Edinburgh and the Stately Palace of Holyroodhouse

The Palace of Holytoodhouse on a clear day with visitors walking about. Image Credit: Oliver-Banjoch via Wikimedia Commons CC

     Of all of Britain’s cities, perhaps Edinburgh has the most picturesque views – from Calton Hill to Edinburgh Castle and Arthur’s Seat. Any of those places presents an opportunity to take in panoramic vistas, so as to include the two other high points and the city below with much history visibly contained within it.

     That history begins with early human settlements in the area through the Bronze and Iron ages which eventually became home to a Brittonic Celtic tribe known as the Gododdin, who by the 7th Century AD had built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin and therefore provided the basis for what would become the name of the city. Upon being attacked by King Oswald of Northumbria in 638, the fortress and much of the Lothian region around it along the Firth of Forth was absorbed into the Anglian kingdom for the next three centuries until 950, when it was captured by the Kingdom of Alba in the reign of King Indulf. About two hundred years later in 1125, David I of Scotland granted Edinburgh its royal burgh charter; it gradually gained status as Scotland’s capital city and James III described it in the 15th Century as “the principal burgh of our kingdom.” The city became the center for the Scottish Reformation and the religious conflicts of the 17th Century, which helped to lead to the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the downfall of the House of Stuart with the execution of Charles I, whose father James VI had succeeded to the English throne in 1603 as James I and therefore became the first man to rule all Britain in a personal union known as the Union of the Crowns in which England and Scotland remained separate kingdoms. Scottish support for restoring Charles II (the son of Charles I) resulted in the occupation of Edinburgh by the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell.

     Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Edinburgh continued being the capital of an independent Scotland until the Acts of Union was passed by the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707, which united England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain and thus merged the two parliaments into the British Parliament in London. Throughout the 18th Century, it continued to prosper and became an increasingly important banking center, though it remained densely populated and crowded due to staying largely within its medieval boundaries. Following the defeat of the Jacobite armies of Bonnie Prince Charlie which had occupied it during the Rising of 1745, the city embarked to stimulate economic activity and affirm its loyalty to the Union and the Hanoverian monarch George III with the development of the New Town to the north – which included elegant Georgian and neoclassical architecture and extensive planning (and was put on display for George IV during his historic visit in 1822). This, along with the city being at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment and home to intellectuals such as Adam Smith and David Hume, gained Edinburgh the nickname “Athens of the North”, and among the lasting impacts of the Enlightenment was the Encyclopædia Britannica, which was designed in Edinburgh by Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell.

     Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, Edinburgh continued to grow within the county of Midlothian (also known as Edinburghshire for its county town) and it was granted city status by Queen Victoria in 1889. Compared to other urban areas of the United Kingdom, it industrialized little and was overtaken by Glasgow as Scotland’s largest city and the second city of the British Empire. Nonetheless, it still had some industry in the form of printing, brewing, distilling, engineering, and rubber works, and the central area in the New Town developed into a significant center for business activity and shopping, while the Old Town was given a Victorian make-over and further improvements. In the latter half of the 20th Century, the city went through a decline with the loss of some traditional industry, but has undergone several regeneration projects, as well as taken other steps into the present to solidify its position as the UK’s second largest financial and administrative center after London.

     Today, the city is also the seat of the devolved Scottish Parliament, which was established in 1999 with some exclusive areas of responsibility for domestic policies affecting the people of Scotland within the United Kingdom. With a population of 492,000, Edinburgh is Scotland’s second-largest city and seventh-largest in the UK, and is home several internationally-recognized landmarks and institutions, many of which are located in the Old Town and New Town sections, which together have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also a center for education, law, arts and sciences, medicine, and engineering, as well as cultural attractions such as the Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Military Tattoo and still further, various historic sites which help to make the city the UK’s second-biggest tourist destination after London.

     Among those historic sites is the Palace of Holyroodhouse (or Holyrood Palace), which has its origins in the 12th Century when David I of Scotland established Holyrood Abbey on the present site and the abbey guesthouse became the foundation for the royal residence which from the 16th Century forward had become the principal residence for Scottish monarchs and subsequently British monarchs when carrying out official duties and activities in Scotland, including Queen Elizabeth II, who moves her court there for one week in the summer known as Holyrood Week.

