Edinburgh Castle Part II: The Exterior (and how I almost lost it)

Note: Last summer I took a solo journey to the UK and fell in love with Scotland. I am (ahem) slowly posting the photos from that fabulous country.

Yesterday I took you on a tour of some of the interiors of Edinburgh Castle and today we're headed outside. To make a long story short: Edinburgh Castle is quite photogenic with picture perfect moments wherever you go. Buckle up for a lot of photos and a story about why you need to bring tissues if you visit.

Photo taken inside the castle. The rock the castle sits on was created by volcanic activity, making the grass exceptionally green and lush.

Signs like these are all over the place to help you navigate the huge structure.

The most memorable part of Edinburgh Castle was the war memorial, a building dedicated to the Scots fallen during times of war. There are books of names of soldiers killed in combat organized by war, service, and name. Then there's the other side- the civilian side.

In World War II, as blitzes and raids were all too common in the United Kingdom, thousands of men, women, and children were killed in their homes and on the streets. There's a section of the war memorial dedicated to those civilians with books of their names and where they died. It was heartbreaking and a bit overwhelming. So much so that I had to leave before I completely lost it.

You can't take pictures inside the war memorial, but I took a few shots of the exterior so I could remember it.

To end, I shall leave you with the words of the Scottish poet Robert Burns:

'From scenes like these old Scotia's grandeur springs, 

That makes her loved at home, revered abroad; 

Princes and lords are but the breath of kings, 

"An honest man's the noblest work of God!"

~from The Cotter's Saturday Nigh