Royal Mile 24 - Tour ends

And with this panorama at the foot of the Royal Mile this tour ends! You can click on the picture for a larger image. On the right you see the entrance to the Scottish Parliament building, and on the left is the Queen's Gallery, part of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Palace itself is behind these buildings and can't be seen from here. The hill in the middle is part of the Crags/Arthur's Seat in the Queen's Park.

Hope you enjoyed the second part of this tour; you can always look at the entire walk together by clicking on the Tour of Royal Mile label on the right-hand side of the page. And just be thankful that you don't have to walk all the way up the hill again!

Royal Mile 23 - Scottish Parliament

At the bottom of the Royal Mile stands the Scottish Parliament. It was built at great expense but for all that money we did get a truly remarkable building. This carving is a relief of Edinburgh's old town, and the stones on the right are taken from various places in Scotland (there are many more to the right). At some point I'll write a bit more about the Parliament.

Royal Mile 22 - Secret Garden

Along the bottom of the Royal Mile there are some wonderful public gardens tucked away. This one is called Dunbars Close, my favourite one.

Royal Mile 21 - Canongate Kirkyard

At the back of Canongate Kirk there is a large atmospheric churchard with great views onto the back of Calton Hill. Famous citizens buried here include the economist Adam Smith, Robert Burns' Clarinda and Mary Queen of Scots' murdered secretary David Rizzio.

Royal Mile 20 - Canongate Tolbooth

We leave Chessel's Court and continue to wander down the Royal Mile. Soon you'll see this incredible building on the other side of the road. The Canongate Tolbooth was built in 1591 and served as toll house, council house, courtroom and prison. The 17th century clock face has since been replaced by this one, dated 1820. The Tolbooth now houses a museum called The People's Story.

Royal Mile 19 - Chessel's Court

Tenement buildings in Chessel's Court. You can actually see the entrance to the court in yesterday's photo - you pass through the arches on the right-hand side to access it.

I'm going to be away for a few days but the tour should continue!

Royal Mile 18 - Canongate

We are now on the Canongate part of the Royal Mile, which is named after the monks or 'canons' of Holyrood Abbey (now a ruin behind the Palace at the foot of the Royal Mile). In the 12th century they were given royal permission to build and rule their own town, which soon stretched from the Abbey all the way up to the Netherbow Port (see Royal Mile 16). In other words, Canongate used to be completely detached from Edinburgh, separated by the city wall. Canongate itself was never walled and relied on the power of the church for protection - in vain, as the entire town was sacked and burnt down several times over the centuries.

Royal Mile 17 - World's End

Many citizens in medieval Edinburgh never left the city - they either could not afford to pay to get back in, or they simply had no business outside the city walls. And so for many people the current St Mary's Street marked the end of their world, which is why the pub on the corner is called the World's End.

Incidentally, the pub's name is now mainly known in the context of the gruesome but as yet unsolved World's End murders of 1977, so-called because the victims were last seen alive in this pub. Two worlds ended indeed.

Royal Mile 16 - Netherbow Port

If you look closely at the wall of the Storytelling Centre, you will see that a recessed space was created specifically to house this carving from 1606. It was once part of the Netherbow Port, a large gatehouse that stood not far from this spot on the Royal Mile. Part of the old city wall, residents and visitors had to pay to enter the city through this gate.

Gory detail: severed heads of executed criminals were often displayed on the spikes of the gate to discourage others from commiting crimes. The gate was demolished in 1764 but brass cobbles in the road mark the spot where it once stood.

(Image: edinburgh-royalmile.com)

Royal Mile 15 - Scottish Storytelling Centre

Resuming our walk down the Royal Mile, we soon reach the Scottish Storytelling Centre on the left-hand side of the street. This buidling incorporates John Knox's House (far left), home to the famous church reformer during the mid-1500s. The Storytelling centre itself was only opened in 2006. It was designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects and has won lots of architecture awards, including the RIBA Award 2007 and EAA Building of the Year. Personally I think it looks great, and a much better modern intervention than the Radisson (see yesterday's photo).