The Quadrangle within the Palace. Image Credit: Public Domain via Pixabay

     Located opposite of Edinburgh Castle at the foot of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s Old Town, the building is set in a quadrangle arraignment and the exterior of the palace as it is known today was largely built in the Baroque style of Sir William Bruce between 1671 and 1678 following the restoration of Charles II. The northwest tower was built over a hundred years earlier by James V, but Bruce provided for a matching tower to the southwest and the two were linked together within the overall plans which blended the palace into an overall coherent design, especially with regard to its front façade.

     Inside, the palace presents some of the most stately and well-appointed rooms in Britain, and they reflect that tastes of successive monarchs over the centuries, with a rich variety of interior styles, artwork, and other furnishings. In terms of rooms still in use today by the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, there are the State Apartments which include the Throne Room, which is used for receptions and ceremonies such as the installation of new Knights and Ladies of the Order of the Thistle, the highest order of chivalry in Scotland and second-highest in the UK. There’s also the Royal Dining Room and the Morning Drawing Room, where the Queen receives the First Minister of Scotland and other dignitaries, including foreign ones, for private audiences. On the other side of the building to the north is the Great Galley, which is the largest room in the palace and most notable for the Queen carrying out investitures for Scots bestowed with knighthoods and other honours, as well as other banquets and ceremonies. Within this room are portraits of Scottish monarchs, including legendary and real ones, and indeed, there are many more portraits of monarchs and other royals up the present throughout the building. Of particular interest are portraits of both the deposed and defeated Stuarts such as Bonnie Prince Charlie along with those of their Hanoverian cousins who emerged triumphant in the struggle for power during the 18th Century, which is emblematic of the complicated and extraordinary history of the UK.

a portrait of Queen Victoria atop the fireplace presiding over the Dining Room, which also contains a portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie (between the second and third windows). Image Credit: Saffron Blaze (http://www.mackenzie.co) via Wikimedia Commons CC

     That history is seen in the form of the chambers and apartments of kings and queens from long ago. Among them is the suite of rooms designed for Charles II, including the King’s Bedchamber, which – per the tastes of the Merry Monarch – is the most lavishly decorated room of the palace with richly carved woodwork and plastering, along with tapestries and the luxurious State Bed. In addition, there is the King’s Ante-Chamber, Wardrobe, and Closest. From here, the rooms are connected via the Great Gallery to the northwest tower, which is where the apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and her husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley are located. These historic areas are among the least changed since Queen Mary’s time and because of that, they give a sense of the tumultuous events which enveloped her short reign. The first floor features the Darnley rooms, which are linked via a spiral stair to the identical set of rooms occupied by Mary, including her Outer Chamber, where she received visitors and which now features a collection of Stuart and Jacobite artifacts. This leads to her Inner Chamber, which is said to be the most famous bedroom in Scotland. Many of the paintings and other features date from Mary’s time and before that, including the oak ceiling which bear the monograms MR and IR for her parents, Mary of Guise (Maria Regina) and James V (Jacobus Rex). Other items, such as the Flemish tapestries, are more recent but still add to the mystique of this room and the infamous woman who occupied it.

ruins of the Augustinian Holyrood Abbey. Image Credit: Bvi4092 via Flickr cc

     Elsewhere in the palace complex is Holyrood Abbey, which is attached to the palace, but has been a ruin since 1768 when its roof collapsed but still stands as a beautiful piece of Medieval architecture. The forecourt features a fountain installed by Queen Victoria (which emulates a similar one at Linlithgow Palace), as well as a nearby statue of her son, Edward VII, which was unveiled by his son, George V, who brought the palace into the 20th Century by overseeing extensive improvements during his reign, including the installation of central heating and electric lighting. In addition, the Queen’s Gallery is located to the west of the palace and exhibits works from the Royal Collection; next door to it in the Mews Courtyard is the Café at the Palace, which serves mostly light meals and – so quintessentially British – tea in the afternoon, and the palace gift shop is also nearby to collect mementos. Furthermore, there are the overall grounds and gardens of the palace – where the Queen hosts garden parties – which expands into the vaster Holyrood Park (aka Queen’s Park) and includes Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags, whose peaks contain some of the best views of the area.

