A dark side of Edinburgh

Before you all start to worry, let me just say that this post has nothing to do with my safety. Rather, it is about what was revealed to me today about Edinburgh’s dark history. 

But first, let me start off with some highlights of my day.

When I woke up today, I was indecisive about where to go for breakfast. I wanted to stay closer to the hostel since the farmer’s market was going on, but I also wanted a breakfast that could get me through two tours and a lot of walking. Fortunately, one of my hostel mates recommended The Coffee Mill Café, which was just down the road from the hostel. There, I had a delicious and hearty breakfast. 

After breakfast, I walked down to the farmers market and shopped around for a bit. I ended up finding two tartan collars for my pups back home and a wool dryer ball.

****I tested it out tonight and it works wonders… please let me know if you would like one as they are much better for the environment than dryer sheets!!!!

Another happy part of my day was trying deep fried Mars Bars for the first time (aka the best treat EVER and an absolute must when in Edinburgh) and getting dinner with one of my hostel mates. She is originally from India but had been studying in Edinburgh for her Bachelor’s. We had a lot of fun talking about our homes and our perceptions of Scotland so far. 

We got back to the room much earlier than other nights, so I finally got to meet all of my other hostel mates, too (there are 8 of us total). We talked about all of the fun activities we’ve been doing in Edinburgh and how much we love the city. I even got some good recommendations for tomorrow!!! 

Believe it or not, I also had a blast doing my laundry. When I walked into the laundry room, a lady was standing at the dryer waiting for her sheets to dry. She went on about how she was just trying to read the newspaper and drink a cup of tea and then spilled all over her bed sheets. A few minutes later, another person walked in and started talking with us too. We were having such a good time that the lady said “we ought to bring some drinks up here and have a party!” Who knew the laundry room could be such an entertaining place.

Now that I’ve gotten your spirits up, let me tell you about why we should never invent a time traveling machine. 

The two tours I went on today were guided tours at the Edinburgh Castle and the underground vaults. Here’s what I learned:

Edinburgh Castle

The Edinburgh Castle was built into volcanic rock. This rock was so tough that glaciers couldn’t even split it, which is why the castle sits so much higher than the city around it. Being surrounded by steep drop offs was a great advantage for defending the Edinburgh Castle throughout the years. However, the castle was taken over by the English multiple times throughout Scottish history.

My guide described the relationship between England and Scotland as two siblings that really enjoy irritating each other. In fact, Scotland decided to make its national animal the unicorn just because it is supposedly the only one capable of defeating England’s national animal, the lion.

In one particular story told by my tour guide, the English had been in control of the castle when a man named Thomas Randolph offered to climb the walls and take the castle back for King Edward II. He was only given 30 men to complete the task. They climbed up the steep, rugged sides of the mountain in the middle of the night. When they reached the castle, they found about 300 Englishmen fast asleep. So, they slaughtered each and every one of them… just for the king to ask them to burn the castle down (WHAT?!).

Another memorable story was about King James II and two young boys who were put in powerful positions simply by being the only potential heirs. Apparently, King James II was worried about these boys having power, so he invited them over for dinner at the castle. They were having a great time until the last course came out: a black bull’s head, which signifies an omen of death. The boys instinctively drew their swords, which was exactly what the king wanted. At this time, drawing a sword in front of the king was considered treason. The boys were sentenced to death within an hour. 

In more recent years — recent being the 1700s — one part of the castle was used to hold prisoners of war. The conditions were so unbearable that prisoners would do just about anything to escape. Some managed to dig a hole in the wall and escape, just to be captured and thrown back inside the castle. Another man hid in a waste pile thinking that it would be taken outside of the castle and placed along the street when instead it was simply thrown over the edge of the wall… 

I’d say Edinburgh Castle is a great place to visit… in the 21st century.

South Bridge Vaults

The second tour I went on today was an underground vaults ghost tour. I did not know this beforehand, but there are vaults under South Bridge (which looks like an average road, by the way). Merchants used to store goods down there but later decided that the limestone was not suitable for storage purposes. After the vaults were abandoned, criminals, witches and homeless people began to occupy the spaces. Most of the people living down there were dirt poor and could not even afford candles, which means that they lived in complete darkness and were packed in like sardines. Of course, this led to many health problems and a LOT of death. So many people died that the medical school would go down to the vaults to collect bodies for their studies. 

So basically I was touring a chamber of death. Cool.

At one point in the tour, the guide began to talk about witches. She asked “how would you identify a witch?” One little boy in the group said that a witch would have to have a wand and a broom (duh). She then asked “who here as green eyes”. I raised my hand. 

“WITCH!”

Her finger pointed right at me.

So, it’s a good thing I live in the 21st century or else I would’ve been burned at the stake. 

Apparently the only way you could really tell who was a witch or not was to throw them into a body of water. If they drowned, they were innocent; if they floated, they were a witch. That makes a lot of sense.

After the vaults tour ended, my hostel mate and I went to the graveyard simply because we hadn’t had enough death for the day.

Just kidding.

We went to search for Tom Riddle’s (Voldemort’s) grave. And we found it! Greyfriars Kirkyard was actually a really interesting place. I can see now why J.K. Rowling was inspired to incorporate it into the Harry Potter books. 

I’m DEAD tired, so that’s all for now.

Until next time,

Clara