Edinburgh Castle
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 10 August 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
From its origins as a Bronze Age settlement, to a battleground for Robert the Bruce’s men during the Wars of Independence, and a refuge for Mary, Queen of Scots, this castle has stood witness to thousands of years of Scottish history.
Dan joins Senior Guide Mhairi Summers at Edinburgh Castle to tell the tales of the kings, queens, rebels, and prisoners who have passed through its gates over the centuries, revealing how the castle shaped and was shaped by Scottish history.
This is part of Dan's 'Guide to Europe' travel series.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore
You can find out more about visiting Edinburgh Castle here: https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/
Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!
To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!
Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.
We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, |
| 0:00.6 | folks, Dan Snow here. |
| 0:01.6 | I am throwing a party to celebrate 10 years of Dan Snow's history hit. |
| 0:06.1 | I'd love for you to be there. |
| 0:07.5 | Join me for a very special live recording of the podcast in London, |
| 0:10.4 | in England on the 12th of September to celebrate the 10 years. |
| 0:14.1 | You can find out more about it and get tickets with the link in the show notes. |
| 0:17.6 | Look forward to seeing you there. |
| 0:26.8 | Thank you. show notes. Look forward to seeing you there. Edinburgh is a city where there's no shortage of myth and legend, but also thankfully |
| 0:31.2 | a vast reservoir of actual history as well. |
| 0:36.2 | Beyond the tales of Arthur's Court and fearsome dragons, |
| 0:39.9 | we have angles and Picts, Jacobites, body snatchers and artists. |
| 0:45.8 | It feels as though every street in Edinburgh has a story to tell. |
| 0:50.1 | Built between seven hills, much like Rome. |
| 0:53.5 | Edinburgh has been a place of human settlement, we think, for 10,000 years at least. |
| 0:57.8 | Around 2,000 years ago, we think a small fort called Dunedin was built by the Celtic Gododdin people |
| 1:04.7 | on what is now Castle Rock. |
| 1:08.0 | It was later captured by the English-speaking angles and renamed Edwinsburg. |
| 1:19.2 | Today, Edinburgh is Scotland's famously vibrant capital city. It's one of the great cities |
| 1:26.5 | of the world. And right now it's particularly vibrant because it is the Edinburgh Festival, including the Fringe Festival, |
| 1:32.3 | so these streets are chockful of creative people, up and coming, young hopefuls, |
| 1:38.3 | students handing out flies, flashing QRco, trying to get everyone to come to their shows. |
... |
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