A TOURIST has left a scathing review of Edinburgh Castle after allegedly being left so bored that they forgot what they saw just moments after it had concluded.
The anonymous tourist from Houston, Texas explained how they had met their tour guide Tommy outside St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile on Monday before walking up to the castle.
However, the tourist added that they were left unimpressed at having to navigate the throngs of Edinburgh Fringe tourists, and that they weren’t even allowed inside the castle itself.
Despite this, they continued before concluding that by the time the hour and a half tour had ended, they had forgotten all the historical facts the tour guide had mentioned.
The tourist added that they and 28 others were led around the outside of the castle, where they claimed to have not seen much of the ancient settlement.
They explained how the group wasn’t allowed inside the castle during the tour despite making three stops inside the castle walls.
In a final rant, they anonymous tourist warned others to avoid the best-selling tour, advising punters to opt for the audio tour instead.
They added that the tour should have begun in “the esplanade of the castle” instead of amongst the busy Fringe crowds and that there was too much “standing around”.
The tourist’s full review reads: “Stories are interesting but too much standing around, not seeing much.
“Our guide, Tommy, was interesting and had good stories, but the rest of the tour was rubbish. First, the meeting place should be in the esplanade of the castle, not near St. Giles.
“Walking 29 people through the chaos of the Fringe crowds was terrible. During the 1.5-hour tour, you make three stops inside the castle walls where the guide points out, and talks about different buildings but you don’t go in.
“Once the tour is done, you are free to explore on your own, but by then, I don’t remember half of what was talked about.
“To be a guided tour, the guide should take you inside the buildings they are talking about and tell you the history while you’re inside.
“I would never do this tour again. You are much better off booking through the castle directly and paying the small price for the audio tour.”
Edinburgh Castle is over 900-years-old, having been built in 1103AD when it was used as a fortress to keep intruders out.
It became a well-known residency to Scottish royalty in the 12th century and is now a hotspot for many curious tourists.
In 2017-2018, the castle generated around £14.7m from over two million visitors.
A spokesperson for Scotland City Tours said: “We started the tour in St. Giles because the castle is a military base and the esplanade is private property, no tour company is allowed to start the tour there.
“So, we need space for all our tours, next to St Giles is the best spot to start. Regarding the Building, we explain in the description of the tour that we can not access the castle building during the tour, as the space is limited.
“8000 visitors came across the castle every day. Also, the space on the buildings is limited. People choose to book this tour, but everything is explained in the description of the tour.
“Every company does the same tour.”
