Visited July 2024

Location	Edinburgh
Entrance Fee	Yes
Railway Station Nearby	Edinburgh
Parking	City Car Parks
Facilities	Cafe, Gift Shop, Toilets
Map

This ancient palace is today the official residence of the King in Scotland. The site has been associated with the monarchy since the time of David I, who built an abbey on the site in 1128. The abbey included accomodation for  King David, who chose to stay there rather than in the less comfortable castle up on the hill. The royal apartments were increased over time, until a whole palace had been built next to the abbey. The current palace is built on the same outline of this first palace, although none of the original buildings survive today. The abbey was functioning until the reformation, and the building was then converted into a royal chapel for the palace. It was ransacked in 1688 during riots in Edinburgh, and today is a picturesque ruin in the palace gardens. 

Review

As it is still a royal palace today and used by rhe King for ceremonial purposes, no photos are allowed to be taken inside the palace. There is a lot to see- the outer areas include the gatehouse, the forecourt with a fountain added by Queen Victoria and central quadrangle which was built around the remains of the original abbey cloisters. There is of course the abbey ruins and the formal gardens in the exterior. The quadrandle has a lush square of manicured lawn in the middle- it is strictly keep off the grass here, which is why it looks so pristine!

Towards the back of the left hand side of the quadrangle is a children's room, with play things, dressing up and a design your own coat of arms activity. It is a good place for the children to retreat to if things get too much for them in the main palace.

Once inside, there are no cameras allowed, but we managed to get a photo of the impressive ceiling of the Great Staircase. The palace rooms are as you would expect- sumptuous and richly decorated. There is a Great Gallery which houses the palace's collection of paintings, and rooms on show such as Throne Room and the Kings Chambers to name just a few.

There are also the apartments of Mary Queen of Scots , and her husband Lord Darnley's bedchamber. It was from this very bedchamber that Darnley started out to his wife's apartment and dragged her private secretary David Rizzio out into the outer chamber, and along with his co-conspirators, murdered Rizzio in a frenzied attack in which the unfortunate secretary was stabbed 56 times. There was apparently a blood stain on the floor of the room up until the 18th century. 

Darnley himself was murdered by the Queen's supporters a year later, which signalled the beginning of the end of the Queens reign, and also the end of Mary's freedom, as she began her 19 years in captivity (see also Craigmillar Castle )

If you need a breathe of air after that gruesome piece of history, the abbey and gardens are on hand. The abbey was once rich and flourished, so was able to offer the royal guests a luxurious stay. Even after the abbey ceased to be used by a religious community, the chapel royal was a place for coronations, weddings and funerals. Today only the Nave of the abbey remains. It is very beautiful, despite it being in ruins, and one can see that it would have been an impressive church in its heyday.

The abbey gardens are very well kept, as they are used by the royal family for official events. However, there are a lot of areas cordoned off, and all the grassy areas have a keep off sign, so it seems you can never quite relax and enjoy as you have to make sure you are not wondering into a private area. The garden does give a good view up into the surrounding hills where St Anthony's Chapel can be made out in the distance.

We can recommend the cafe in the palace- it was good value and in very pleasant surroundings. We were lucky as on the day we visited there were not any long queues for food. Infact the palace was pretty quiet, especially in comparison to the crowds in  Edinburgh Castle, at the other end of the street. 

Best of all you get to visit a castle and an abbey in one go!

More info:  Holyrood Palace