Information for group leaders This adventure trail encourages groups to find representations of animals at six different stops – some outside, some inside. The trail is set out with one stop on each page and is designed for you to read to your group as you go. Each blue bag contains seven soft toy animals – one for each of the 6 stops plus a spare elephant. The animal linked to the stop is marked in *red* on each page. Members of your group could be given a toy to hold after completing the stop’s challenge, or you could give them all out at the start.
Introduction to share with participants We’re about to explore Edinburgh Castle! Lots of real animals have lived here over the last few hundred years, but now most of our animals are pictures and stone sculptures. We’ve been asked to make a list of the animals that can be found in different parts of the Castle. Let’s try to spot as many as we can – looking up high on our tippy-toes and down low on our hunkers. Stop 1: Outside the Castle
Stop to the left of the main entrance to the Castle, before the bridge that takes you inside.
Let’s look up at Edinburgh Castle: it’s really big, with lots of different buildings inside the walls. People have decorated lots of parts of the castle with animals. Sometimes these animals have special meanings – let’s see what we can spot today.
The Challenge The lion made the kings and queens who lived in the castle think of royalty, strength, power, bravery; some people say it’s the king of the animal world. A lion guards the Castle gate. Can you find him? Roar and point when you see him! [*Lion* in coat of arms above entrance]
Extra Discussion Points The shield-shaped crest is the coat of arms of the Stewarts/Stuarts, the kings and queens in the past. The crest tells us who the castle belonged to. Some schools and sports club clothes have badges. Do yours? Some very rich kings hundreds of years ago kept real lions here – what would it have been like for the lions to travel from a hot country to Scotland? Stop 2: By the Lang Stairs
Enter the Castle and wind up the hill. Show your tickets just before the spiky portcullis – mind your heads! Stop by the red information boards on your left.
The small cobbles on this path were laid to help horses’ hooves grip better when carrying things in and out. What might kings and queens and soldiers have needed brought into the castle?
The Challenge Look up and all around you – can you see an animal with antlers hiding in a shield? [*Deer* in crest near Lang Stairs.]
Extra Discussion Points The stag would have made people think of nobility – people who had power and money. What red shapes can you see on the shield? How many are there? Hold up the number of fingers when you’ve counted. The deer crest is for Thomas Randolph – he helped Scottish people get back in charge of the castle 700 years ago. We’re about to climb the Lang Stairs. How many stairs do you think there are? [70] Stop 3: Inside Argyle Tower
Head up the Lang Stairs and go into the tower on the left
half way up the stairs.
There was a long time when Scottish and English people argued over who should be in charge of Scotland and the castle – the Wars of Independence. They used to launch big stone balls from enormous wooden trebuchets like the model here in the room.
The Challenge Take a look at the cartoon projected high onto the wall behind the big trebuchet (a type of catapult). For about 20 years in the middle of all the fighting over Edinburgh Castle, it was a ruin and no people lived here. What animals came to live here? [*Sheep in cartoon projection*]
Extra Discussion Points Which do you think is the Scottish lion [red] and which do you think is the English lion [yellow] in the cartoon? We’re now going to climb the rest of the Lang Stairs, which used to be the main way people would get up to the castle – what animals can climb really well? How does climbing lots of stairs make your body feel? Stop 4: Outside the Scottish National War Memorial
Climb the rest of the Lang Stairs. Turn left at the top of the stairs and then follow the white signposts to Crown Square. On your right is the War Memorial – stop outside and look at the front. The Scottish National War Memorial helps remember the soldiers who have fought in different wars. There are lots of animals protecting the memorial – including the big unicorn and lion at the front. Please don’t climb on them as it’s a place of remembrance. The Challenge How many other kinds of animals can you find living on the Memorial? [*Eagle on front of building*, elephant, monkey, snake, bull, lion, lamb] Eagles are said to be the ‘king of the skies’ and seen as being very clever.
Extra Discussion Points Some soldiers once kept an elephant at the castle [1800s] – it was their mascot and made people think of strength. There’s an elephant sculpture on the far right of the building, but it’s a little tricky to spot!
Which are the biggest carvings? Which are the smallest? Stop 5: Inside the Royal Apartments (Antechamber)
Turn to your right for the Royal Apartments – go through the third door with ‘1566’ over the doorway. Walk through the room with the paintings and turn left into the antechamber. If it’s too busy, skip this stop.
We’re in the palace where kings and queens lived. This room would have been beautifully decorated and very comfy. The drawings show the kinds of animals people wanted to include in their decorations. The unicorn made people think of grace and royalty – it’s been the national animal of Scotland for 700 years.
The Challenge Have a good look all around the room - remember the walls and ceiling - and play animal I Spy with your group… “I spy with my little eye and animal with a mane/that lives in the sea/that moves very slowly/that can fly”. [*Unicorn above fireplace*, lion, gannet, toucan, thornback ray fish, snail, deer] Extra Discussion Points Are there any animals in the decorations in your home? What animals would you choose to draw a picture of, and put on your wall? How would you feel when you looked at it? Stop 6: Inside the Great Hall
Exit the Royal Apartments the way you came in and enter the Great Hall across the square on your far left.
The Great Hall would have been used for big parties. The King would have sat closest to the fire! Behind you as you enter is the minstrel’s gallery – musicians would have played up there. The Hall is about 500 years old but the windows are more recent.
The Challenge Look around at the windows – which show lots of animals on different families’ coats of arms. Group members can pick their favourite animal from the room and make the sounds and movements that animal makes – the rest of the group can guess which animal they are. [Stained-glass windows: *Wild boars* on right hand side, dolphins, lions, bird, warthogs, stag.] Extra Discussion Points There are lots of animals on the windows, but there’s also a lion’s head on one of the ends of the roof beams that’s 500 years old! [Far end of the room on left]. Why not take a photo of your group? Say roar or neigh! Well done! Well done for spotting so many animals around Edinburgh Castle. What were your favourite animals from today? You’ll have seen lots of lions and unicorns. They’re in the royal coat of arms (nothing to do with coats – it’s the name for a special picture queens and kings put on places and things they own).
The Lion and the Unicorn Let’s learn a nursery rhyme together – it’s from hundreds of years ago when people in Scotland and England were arguing over who should be in charge. The unicorn is Scotland and the lion is England. The lion and the unicorn Were fighting for the crown The lion beat the unicorn All around the town.
` Some gave them white bread, And some gave them brown; Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town.
Do you think people from Scotland or England made this up? Why might people want to chase them both out of town?
If you need to head home now, exit crown square to the left of the Scottish National War Memorial and follow the path to your left down and out of the castle.
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