Of Castles and Kings
Roslyn Chapel, in the village of Rosslyn (yes, different spellings again), was built by the Sinclair family.  One early member of the family was a member of the group that took King Robert the Bruce's heart on Crusade after his death.  When the Chapel was built, the Bruce's deathmask was carved into the ceiling of the chapel; unfortunately, this means that when standing below it, all you can really make out are his nostrils!	A much prettier picture from Roslyn Chapel.
From the outside, this looks like a thicket of many trees.  But it is all the growth of a single yew tree; notice the small opening by which the group entered under the canopy.	This tremendous old yew tree (at least 800 years old, and very possibly more than 1,000!) has seen the history of Scotland pass beside it and underneath its branches.  We are standing beneath a canopy that is easily 30 or 40 yards across, all from the branches of this one tree!
Brian McNeill, one of the best-known songwriters and musicians in Scotland today, wrote a song called "The Yew Tree" about this very tree.  Here, Brian tells the group about how he found the tree (the locals don't encourage it, as it means more to them than just a tourist stop) and was inspired to write the song.	A better look at the main trunk of Knox's Yew, so-called because early Presbyterian minister John Knox preached his sermons under its branches while he was still on the run as a heretic (at the start of the Reformation in Scotland).  Yews, like banyans and some other trees, put down trailers from their branches which re-root, which is why this is the "main", not the only, trunk of this one tree.
Edinburgh is in the region called Midlothian, which separates the two regions of East and West Lothian (go figure!).  The phrase "Heart of Midlothian" has long been used to describe it, as indicated by this brickwork on a pedestrian mall in the city.  One of the local football (soccer) teams is also called "Hearts of Midlothian".	Holyroodhouse ("house of the Holy Rood", or True Cross; supposedly a fragment of the True Cross was brought back from the Crusades and kept here) is a royal palace in Edinburgh.  While still used by members of the Royal Family when they visit Scotland, its most famous inhabitant was Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.  This fountain is in the courtyard; unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside so I cannot show the many beautiful paintings and rooms therein.