Scotland-a magical place

National flag of Scotland

To begin with, Scotland is not an independent state, but a constituent country of the United Kingdom, along with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. During the middle ages the kingdoms of Scotland and England were in a continuous state of war. Despite the fact that Scotland fought 2 wars of independence in the 13th and 14th century against the English, eventually they both united in 1707 when the 2 parties signed the Act of Union, thus establishing the United Kingdom. Even though they tried to get their independence once again in the 2014 referendum, the Scottish people said NO. Then the Brexit came in 2016 and we all know what happened😂😂😂.

Scotland as a part of the UK

Back to our story, I will talk about my first trip to Scotland in this blog. It was in the summer of 2020. The first Covid-19 lockdowns had ended May in my country and I decided to book a trip. I did not choose Scotland for a specific reason to be honest. So, I chose to visit Edinburgh, which is the capital of Scotland even though I thought that Glasgow was the capital. It would seem that I need to refresh my knowledge of geography😂😂😂. Anyway, Edinburgh is the historical capital of former medieval kingdom of Scotland, founded in the 7th century AD. The most important tourist attraction is, without a doubt, the Edinburgh Castle.

The Edinburgh Castle

Located on a plug of an extinct volcano named Castle Rock, probably that was the inspiration for the famous Casterly Rock for G.R.R. Martin in his book Game of Thrones, the castle dominates the landscape of the city. Built in the 10th century this is the former residence of the Scottish kings like Robert the Bruce or Mary of Scots. The castle is connected with Old Town via Royal Mile, a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the city. If at one end of the route we find the aforementioned castle, at the opposite end we will find the Holyrood Palace or the Holyroodhouse.

Holyrood Palace

Its construction started in the 16th century and soon it became the main resident of all monarchs of Scotland thus decreasing the importance of the Edinburgh Castle which would be used for military purposes. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to visit these two historical sites, but I promise to do it next time.