Photos and the City

Tag: Edinburgh

  • At night at Castle Rock

    After watching the sun go down behind the Edinburgh Castle I slowly made my way down towards Princes Street, passing cute litte shops, cafés and bars and being greeted by the Scott Monument.

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    You´ll find the largest monument for a writer right here, next to the Princes Street Garden – for the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. And it is even possible to go inside and climb up to several viewing platforms, but it was already closed for that day. The view from above must be lovely!

    Following Scott´s death a competition was held to design a monument for him, George Meikle Kemp, a self-taught architect, won with his victorian design and the foundation was laid in August 1840 and finished in 1846. Meikle unfortunately drowned on a foggy evening in 1844 in the Union Canal while walking home from the site.

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    Edinburgh´s oldest department store Jenners.

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    Princes Street always busy with buses, people shopping and admiring the view of the castle…

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  • Edinburgh Castle

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    From Holyrood Palace I took a bus up to Castle Rock to be there at sunset. Next time I´ll gonna go inside too, this time I just admired the view of Edinburgh from the outside.

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    View towards Princes Street Gardens.

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    The rock has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age (2nd century AD) and there has been a royal castle since the 12th century continued to be a royal residence until 1633.

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  • The Royal Mile

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    The Royal Mile runs through Edinburghs Old Town from the Castle situated above the city on volcanic rock to Holyrood Palace on foot of Arthurs´s Seat.

    The Mile is overlooked by impressive, towering tenements, between which cobbled closes and narrow stairways interlock to create a secret underground world. (The Royal Mile)

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    Actually the Royal Mile is a given name to a succession of streets running from the Castle to the Palace, first used around 1900 and then as the title to a guidebook in 1920. It´s a busy tourist street with lots of shops selling everything plaided and lots of whiskey, little coffeeshops, tearooms and restaurants. And then there is the lovely view on the hills on the other side – Edinburgh is built on seven hills (the result of early volcanic activities) and it is a constant up and down and the crossings on different hights.

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    Quite hidden lies a beautiful little 17th century garden, Dunbar´s Close Garden, the perfect hidden gem for a quick escape and enjoy some moments of silence.

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    After a little break in the garden I went to visit Holyrood Palace and Park and then took a bus to see the Castle during sunset – unfortunately there was no time to visit it too. Next time… until then I made my way back down the Royal Mile.

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    St. Giles´ Cathedral – the history City Church of Edinburgh, founded around 1124. Original a catholic church it became a protestant cathedral during the Reformation.

    In front of the cathedral a statue of the philosopher David Hume.

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    …and the Heart of Midlothian, marking the former position of the 15th-century Old Tolbooth, which was the “was the administrative centre of the town, a prison, and one of several sites of public execution.” (Heart of the Midlothian)

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    The Royal Mile has about 80 very narrow alleys and “closes” showing the medieval beginnings of this area – just get lost in them!