Segment: Walking Tour of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile
Episode: Viking Ep – British Isles Explorer
Air Date: 1st December 2019
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane

Viking offers a fantastic walking tour that gives passengers the opportunity to explore the medieval and neoclassical beauty of Scotland’s historic capital.

• The tour takes you through the Royal Mile, one of the UK’s busiest and most vibrant streets. The cobblestoned street is more than a mile long, running between Edinburgh Castle and St Giles Cathedral.
• The top of the mile is the heart of the Old Town of Edinburgh. The Lawnmarket area is the oldest part of the Old Town, built in the shadow of the Castle.
• St Giles Cathedral is the historic City Church of Edinburgh, famous for its impressive crown spire.
• St Giles was a Greek saint who spent most of his time in the south of France. He became popular as he looked after those less fortunate.
• The Cathedral was built as a 12th Century chapel, though due to the building’s turbulent history very little of this remains - it was destroyed twice by the English.
• Viking shows you around the main monuments, but also gives you time to yourself to reflect.
• The tour stops by the Scottish Parliament – before the foundation of the UK, Scotland was an independent state with its own parliament, though this changed in 1707 when the Act of Union allied Scotland with England.
• With Scotland being ruled from London, it didn’t have its own parliament for another 292 years.
• Holyrood is the name of both the Scottish Parliament and the Queen’s official Scottish residence. When the Queen isn’t there, you can visit the inside of the castle.