Edinburgh Castle is one of Scotland’s great historic landmarks. The city’s most prominent feature, it stands on a volcanic crag that has been occupied since the Bronze Age.

This was a medieval royal castle, a major residence for Scottish kings and queens for centuries. Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James here, and it was only when he became King of England that the castle’s royal significance began to wane.

The castle was always a place of military strength, besieged and fought over many times. In later years, it was an army base, where hundreds of soldiers lived. It remains a centre of both royal and military ceremony: home to Scotland’s crown jewels, venue for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and focal point of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This compact new guidebook incorporates new research, new illustrations and new photography and is geared to bringing the castle’s long and eventful stories to life, for visitors and non-visitors.

Historic Scotland is part of Historic Environment Scotland, the lead public body established to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment.