Edinburgh Castle

Advantages: A world famous landmark & you learn about Scottish history
Disadvantages: Expensive & not that much to see once inside

...This weekend I made my first visit to Edinburgh. Being such a famous and well visited city I was looking forward to doing some sight seeing. Whilst I had to do a little research to complete my list of the attractions I wanted to see, Edinburgh Castle needed no such introduction. So, full of excitement for my long overdue visit to the Scottish capital, I boarded a GNER train in London and arrived at the other end of the country (well, it seemed like it!) four and a half hours later. On exiting Edinburgh Waverley station onto the bridge one of the first things I saw was Edinburgh Castle, floodlit and standing proud and tall over the city. As Edinburgh's most famous landmark and tourist attraction, the Castle was the first destination on my extensive list! The very first people to settle in Edinburgh are thought to have based...

Tricia24 07.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile

Advantages: Exciting, stunning, historic
Disadvantages: Steep hill

...Edinburgh is one of Europe's great capital cities. With its famous castle perched on a plug of volcanic rock, and the refined architecture of the eighteenth century New Town it uniquely combines rugged grandeur with genteel elegance. The arts Festival attracts hundreds of thousands of global visitors each July and August while its theatres, museums and galleries offer cultural riches throughout the year. This charismatic yet compact City offers an infinite range of attractions and everyone will have their own favourites. If you could only visit one place in Edinburgh to capture its charms then I would have to recommend the Castle and the Royal Mile. This ancient cobbled street, located in the Old Town, begins with the fortress sited at the top on Castle Rock and sweeps downwards to finish at Holyrood Palace. Most of the castle...

snowbird123 16.09.2008 · Read review
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Review of Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

Edinburgh's Crowning Glory

Advantages: Fascinating, Great Views
Disadvantages: Crowded

...Edinburgh Castle, built on the site of an extinct volcano, sits high on a steep cliff, dominating both the Old Town and New Town of the city. You can see it from just about anywhere, fascinating but foreboding in the daytime with its Traitor's Gate etched into the hillside (thus providing a mighty and fatal fall for all those who were thrown out of it onto the rocks below), and utterly beautiful at night-time when it is floodlit. The castle is Scotland's most popular tourist attraction, not just for its beauty and state of preservation, but also for its long and often bloody history. The castle dates from the 12th Century, but the land itself has been inhabited from 800 BC. It was the seat of Scottish Kings, but has also been occupied from the English, including Oliver Cromwell. Among many other notable events, it was the place...

sandrabarber 30.08.2002 · Read review
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Review of Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

A castle fit for a princess

Advantages: Sheer luxury, fantastic food, everything about it
Disadvantages: No lifts

...As soon as you turn off the main road and get your first glimpse of Dalhousie Castle you know you're in for something special. The hotel sits on its own and in daylight looks beautiful, at night, lit up by the lights in the ground, its breathtaking. Dalhousie is a 13th century castle steeped in history and situated in acres of forest and parkland beside the River Esk Bonnyrigg, around 20 minutes drive from Edinburgh, close enough if you want to visit the city but far enough away to feel like another world. When you walk in the front door, you're greeted by several sights. First the stair case leading to the upper deck floor. The stairs are to the left and right and meet up on the top forming an arch at ground level, through which is reception. Reception its self is small and cosy with armchairs should you have to wait...

starlight_xx 14.03.2005 (15.06.2005) · Read review
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Review of Dalhousie Castle Luxury Country Hotel, Edinburgh

For Child Free Shopping, Try Castle Gyle

Advantages: Drop in Service
Disadvantages: they have to be 2 and no older than 8

...you can hire out Castle Gyle for Birthday parties. Costing £48 for 90 minutes you have free use of the crèche and you must leave it tidy. One member of staff stays on to give you any help which you may need. They provide plates and cups and you provide your food or you can arrange to Burger King to deliver over food. Most people allow the children to play and then sit down and have food and do the birthday cake. Then the children get to play while the parents come to collect. It is a very popular venue and 9 times out of 10 when you get a party invite the Gyle Crèche is the venue as it is so close for so many of us. There is a kitchen but I can't comment as I have never seen it. I wish I had discovered the Crèche sooner and used it sooner. It's a godsend when I have shopping to do without Eilidh knowing or when I know she will be bored...

