YOUR AUTHOR
Robert Howie is the sole tour guide for Historic Edinburgh Tours.
He owns the company and researches and resources all our tours.
He has led guided tours for more than ten years.
Robert was born in Edinburgh, teaches in the local area and
received his university education in one of the most historic
buildings on the Royal Mile.
You can learn more about Historic Edinburgh Tours by clicking
here.
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)
13 March 2020
© Historic Edinburgh Tours Ltd 2020
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- and a COVID-19 lesson