Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle commands the whole of the city centre , sitting on a volcanic rock . The castle is perhaps the spookiest in Britain because it has many ghosts. There is a drummer who only appears when the castle is
about to be attacked. A piper who disappeared in the
tunnels between the castle and the High Street comes back to haunt the dungeons. The castle is Scotland’s biggest visitor attraction with thousands of visitors each year.

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Eilean Donan Castle

This is one of the most picturesque and most photographed castles in
the world . Robert the Bruce took refuge here in 1306 . The
original castle was destroyed in 1719 when 3 English
frigates attacked the Spanish troops garrisoned there
. The castle was rebuilt in the 20th century . This castle is spooky because the spirit of
a Spanish troop is said to haunt the castle.

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Craigievar
Castle
The Blue Bedroom is the haunt of one of the Gordon clan members, who
fell from a window. He had been pushed to his death by “Red”
Sir John Forbes, a noble. Several people heard the step of
the unfortunate Gordon climbing the stairs to the Blue
Bedroom, as if he was living the moment before his death
again and again.One of the
other ghosts is one of a musician, who is very selective (he
shows himself just to people with the name of Forbes). He
fell in the moat of the castle and drowned. Send free Halloween e-cards

Linlithgow Palace

This was the castle of the Stewart kings of Scotland from the 15th
century . In 1512Mary , Queen of Scots was born here .
Queen Margaret’s Tower at the top of the stair towers
, is said to be haunted by the Queen’s mother , Mary of Guise , waiting for the
return of her husband , James V .

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Crathes
Castle

In the oldest part of the castle, the double tower, there is a room
known as the Green Lady’s Room, because of the several
apparitions of this unknown woman with a baby. It is said
that she’s a member of the Burnett family, proprietor of the
castle.These
apparitions began after the discover of two skeletons,
during renovation work : one of a woman and one of a baby.
The baby is said to be the child of a man who preferred to
kill the baby and the mother to hide their
relationship.The fact
that the apparitions continue, even after the discover of
the bodies means than the two poor beings will never be able
to rest in peace.

Stirling Castle

The castle stands on volcanic rock overlooking the town of Stirling and
the countryside . Mary , Queen of Scots was crowned in the
old chapel in 1533 . The Pink Lady , a beautiful woman in a
pink silk gown , has been seen many times at the castle . It
may be Mary , Queen of Scots. Others say it is the ghost of
a woman searching for her husband who had been killed when
Edward I captured the castle .

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About David Rankin

Photographer and videographer. My favourite subject is Scottish landscapes , especially the Highlands. I also enjoy taking pictures of ancient castles, the more ruined the better. Scotland must have more castles per square mile than any other country on earth, so it offers endless photo opportunities for me . My commercial images are on my site http://www.davidrankin.me

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The palace will reopen to the public in 2011 as a new Scottish visitor experience. Freelance historian, John Harrison, has been investigating original documents .Mr Harrison’s source is The Bread Book, an account of who received loaves from the royal kitchens throughout 1549 when the palace was the main residence of Scotland’s queen mother, Mary de Guise , mother of Mary , Queen of Scots . Mary, Queen of Scots was born in nearby Linlithgow Palace and she was   only 9 months old when she was crowned Queen of Scotland in the Chapel Royal in Stirling Castle on September 9, 1543. On most days a loaf was granted to the Morys – or Moors – who Mr Harrison believes were probably either black Africans or Arabs originating from North Africa.

“This is a fascinating glimpse of the diversity of the royal court at Stirling in the mid-16th century. It was quite cosmopolitan at the time, with the French Mary de Guise at its head, and surrounded not just by Scots but by people from Spain, the Rhineland and what is now Belgium. There were a few English, but they were mostly prisoners. Just who the Moors were, and what they were doing, is difficult to say. They were quite low in the court hierarchy, but were part of the household and getting bread at royal expense.”
Hints have survived that there may have been Africans in Scotland even earlier. There is a poetic reference by Dunbar to a woman who has been assumed to be – ‘the Lady with the Meikle Lips’. Such references are mostly rather uncertain, and may have other explanations, and the importance of The Bread Book is its clarity at a time when record-keeping was still relatively thin. Just as fascinating is what The Bread Book adds to our understanding of the way the court was run, and who had access to the queen. The evidence suggests that rather than acting like many of the Tudor dynasty in England and taking her main meals in private, deep within the network of royal apartments, Mary de Guise would dine in the Queen’s Outer Hall.

“Quite a wide range of people had access to her, not ordinary farmers but lots of people who were fairly well-to-do, which is important as she was working hard to build and protect the interests of her young daughter – Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary de Guise was an intelligent, decisive woman and a smart operator.

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Party at the Palace, a key part of the national Homecoming celebrations, takes place on 23 and 24 May and will be an extravaganza of entertainment and fun based round events at Scotland’s royal court in 1503. It was a year in which Scotland celebrated the marriage of King James IV to Margaret Tudor and the signing of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with England.

Each day will start with a magnificent horseback procession in which a cavalcade of up to 10 mounted knights in armour will escort King James and his new queen along Linlithgow High Street to the palace.

They will be accompanied by dozens of courtiers and the followers of four great noble families whose champions will then take part in spectacular jousting.  It promises to be a truly memorable weekend full of medieval colour and spectacle – and will recall the days when Scotland’s kings and queens were frequent visitors to their great palace in Linlithgow .This is one of the largest events Historic Scotland has ever staged and will include more than 120 costumed performers. There will be lots to do and see with jesters, poets, storytellers, musicians, dancers, falconers and cooks filling the palace. There will even be an alchemist trying to turn ordinary metals into gold, and an etiquette tutor who will teach young visitors what to do and say if they bump into the king and queen.

And there’s every chance of that happening as James introduces his bride to her subjects and they walk the grounds and watch the tournament held in their honour.Party at the Palace is based on a period of significant historical importance and looks set to be a fantastic fun-filled weekend of education and entertainment for all ages.

There will be two sessions of horseback jousting each day, plus a display of falconry.

The outdoor activities will come to a climax each afternoon when up to 80 foot warriors will gather in the main arena and do battle to decide which great clan will be the tournament champions.

The clans fighting it out will be the:

Campbells

Lindsays

Douglases

Hamiltons

All were powerful and influential in the early 16th century, and constantly struggling for supremacy and doing all they could to gain royal favour.

Each clan will have its own tented camp where visitors can meet the nobles, soldiers and their followers and discover what life would have been like in 1503. Inside the palace children will be able to help bakers knead the dough for fresh bread to be served to the king and queen when they arrive for a meal . Another special feature will be that the King’s Fountain, a 5m tall masterpiece of Renaissance architecture located in the palace courtyard, will be made to flow. Discuss this article on the castle pictures blog

Small flags will be available on the day with the coats of arms of each clan taking part in the tournament so visitors can show who they support. Linlithgow Palace is a medieval castle for the day

Party at the Palace is part of Historic Scotland’s contribution to the Scottish Government’s 2009 Year of Homecoming and is part-funded by Homecoming Scotland 2009. Linlithgow Palace screensavers

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