We had breakfast at the AirBnB consisting of meat pies I purchased from W Christie Family Butchers. W Christie is a charming butcher shop just down the street from where we are staying. They offer a variety of meats, in traditional butcher fashion, as well as jams, jellies, and oils. My personal favorite, though, are the meat pies! W Christie offers take-and-bake meat pies which are a perfect meal or can be shared if you want to try different flavors. I picked up a steak and potato, steak and ale, and a chicken meat pie. They were each tasty, though I admit that the chicken was my least favorite because it was more of a curried chicken flavor. The chicken pie was not bad, but I wasn’t expecting the curry flavor and it wasn’t my favorite. It is important to know that W Christie Family Butchers is a cash-only establishment so make sure to find an ATM before stopping in and be sure to have a chat with the gents behind the counter!

Located at the far end of the Royal Mile, opposite Edinburgh Castle, is the Palace of Holyroodhouse which serves as the King’s official residence in Edinburgh. Home to Scottish royalty for generations, the palace reflects the changing tastes of successive monarchs with finishings including plasterwork ceilings and a collection of French and Flemish tapestries. A tour of the palace takes visitors through historical rooms as well as more modern rooms still used by the royal family for personal and state events including the Royal Dining Room, Throne Room, and gardens. Book tickets in advance for the best prices and take advantage of the multimedia guide which provides a bit more information about highlights of the tour and features interviews with members of the royal family. 

Members of the royal family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, have used the Royal Dining Room during their stays at the palace. The banquet service on display was presented in celebration of the 1935 Silver Jubilee for King George V and Queen Mary. The service was made in Edinburgh and was specifically commissioned for use at Holyroodhouse. Her Majesty would stay at the palace each year and, during Holyrood Week, host lunch for the Knights and Ladies of the Order of the Thistle in the Throne Room. The Order of the Thistle is the highest order of chivalry in Scotland. Her Majesty would spend mornings in the Morning Drawing room, created for Charles II in the 1600s and also known as the Privy Chamber, when visiting Holyroodhouse on the way to summer at Balmoral. 

Another famous resident of the Palace of Holyroodhouse is Mary Queen of Scots who lived here between 1561 and 1567. The chambers Mary once occupied are reached by climbing a steep, narrow, and winding staircase in the oldest section of the palace. Built nearly 500 years ago, the battlements and fortified walls are reminders of a time when kings and queens required more than a security detail for protection against their enemies. Mary’s chambers are a strange combination of tragedy, murder, and intrigue. Mary bore witness to her jealous husband, Lord Darnley, and a group of Scottish lords murdering her private secretary, David Rizzio, inside these walls. Rizzio was stabbed more than 50 times and, near one of the windows in the outer chamber, there remains a stain in the wooden floorboard which many claim to be the bloodstains from this violent murder. 

After completing the tour of the interiors of Palace of Holyroodhouse, be sure to take in the exteriors, including the Holyroodhouse Abbey and the palace gardens. The abbey was founded in 1128 and was once one of the grandest medieval abbeys in Scotland. The roofless nave, Romanesque arcading, Gothic windows, and vaulted ceiling help visitors imagine the abbey as it would have been centuries ago. The palace gardens are comprised of 4 hectare of meticulously manicured foliage with stunning views of Arthur’s Seat. It is easy to see why the gardens were used for Queen Elizabeth II’s annual Garden Parties.