It’s my personal belief that sometimes history can be very comforting. Seeing Edinburgh Castle provided me with a bit of comfort yesterday. There she is, this magnificent building, the city’s ‘icon’…and hasn’t she seen a lot in her time? Civil unrest, wars, plagues, famines, poverty, ridiculous opulence, commoners, people in power, people in jail, rebels, royals, warriors and saints; Edinburgh Castle has seen the lot. She’s been a place to be attacked, and she’s been a place of refuge. She’s been important, and she’s been forgotten about. She’s been protected by a country and, in her time, she was destroyed by that same country. And she’s still here. But she’s changed. She’s taken the blows; she’s changed with the times. She’s been a place of war and turmoil, repression and conflict. She’s kept people out, and now she welcomes them in. She’s ‘nicer’, ‘accessible’, ‘family friendly’ and beloved. She’s been there, done that, got the t-shirt, got the cracks, taken the blows and kept on going. And she’s still here. Tricky times have changed her and made her nicer and friendlier. That’s quite an inspiration. Like all of us, the next few weeks are going to be different from what we’re used to. We’ve stopped all our tours, issued full refunds, taken the hits that we’re all taking just now. We’ve got two guests still to contact about cancelling/rescheduling a tour, but everything else has been done for just now. We’re also planning for the future and looking at how we can offer more on social media. All we can do here is focus on our reaction. I’m looking forward to working out how I can let you all ‘visit Old Edinburgh’ from the comfort of your devices. We’re on it! And we’ll still be here! I’m looking forward to embracing the community we have and making it a really positive place. See you in a bit, folks! Stay tuned! Yours, Robert

Edinburgh Castle can be seen throughout the city, often “she’s” peeping out from between buildings.

In which I explain why the ever-present Edinburgh Castle can provide a certain level of comfort in these uncertain and worrying times. (This article originally appeared on our company Facebook page)