Holyrood Palace and grounds viewed from Arthur's Seat. Image Credit: GNU1742 via Wikimedia Commons CC

     Back at the palace, audio tours are available via a device which allows visitors to listen to commentary on Holyroodhouse and the people who have lived there as they make their way through the building. Admission is available for different levels of access to the palace and its surrounding areas, and in this year until October 16th, it includes access to a special exhibit in honor of the Queen’s 90th birthday entitled Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen's Wardrobe. For larger groups, bookings are available for private and personally guided tours by Scottish Blue Badge Guides, and there are special accommodations and features for school groups, children, and those with disabilities (except for Queen Mary’s apartments, which cannot be accessed by wheelchairs).

     Holyroodhouse is open year-around save for Christmas and Boxing Day, but it is still a working palace, so one ought to be mindful of any comings and goings by the Queen, other members of the Royal Family, and still others who are allowed use of the building, such as the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which may affect the palace’s availability to visitors. Even in such circumstances however, it will be good and fascinating to witness the palace being used for its stated purpose in the service of its Queen.

     Indeed, Holyroodhouse is royal treasure of Scotland and the whole United Kingdom on par with Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. It is a must see for anyone visiting the country and in particular, can serve as a foundation for touring and getting to know the great city of Edinburgh.

Spectacular panoramic image of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth from Salisbury Crags. At left in the distance is Edinburgh Castle and the spire of the Hub, while the Nelson Monument stands tall atop Calton Hill just off the Center. Below it to the right are the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace. Image Credit: Oliver-Bonjoch via Wikimedia Commons CC

Belfast and the Exhibition of its Most Famous Legacy

Titanic Belfast - the world's largest attraction dedicated to the ill-fated ocean liner. Image Credit: William Murphy via Flickr CC

     If London was the first UK city I had known about, then Belfast was the second one thanks to its notoriety as the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, which has been a long-time interest of mine and remains a significant part of Belfast’s story.

     That story has been a long and complex one which begins with the settlement of the area in the northeast corner of Ireland during the Bronze and Iron ages, out of which still remain a 5,000 year old henge (older than the more notable Stonehenge in Wiltshire) known as Giant’s Ring and a couple of fort hills. Belfast became substantially established in the 17th Century during the migration of English and Scottish settlers, and the city was granted borough status by James VI & I in 1613. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, Belfast grew rapidly and went through a series of expansions to straddle between County Down and County Antrim as it became a thriving industrialized and commercial city with wealth generated through linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering, and shipbuilding – most significantly Harland and Wolff’s, which was one of the largest shipyards in the world.

     Belfast gained city status under Queen Victoria in 1888 and continued to prosper, but became politically divided over the issue of Irish Home Rule and eventually became the capital of Northern Ireland when Ireland was partitioned and the six counties of Northern Ireland elected to remain part of the United Kingdom. Within the city, there has been sectarian tension between its unionist/loyalist (usually Protestant) and nationalist/republican (usually Catholic) communities. This grew into a civil conflict known as “the Troubles” from 1969 to 1998 and resulted in the violent deaths of over 1,600 people, which combined with the decline of industry following World War II, saw the city suffer economically.

     The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 provided the political basis for ending the vast majority of the violence and since then, Belfast has largely moved forward in peace. As well as being the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, Belfast is the second-largest city on the island of Ireland and the 10th-12th largest city in the United Kingdom. It is a center for higher education, business, industry, arts, and tourism, and its central area has undergone expansion and regeneration, so that it has achieved growth and is the economic engine of Northern Ireland.

     Part of that regeneration has come in the form of Titanic Quarter, an area of land located just to the east of the city center on Queen’s Island which once belonged to Harland & Wolff and home to the facilities which produced the Titanic and other vessels of the White Star Line. All but derelict by the end of the 20th Century, it has been transformed over the last decade into a mixed-use development at the center of which is Titanic Belfast. Opened in 2012 and visited by Her Majesty the Queen for the Titanic centennial (and her Diamond Jubilee), it not only stands as the largest Titanic-themed attraction in the world, but also as a monument to Belfast’s maritime heritage. The exterior takes on the appearance of the angled prows of ships in a nod to the great liners built there and is mostly clad in aluminum shards, so that it looks – interestingly enough – like an iceberg.

The expansive Main Atrium of Titanic Belfast. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr CC

     Stepping into the main atrium of the structure (which is home to Ireland’s longest freespan escalator at over 80 feet long), this heritage is commemorated with a compass on the floor around which are lines from Thomas Garnduff’s 1924 poem, Songs from the Shipyard. Indeed, it feels as like stepping into another world – when shipbuilding and heavy industry was king, this is also visibly seen with a 60 foot wall of rusted steel plates like the ones used for Titanic, as well as the names of all the vessels built by Harland and Wolff across from it. There's also a platform overlooking the atrium which mimics the Titanic's prow and may therefore provide for a Jack and Rose moment.

