Duddingston

Welcome to Duddingston Village and Kirk. We stopped here on the way back from Craigmillar Castlle (NOT Rosslyn Chapel as I had said earlier!)

The settlement dates from when Duddingston Kirk was built in 1124. It was founded by a Norman knight named Dodin (hence "Dodin's Town" - Duddingston - it's like playing a century-long game of 'telephone').
The Parish Church is located on Old Church Lane. It was gated and locked so we were unable to enter but it has two medieval relics at the graveyard gate.

One is a Joug, a metal collar for prisoners and the other a Loupin-on-Stane, a stone step for mounting your horse. There is also an early 19th C watchtower in the graveyard.

The entrance to the Kirkyard from the village is notable for its gatehouse, built as a lookout point to deter 'bodysnatchers' in the early 19th century.

They've got a pretty decent website, so check it out here.

Some more sights around Duddingston - a mural of some sort and the view over a hill.
Down the street, the Sheep Heid Inn is said to be Scotland's oldest pub, dating from 1360. It is named after a ram's head presented to the landlord by King James VI in 1580.

It would've been nice if the church had been open, but it was still a lovely stopover on the way back to Edinburgh.