John Lithgow Palace

Mom Picture inside
Linlithgow Palace.

Alright, I know this post has been a long time coming. I mean, Kari and I went back in FEBRUARY, so stay with me here while I struggle to remember the details...

Sadly, Linlithgow Palace is not named for the actor John Lithgow. Kari and I kept on accidentally saying Lithgow Palace, so it became a sort of joke for the day. Linlithgow is only about a 20 minute train ride from Edinburgh, so it made a great day trip. It has always been on my list of places to visit in Scotland, so I was glad to finally go! We were really lucky and had gorgeous weather. There was nary a cloud in the sky, so we were perfectly happy to spend the day traipsing around the castle.

You're missing something...oh, that's
right....a ROOF.

The town of Linlithgow is pretty small. There was one main road, so it wasn't too hard to find the palace. The palace itself is mostly in ruins, so it's a lot of individual exploration.(From the outside, the palace is largely intact. You only really notice the ruined parts when you enter and discover an entire floor is missing.) There were plenty of dark corridors that we (bravely!) ventured down. At the entrance there was a sign warning us of bats inside the palace. Not gonna lie - I was really nervous that some big bat was gonna come flying out at me from the darkness. 

Looking down one of the
many corridors.

The palace itself was built in the 15th century after the original fortress was burned down to the ground. It is where the infamous Mary, Queen of Scots was born in 1542, which gives it special importance. During the Stuart reign it was built up even more, during which time it was used for a "fun" alternative to Edinburgh. After the 1600s, however, it remained largely unused and began to fall into disrepair. Its fate was firmly sealed after a fire in 1746, bringing it to its current state. 

After searching for quite a bit, Kari and I were finally able to find the (looong) spiral staircase that led to the top of one of the towers. We were pretty much alone in the palace, seeing as it was February. We spent a good half hour sitting on top of the tower admiring the view and taking plenty of silly pictures. 

Looking at Linlithgow Palace from the water's edge.

Mom Picture on top of the tower.

And then the silliness began...

I don't even want to tell you how long we laughed at Kari's face in this one.

We did manage to get in a nice picture eventually.

The view from the top. Not too shabby.

Doing her best Mary, Queen of Scots impersonation.

Do I love Scotland? Oh, yes I do.

Haggis soup from a cafe in Linlithgow - surprisingly delicious!