Edinburgh Castle

Late medieval walls and the foundations of what appears to be a military spur, which formed part of the outer defences at Edinburgh Castle., have been uncovered by archaeologists on the castle esplanade.

A cast of costumed interpreters portray historic characters as they take visitors on a yuletide journey through the ages, from the origins of the festive season right through to the Christmas traditions of the present.  

Castle baggers and historical buildings buffs mark your diaries: Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, Michael Russell, has announced a weekend of free entry to 47 Historic Scotland sites throughout Scotland on Saturday 28th November and Sunday 29th November to mark St Andrew's Day.

Edinburgh's Hogmanay is a four-day winter festival that takes place at the end of each year. In 2009-2010, the Hogmanay festival has an additional day.

Mons Meg, the hulking 15th century siege cannon, designed to demolish the castle walls of the king’s enemies, has suffered the medieval equivalent of a flat tyre.

Edinburgh Castle will be marking Remembrance with costumed performers on the weekend of 7 and 8 November. Visitors will be able to find out about life at the end of the First World War and in its immediate aftermath. Around 150,000 Scots died in the Great War (1914-1918).

The Orkney Venus, the earliest human figure ever found in Scotland, is going on temporary display at Edinburgh Castle from today til 1s

An old rifle discovered last year by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) staff on a north east nature reserve has just been identified as a French rifle from the 1800s. Staff from the National War Museum in Edinburgh have confirmed what it is, but the mystery still remains as to how it got there.

The skirl of bagpipes on the Royal Mile may be a familar sound, but for the first time in recent years a lone bagpiper is welcoming visitors to Edinburgh Castle as it opens each day.

The piper, in full Highland dress, will be playing daily throughout the Summer season as Edinburgh Castle's great wooden entrance gates draw open at 9.30am and visitors flow in across the drawbridge.

The Edinburgh Festival goes out each year with literally many, very large bangs, in its annual 45-minute Festival Fireworks Concert on Sunday 5 September at 9pm.

Historic Scotland is to run a 3-week pilot scheme in July to assess new traffic reduction measures for the approaches to Edinburgh Castle. The organisation is keen to make the esplanade and surrounding area more attractive and less-congested by halving coach traffic.

Historic Scotland is offering a credit-crunch special for families, "Make Your Own History", whereby people get six months free membership when they buy 12 months. This means a family will pay just £6.16 a month for free access to over 70 properties run by Historic Scotland.

The membership includes access to some of Scotland's top tourist destinations including Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and Urquhart Castle, Linlithgow Palace and Skara Brae on Orkney.

Edinburgh attractions didn't experience the same upward trend in visitor numbers enjoyed by other parts of the country in 2008 according to a report by the Association of Leading Visitor Attraction

Historic Scotland's flagship attraction Edinburgh Castle has welcomed its one millionth visitor through the door for the current financial year (1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009).

For the month of October, Historic Scotland is waiving kids' admission fees for its 70 attractions across Scotland, including Edinburgh Castle and eight other ancient sites in Edinburgh and Lothians. Entry to Edinburgh Castle for 5 to 15 year-olds is usually £6, for 16-59 year-olds £12 and £9.50 for concessions.

It might be surprising that Scotland's most visited, paying tourist attraction, with 1.2 million visitors a year, did not have its own web site up until last month.