     From here, one can start a journey through the main exhibition, which is the Titanic Belfast Experience and features nine interpretive and interactive galleries telling the story of the Titanic, her sister’s Olympic and Britannic (collectively called the Olympic-class ships), and the city and shipyard which built them.

Harland & Wolff gates and White Star Line posters greet visitors as they begin the Titanic Experience with Boomtown Belfast. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr CC

     The first gallery is Boomtown Belfast, which gives visitors the atmosphere of Belfast at the turn of the 20th Century as a city of industrial prosperity and political tension. Through an original set of Harland & Wolff gates are interactive maps and scale models of the Titanic, as well as a game to see how many rivets can be “fit” in 30 seconds. This leads to gallery two in the form of The Shipyard, where one is immersed into the sights, sounds, and even smells of the construction of Olympic and Titanic.

Scale replica sections of Titanic's bow and rudder, as well as the Arrol Gantry as part of The Shipyard gallery. Image Credit: All Titanic Belfast (Left, Top Right, and Lower Right) via Flickr CC; Collage by Wesley Hutchins via Photo Collada

     An elevator (or lift, as they were called at the time) carries visitors to the top of a 66-foot scaffold alluding to the Arrol Gantry which aided in the construction of the sister ships, and from here, they are transported via a cart on a ride through other recreated elements of the shipyard, scale replica sections of Titanic’s rudder and bow, as well as photos and motion picture footage depicting what it took to build the biggest ships in the world. Gallery three – The Launch marks the completion of Titanic’s hull and her launching into the River Lagan with a large window showing the finished hull on the slipway before clearing away to show the area as it appears to today.

     With the empty hull in the water, visitors move on to the fourth gallery, called The Fit-Out, which features the great vessel going through her final stages of construction as she is fitted out to become a luxury liner. There are examples of cabins from each class, a scale model of the ship, information panels and large pictures of the interiors, and most impressively, a 360-degree CGI tour of the ship – going through seven levels from the engine room to the navigation bridge (seen in the above video). This leads to experiencing life aboard the ship itself in the fifth gallery – The Maiden Voyage. Here, visitors can walk on the deck, have a seat on a bench, and take in the views of Belfast Harbour while also viewing the famous photos taken by Father Francis Browne aboard the ship during his overnight passage on the first leg of the voyage from Southampton to Queenstown (now Cobh) via Cherbourg, France.

Gallery featuring Father Browne's collection of photos and deck benches with views of the harbor and atrium, as if on Titanic herself. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast (Top Left and Bottom Right) via Flickr CC

     Of course, the happiness and good feeling doesn’t last as Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks to the bottom of the Atlantic with a great loss of life. For this, galley six – The Sinking features a cold room and simulated water to immerse the visitor into the conditions experienced by the Titanic and the souls aboard her that night in 1912. The beeping Morse Code signals carrying Titanic’s distress call in form of CQD and SOS are heard, as well as audio from survivors giving their gripping accounts of the unfolding disaster, accompanied by the images of the great liner foundering.

Graphic novel-like depiction of the sinking Titanic. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr CC

     Also depicted is the confusion and contradictory reporting reports in the media during the early hours following the sinking. This leads into the seventh gallery of The Aftermath, where there is a full-sized replica lifeboat on which a large double-sided television screen displays the portrayals of the American and British inquiries into the disaster. There are also interactive tablets allowing people to search a database and see if they had a relative on board, as well as information on Harland and Wolff to the present day and careers of Titanic’s sister ships.

The Aftermath Gallery featuring a replica lifeboat and representation of the present-day Harland and Wolff gantry cranes. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr CC

     Following this, the Myths and Legends section in gallery eight deals with Titanic in popular culture, including books, plays, poems, films, songs, and other media that have been inspired by the ship for over a century. Clips and excerpts from these are featured, along with various Titanic memorabilia as Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On plays in the background. There are also more interactive tablets, this time providing answers to long-standing myths surrounding the Titanic.