Groovee 02.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Castle Gyle Creché, Edinburgh

~ Caldicot Castle - Feast fit for a King ~

Advantages: Excellent food, Great sites, Good history, Nice staff
Disadvantages: none - apart from the one guy see review

...for Christmas parties, children?s parties and murder mystery parties which sounds interesting. ~ The Next Day ~ The next day we went back to the castle once we had left our hotel as we heard it was hosting a fun day in the Castle and around the park. The car park was two pounds. You also have to pay if you want to enter the Castle and we brought a family ticket for £12, (other prices above). There were many things for children to do and stalls of all different kinds. We then went to have a proper look around the castle and find out more about it. There were different information boards set up inside ach pat and it was great to read about it?s history. There are also rooms set up to show furniture and tools from the era. One room had a bedroom and a dining room with the table from the Castle home. On the Castle lawn there was...

blackmagicstar4 02.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Castles (Wales)

Who's castle?

Advantages: Funny and entertaining
Disadvantages: They never win which is very frustrating

...Takeshi's castle is a Japanese game show which is very similar to Total Wipeout although it's very dated. The show starts out with 100 contestants who battle it out by running assault courses and participating in different challenges before faces the final challenge and being in with a chance of winning one million yen. The show is ridiculously hard and it does make the watcher wonder if they don't actually have the prize funds at the end. My favourite challenge throughout the show is where the contestant has to run through doors but some of the doors are glued shut so if they choose the wrong one then they end up crashing into it. Craig Charles narrates the UK version of the show and I have to say that he is very funny with some of the things he comes out with. He adds a whole new level to it and makes it all the more fun to...

claribella 22.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Takeshi's Castle

Edinburgh - it Stinks

Advantages: Lots to see and do, the city contains some stunning buildings
Disadvantages: The roadworks, the tramworks, the bagpipes!

...?t have gunfire to tell you it?s 1.00 pm every day. It?s also trickier to get to ? unlike Edinburgh Castle which is a shot walk from Princes Street, the city?s main thoroughfare. There is also the annual festival in August which leads to thousands of people of varying talents visiting the city to perform, many of them on the now fabled Fringe. You sometimes have to take a chance with what you are seeing ? a couple of years ago I got tickets to see Simon Amstell for a fiver. Sadly he was very bad that day and had I paid much more I would have seriously considered requesting a refund. I have seen less professional performers in the past put on better shows and it really is pot luck sometimes what you might see depending upon ticket availability and how picky you are. During August the strangest of places suddenly become ?venues?, including...

rosebud2001 28.07.2009 (29.07.2009) · Read review
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Review of Edinburgh (Scotland)

A Castle Fit For A King And Queen

Advantages: Lovely staff, very clean, lots of eating places.
Disadvantages: None I can think of.

.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hotel ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The hotel has a lot of fairs and exhibitions taking place there and it is a lovely place to hold them. You always get a warm friendly greeting and the rooms are very big and spacious. There are several different rooms that you can choose from and it is up to you to decide which one would best suit you, but if you need help in deciding then the receptionist will help. When I went to the cat show a few years ago I was taken aback by the entrance to this hotel which is wonderfully situated by the seafront. The car park is big and there is usually plenty of room to park which is good. The car park looks nice as well the entrance to the hotel looks nice. Because it is like a castle the hotel looks good and they have recently had all the paint...

Mickie26 29.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool

A CASTLE OF DREAMS

Advantages: Outstandingly Beautiful and Romantic Setting. Interesting History. A Great day Out.
Disadvantages: Difficult to Find - Otherwise None!

...the moat. In the summer you will see large pike and carp swimming in the water, in March they were nowhere to be seen! Passing under the huge portcullis, showing your ticket to a National Trust member located in the gatehouse, you are then free to roam the interior of the castle. The gatehouse is strong, heavy and dark as you pass under, then you are hit by the amount of light flooding the interior of the castle. Looking complete on the outside, Bodiam Castle is but a romantic ruin within. The central courtyard is largely an immaculately kept area of lawn, surrounded by the outline of the original buildings which formed the comfortable home within. To either side of the gatehouse were the servants quarters and services, including reputedly a stable block. Looking clockwise from the gatehouse at six o'clock, there is the chapel (obvious...

RICHADA 22.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Bodiam Castle