories. Fairies, wizards, muggles, dementors: of course, Harry Potter was from Scotland. There is no where else to create these characters then a bit of magic from Scotland and castle.
https://www.visitinvernesslochness.com/listings/urquhart-castle-visitor-centre
https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/the-castle/history/
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