Myths and Legends meet reality as Titanic appears on various Media. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr CC

     The ninth and final gallery is Titanic Beneath, which brings Titanic’s story up to the present with the discovery of her wreck by Dr. Robert Ballard, and a video about the discovery and exploration of the wreck is available for viewing in an experience made to feeling as though the visitor is underwater. Further on is a glass floor revealing a mosaic of the Titanic floating underneath as she appears today on the ocean floor, as well as more information of the wreck and the debris around it.

Looking two-and-a-half miles "down" to the Titanic's final resting place in the ninth gallery of the Titanic Belfast Experience. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr CC

     Under this is the Ocean Exploration Centre, which features additional experiences with regard to Titanic as well as an educational facility drawing on expertise and resources from local universities, with a marine biologist on hand and a focus on the waters of Northern Ireland and images from Dr. Ballard’s expeditions throughout the world in the hope that Titanic may spawn interest in this area of study for future generations.

The Ocean Exploration Centre. Image Credit: all Titanic Belfast ( Top Left, Top Middle, Top Right, Bottom Left, and Bottom Right) Via Flickr CC; Collage by Wesley Hutchins via Photo Collada

     This whole experience can be done in 2-3 hours, though Titanic aficionados may naturally spend more time. In addition to the main exhibition, the building also features gift shops with Titanic memorabilia (including plates with the White Star Line logo), places to eat, and areas for booking events such as conferences and receptions – including a room featuring a stylized replica of the Grand Staircase. In the greater expanse of Titanic Quarter, there are the slipways on which Titanic and her sister’s were built – which have been turned into a nice walking plaza, the SS Nomadic – the last White Star liner and one of the tenders which serviced Titanic at Cherbourg, the Drawing Offices where the vessels were designed, Titanic Studios (where Game of Thrones is filmed), the Thompson Graving Dock, which was built to accommodate Titanic for dry-docking purposes, and nearby are the modern-day facilities of Harland and Wolff – dominated by the yellow gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath. Furthermore, within the the plaza which surrounds the Titanic Belfast building, there is a large map of the Northern Hemisphere which shows Titanic's maiden voyage track and features benches which form a Morse Code sequence which reads: “DE (this is) MGY MGY MGY (Titanic’s call sign) CQD CQD SOS SOS CQD (the distress calls radioed from the ship)”.

Aerial view of Titanic Belfast, with the slipways (Olympic's on the right and Titanic's on the left) above it and the Drawing Offices to the Right. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr CC

     Titanic Belfast is open year-around save for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (December 24-26) and times vary depending on the season. Tickets can be purchased for the main exhibition experience alone or for the Titanic Discovery Tour, a walking tour of the slipways, Drawing Offices, and other features in the immediate area of Titanic Belfast. Visitors can also join in special events for afternoon tea and Christmas. There's also the White Star Premium Pass to access the main experience, the Discovery Tour, and the Nomadic, which ought to make make for an exciting, educational, and memorable experience.

     For Belfast and its citizens, a memorable experience is exactly what they want visitors to have as the city strives to march forward confidently into the future. What’s remarkable is that until fairly recently, Titanic was not embraced so much by the city, for it was considered a mark of shame to have built a vessel that sank on its only voyage less than a fortnight after leaving her birthplace. With the discovery of the wreck and further confirmation that Titanic was a liner of sound workmanship, the city has done more to promote its connection to her, which has led to a cheeky saying that “she was fine when she left.” The popularity of James Cameron’s 1997 film helped bring Titanic to a new generation, as well as increased interest in Belfast, so that Titanic Belfast is in many ways, the culmination of the city’s reconnection with and pride in its most famous product, as well as sign of its renewal and regeneration. This reached new levels of success this year with the attraction welcoming its three millionth visitors and being named the Leading Visitor Attraction in Europe by the prestigious World Travel Awards – the “Tourism Oscars” – and seeing off competition such as the Eiffel Tower. Through Titanic, Belfast is indeed continuing to build for itself a positive reputation and showing that it is turning a corner in its long and layered history.

Grand View of the River Lagan, Belfast Harbour, the city itself and beyond. At Left are the gantry cranes of Harland & Wolff, Samson and Goliath; below them is the Thompson Graving Dock, were Titanic was partly fitted out; to the right is Titanic Studios in the large brown building, and further over is Titanic Belfast and the slipways. Image Credit: Titanic Belfast via Flickr cc

See more photos of Titanic Belfast on its Flickr account here and here.