First up today was a guided trip through Edinburgh including through Edinburgh Castle. Workers were dismantling the stadium seating installed for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo held last week.

The Castle is enormous. Most of the current structure is over 600 years old and spreads out beyond the 1st gate - the one usually seen on TV. This gate is flanked by statues of 2 significant figures in Scottish history - one being William Wallace (think Mel Gibson or Braveheart).

We were able to tour through the heavily fortified Crown Room where the entire collection of the Scottish Crown Jewels are secured.

By the end of the tour it was obvious that the Scott's really do detest the British!?

After the Castle we visited Rosslyn Chapel (made famous in the Da Vinci Code) properly named the Collegiate Church of St Matthew. The Chapel was built in 1446 by William St Clair as the private chapel for his family. The interior is extremely ornate and in its original form would have been very beautiful, however due to age, neglect and restoration the original colour has been lost. Queen Victoria recognised the importance of the Chapel in the history of the country and decreed that it should be restored for the benefit of all.

Our tours finished at lunchtime and the rest of the day was free time for us to explore this magnificent city. We explored the Royal Mile - the group of streets that link the Castle to the Palace. The streets are lined with shops plying their trade in everything including Scotch, woollen goods, tartan merchandise and souvenirs.

Mass was at the very beautiful Sacred Heart Church in Edinburgh. The current church was consecrated in 1860.

Dinner was at the Royal Overseas League (exclusive travellers' club in Edinburgh). Our dining experience included views of the Edinburgh Castle (see photo).