The Royal Mile stretches one mile and 107 yards from the entrance of Edinburgh Castle to the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Royal Mile， known as the main street in Mediaeval Edinburgh， runs through the old town. The narrow 15th century house， owned by John Knox-can be found just off the High Street. Most of the buildings in this area were rebuilt in the 18th～19th century.
Given its location between the two Royal residences， the road has witnessed many historic ceremonies over the centuries； the most recent being the return of the Stone of Scone， otherwise known as “The Stone of Destiny”.
Attempts have been made to retain the historical atmosphere of this famous street so visitors to the city can walk along the cobbled streets just as they were many centuries ago.
Edinburgh Castle
爱丁堡城堡
爱丁堡城堡是爱丁堡甚至于苏格兰的精神象征，耸立在死火山岩顶上，居高俯视爱丁堡市区，每年八月在此举办的军乐队分列式（Military Tattoo），更将爱丁堡城堡庄严雄伟的气氛表露无遗。
到爱丁堡旅游的人都不会错过爱丁堡城堡，因为它位于死火山的花岗岩顶上，在市中心各角落都可看到。爱丁堡城堡在6世纪时成为皇室堡垒，1093年玛格丽特女王逝于此地，爱丁堡城堡自此成为重要的皇家住所和国家行政中心，延续至中古世纪一直是英国重要的皇室城堡之一，一直到16世纪初荷里路德宫（Palace of Holyroodhouse）落成，取代爱丁堡城堡成为皇室的主要住所，不过爱丁堡城堡依然是苏格兰的重要象征。
沿着皇家麦尔大道进入爱丁堡城堡，先在城堡前售票口购票，进入正门后可以领取免费的导览视听器，可以自行操作收听城堡内每一个重点的解说，绝对可以让参观者深入了解城堡的一切，不过花费的时间也会比较长。爱丁堡城堡沿坡旋绕而上分为Lower Ward、Middle Ward、Upper Ward等区域，共有数十个参观点，较重要的包括圣玛格丽特礼拜堂（St. Margaret，s Chapel），据说是爱丁堡现存最古老的建筑，而城堡内的军事监狱，曾囚禁拿破仑的军队，墙上仍留存着法国军队在墙上抓刻的指痕。
城堡内着名的Mons Meg炮于1449年时在比利时建造，经过200多年多次战役后，于1829年重回爱丁堡，现在安置在城堡地窖（Castle Vaults）中，城堡内宫殿（Palace）有不少苏格兰宝物，如1540年设计的苏格兰王冠，与其他的皇杖、剑等文物置于皇冠室中。爱丁堡城堡同时也是苏格兰国家战争博物馆、苏格兰联合军队博物馆之所在地。
Edinburgh Castle， an ancient strongholdstronghold n.要塞， 据点 on the Castle Rock in the centre of the city of Edinburgh， has been in use by assorted military forces since prehistoricprehistoric adj.史前的， 陈旧的 times and only transferred from the Ministry of Defence recently. It lies at the top of the Royal Mile， the principal street of the Old Town which leads down to Holyrood Palace. The castle is open to visitors， and is managed by Historic Scotland. It is Scotland，s leading paid tourist attraction.
The castle is situated atop The Castle Rock， a volcanic crag. Three sides are protected by sheer cliffs and access to the castle was limited to a steep road on the fourth （eastern） side. Historically there was a loch on the north side of the castle， called the Nor，Loch. The loch was drained in the Georgian era when the New Town was constructed， as by this point the castle had lost much of its defensive role and the loch was used as an open sewer. The loch is visible in the painting to the right.
The castle is entered via the Esplanade， which is a long sloping cobbled area between the castle proper and the top of the Royal Mile. The Esplanade is where the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo is held， and in previous times was a paradeparade n.游行， 炫耀， 阅兵， 检阅， 阅兵场 v.游行， 炫耀， 夸耀， （使）列队行进 and drill area for the castle garrison. On the painting to the right the Esplanade would be at the left of the picture， but has not yet been constructed. From the esplanadeesplanade n.平坦的空地， 游憩场， 散步路 the main feature of the castle visible is the cylindrical or drum shaped battery， called the Half Moon Battery， which is visible on the left of the painting. It was built in 1574.
The castle proper is entered via a gatehouse in front of this battery， that leads to a road that ascends while following around to the right of the battery. This road leads through an older gatehouse and up to the courtyardcourtyard n.庭院， 院子 in the centre of the castle.
Visit the Castle
Edinburgh Castle dominates the city of Edinburgh like no other castle in Scotland， or for that matter the whole of the British Isles. Over one thousand years of history sit on top of the famous Edinburgh rock and it is easy to see why over a million visitors a year visit Edinburgh Castle.
When you visit Edinburgh Castle you can see why the early inhabitants of the area we now call Edinburgh， made their first settlements here， in what is now the city of Edinburgh. In troubled times past， man has always sought a safe refuge， and the volcanic rock that forms the base of Edinburgh Castle， has always afforded the ultimate defensive position in Edinburgh.
The City of Edinburgh grew out from the Castle rock， and the first houses in Edinburgh were built on the area in front of Edinburgh Castle， which is now known as the Lawnmarket， and then continued down the High Street and The Cannongate towards the Royal Palace of Holyrood House. These streets form a single street known as The Royal Mile. The Royal Mile acquired its name as over the ages， Scottish and English kings， queens and royalty in general， have travelled to and fro between the Palace of Holyrood House and Edinburgh Castle-hence the name The Royal Mile.
No visit to Edinburgh is complete without a visit to Edinburgh Castle and once you have ventured up to the highest parts of the Edinburgh Castle structure you will be overwhelmed by the spectacular views of Edinburgh afforded from this Scottish “Castle of Castles”.
Edinburgh Castle is every schoolboy，s dream of what a castle should look like and the Edinburgh Castle website endeavoursendeavour n.（英）尽力，竭力 to give the Edinburgh visitor an indepth view of Edinburgh Castle and it，s history from early times right up until the present day.
