EDINBURGH & ENVIRONS

ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA
	After a brief stop-over for lunch at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Leith, Pat and I took a bus to Leith Basin to tour the Royal Yacht Britannia. This photograph shows the elevator which is used to reach the different levels of the yacht.
	Visitors use a portable devise to access information about the sections on the yacht. This gave us the equivalent to a guided tour. Pictured here is one of the launches. As we were at the exit at the end of the tour, I glanced at some plaques displayed to the left of the door; one read, 'IN HONOUR OF THE OFFICERS AND YACHTSMEN OF THE ROYAL "BRITANNIA" DURING THEIR OCTOBER 1991 VISIT. METROPOLITAN TORONTO POLICE ASSOCIATION.'
	A boarding ramp is provided for special guests or people who rent the yacht for parties or receptions.
	Visitors may not take photographs while on board. The recreation deck at the aft of the yacht is the site of many royal photographs of dignitaries who were entertained by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip).

PALACE OF HOLYROODHOUSE
	Pat and I toured the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 1974. This is a photograph of the monument on the grounds in front of the west corner tower which housed the private apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots, after 1561. Darnley, her second husband murdered her secretary, Rizzio, in the adjoining Outer Chamber.
	Before taking a tour of the Palace at the eastern end of the Royal Mile, we visited the ruins of the old Abbey at Holyroodhouse, where Mary, Queen of Scots, was twice married.
	We examined the tombstones and vaults in the Abbey before we climbed the narrow, winding staircase to Mary's Bed Chamber. Photographs are not permitted there or in the State Apartments and Great Gallery.
	There was ample time for a walk through the Gardens on this visit, but admittance to the extensive Queen's Park was not permitted.
	In the shadow of Arthur's Seat, we noted the ruins of an even more ancient abbey than the one founded by King David I in 1128. The Queen's Park begins beyond this point and encircles the Palace.