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A Passion Awakened

© Katie Anne Gustafsson

I remember vividly the first time I saw Edinburgh Castle. I was 9 years old, and on a daytrip to Scotland's capital with my mother and sister. As we came out of the train station, I looked up and saw the Castle in front of me, I still recall how small I felt in comparison with this impressive structure towering above me. Little did I know how that day was to spark an interest that would last a lifetime.

The walk along the Royal Mile (the road that leads from the Castle to Holyrood Palace) seemed endless to a child, and being uphill felt as if we were climbing a mountain. But once we arrived at the Castle gates, all the weariness dropped away from my legs and I soaked up the atmosphere of ages past when knights and kings, ladies and queens, rode across the cobblestones, and witches burned at the stake in the courtyard in front of the Castle.

From the majestic Castle we walked all the way down to romantic Holyrood Palace. As we walked, Mam told us about Mary, Queen of Scots. Her words brought the past to life and I could feel history throbbing through the ancient street under my feet. My mind filling with pictures of carriages and courtiers. I saw a young girl claiming the throne of Scotland, a woman grieving her lover's death (although Mam glossed over the technicalities of this relationship!), and a Queen defending her country against invaders and herself against denouncers such as John Knox. As we explored the Palace, Mam went on to explain about Elizabeth I of England. My love of the Tudor period was awakened, and my passion for women's history born.

That sunny summer day, I left Edinburgh with a thrill for history that has never left me. One day, I would love to fill some other young imaginative mind with a fire for the past, as my Mam gave to me all those years ago.

Katie-Anne 2000

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