Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Scotland

 30 September 2011
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We bagan the day with a tour of the exterior of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.  We approached through a park that is an extension of the palace grounds outside the fence.  Directly in front of us, along this path, is the Queen's Gallery.  To our left is the palace.

Our guide said this plaque on the side of the Queen's Gallery (obscured by the tree branches in the previous picture) is the symbol of the united kingdoms:  The English Unicorn and the Lion Rampant shield of Scotland.  
Our guide said that since it is the Queen's official residence in Scotland we would not be allowed to go onto the grounds.

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However, it was found during research for this posting that for 15 English Pounds a person can tour both the Queen's Gallery and Holyrood Palace.  

This Gallery provides changing exhibitions of works of art from the Royal Collection.   It is open from 9:30 to 18:00 daily.  As indicated earlier, there is a fee BUT the ticket is good for one year.  A resident can return every time the exhibits change.

The doors below the sign are magnificent.  They are suppose to be embossed with 24 karat gold.

Around the corner is another set of doors.  Although they are not as magnificent as the Queen's doors, They are very beautiful.  And, because they are more protected, not as weathered.
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These doors can be seen in the picture taken as we approached above.

 This is a view of the street leading up to the castle with the gate at the end that Queen Elizabeth would see when returning home (without the pedestrians of course).
The main entrance to the Queen's Gallery is around the corner to the right.
The plaque above can be seen on the right of the lady in the center of this picture with the side door to the right of that.

This is a picture of the gates shown earlier, up close.

This small building, on the castle grounds, is called "The Queen's Bath House."  It is believed that Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner here for several years before being transferred to the Tower of London 






This is a view of the palace by poking the camera through the bars on the gate.  To the far right is another tower section similar to this one.  The queen's private chambers are on the third floor.