Despite the roadwork's…its a lovely view down the street
Boswell…there’s a name from the past. I moved up to the castle courtyard on the left…the view over the city up to the mountains is just beautiful…Panning right.
One day I will climb and walk those mountains…beautiful..
And then there’s the castle…
19th March 1689…this is a long time back, a militia is born and a long tradition of bravery is begun in the form of The Kings Own Scottish Borderers.
craggy walls…
A memorial to the men of the Gordon Highlanders who died in a long forgotten war in a far off country. I saw the memorial and the rows and columns of men. And then one wonders, what for? 112 years afterwards, what did these men die for? King, Country and what did they leave behind? some mouldering lines on a plaque?
I look up at the towering ramparts….
A little fountain. Argyle Highlanders. Again a bit sad, no? a little fountain, dirty water…
here’s the entrance to the castle…
A little plaque which talks about how Sir William Alexander took possession of the province of Nova Scotia….fascinating piece of history….
And here’s my future…
Arthur’s seat
Another memorial to some brave soldiers. Who died in Afghanistan…all those years back…so many British lives have been lost in that benighted land…for decades now…again, what for?
peering over the fence, a rather forbidding one, over the other side of the castle.
What an interesting tomb…perhaps one of the few individual memorials, quite an interesting history behind this…
Fredrick Duke of York.
Looking back over the north side of the forecourt…
Another century old memorial to the Scottish Horse…more deaths..
A memorial to Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth MacKenzie Douglas
A memorial to the officers and men from the Highland Regiment, who died during the Indian Mutiny / War of independence in 1857. And again, for what? Will somebody like me stand in front of a memorial in 150 years time and ask, why did British men die on the dusty trails of Afghanistan and Iraq?
This plaque marks the spot where many witches were burned to death…bah! disgusting…
This little area of the castle forecourt is full of symbolism, history and messages. Fascinating, I spent quite a lot of time reading up on the various regiments, wars and battles that are represented here…sadness personified…
