The special reason the lights are being switched off at Edinburgh Castle tonight – Irvine Times

The imposing fortress, which has long been an iconic symbol of the Scottish capital, will disappear from Edinburgh’s skyline for around two to three hours.

If you’re wondering why the castle will be going dark tonight, here’s everything you need to know.

The special reason why the lights at Edinburgh Castle are being switched off tonight

Edinburgh Castle is expected to reopen to visitors on Thursday (Image: Getty Images) The outage is part of planned repairs to the castle which will result in a loss of power for around two to three hours from 5pm on Wednesday 23 October.

The last time the power was switched off at Edinburgh Castle was in 2019 when LV power poles were installed.

This time, power will be temporarily shut down to allow for major repairs to the high-voltage cable trays and clamps.

The trays and brackets are reported to have corroded (partially) due to the increased temperature and humidity in Edinburgh in recent years.

Edinburgh Castle and other sites suffered accelerated corrosion (Getty Images)

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Renovation work at Edinburgh Castle is expected to be completed that evening, with the castle re-opening to visitors as normal from 9.30am on Thursday 24 October.

According to Historic Environment Scotland, the organization that looks after Edinburgh Castle, a number of coastal properties such as Skara Brae and Tantallon Castle have “suffered accelerated wear and tear in their fabric due to increased moisture and extreme weather conditions caused by climate change”.

The conservation authority added that it is tackling this challenge through a “systematic inspection and program of masonry conservation work at all sites”.