Royal Mile 14 - Radisson

As promised, here is the second part of the Royal Mile tour that we started back in July. Let's pick up the tour where we left off, on the crossing between the Royal Mile and the Bridges. The building right in front is the Radisson Hotel, completed in 1990 as the Scandic Crown. The site was originally occupied by 18th-century tenements, but they had long since disappeared and the site was 'a large hole' according to contemporary commentators. Although the initial designs for a new group of buildings were quite sympathetic to the history and look of the area, the final design became one 250-bed hotel without any ground-floor units or indeed any of the closes that would have gone through the building. Though the building may be inoffensive to some, to others it's an eyesore.

Royal Mile 13 - To Be Continued

Well, we've only walked about half-way down the Royal Mile so far, but this is the end of the tour for now. I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the people and places along this great street. I'll finish the tour next time I go on holiday; still to come are, for example, the Scottish Storytelling centre, some of the beautiful courtyards along the Royal Mile and of course the Scottish Parliament.

If all is well I should be back tomorrow and look forward to catching up with you all soon!

Royal Mile 12 - Ghosts & Gouls

Ghost tours are inextricably linked with Edinburgh and a visit to the haunted vaults, graveyards or hidden closes should be part of any stay in the city! This beautiful lady was promoting the Haunted Underground experience, with half of her face covered in 'blood'... (I love how she maintained the make-up in the mirror of a nearby motorbike!)




Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

Royal Mile 11 - The Fringe

Looking quiet at the moment, but come August this shop will be bustling with people collecting tickets for festival shows. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe was originally set up as an aside to the Edinburgh International Festival, for shows that didn’t fit the high-arts bill. It has since massively outgrown the EIF and now sprawls over the entire city, with thousands of performances in 376 different venues!

These two are not the only summer festivals; there’s also the Book Festival, Arts Festival, the Military Tattoo, Mela and the Festival of Politics – and I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few. Needless to say, Edinburgh is at its most fabulous in August and you’ll see the pictures here!

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

Royal Mile 10 - City Chambers

And this is (a little bit of) the City Chambers, as seen through the arcade at the front of the building. Originally intended as a Royal Exchange but never really used as such, it is now owned and occupied by Edinburgh City Council. You wouldn’t know it from the Royal Mile, but the back of this building towers no less than 12 stories over the street below!

The sculpture you see in the courtyard is a statue of Alexander the Great by the well-known sculptor John Steell. Not too sure about the connection with the council though!

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

Royal Mile 9 - Our Lord Provost

This is the city's Lord Provost (kind of like a ceremonial mayor) George Grubb being interviewed opposite the City Chambers. Note the well-dressed council official keeping an eye on the questions!

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

Royal Mile 8 - The Mercat Cross

We are now on what is called the ‘High Street’ part of the Royal Mile, which is the widest part of the street and essentially the heart of the Old Town. In August, it is the epicentre of free outdoor theatre and music at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. But for centuries, this is where the market was held, where criminals were punished, the gossip was spread and the intellectuals of the Scottish Enlightenment shared their ideas.

It is also the place where important announcements were made, from a structure called the Mercat Cross; essentially an octagonal pedestal, crowned with a tall column with a white unicorn on top. The current Mercat Cross is not actually the original medieval one. You can still find the location of the old one, as it’s marked in the pavement with an octagon of paving stones.

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

Royal Mile 7 - Advocate's Close

Advocate’s Close runs all the way down from the Royal Mile to the bottom of Cockburn Street and is thought to date from 1544. At that time, narrow streets such as this one would have been open sewers, with waste buckets being emptied from the windows above... yuck! Eventually, the ‘nastiness’ would slowly wash away into a stinking expanse of water called the Nor’ Loch – the same place where witches were drowned and possibly even drinking water was gathered… let’s be thankful it was drained in the 18th century to make way for a lovely green park!

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

Royal Mile 6 - Dark Angel

When I asked to take a picture of this handsome character he pointed at his sign saying “Photos = Coins” (see below). I assume that he is one of those living statues, but he was obviously enjoying a break in the sunshine outside one of the Royal Mile’s many old pubs.

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).

P.S. I wonder what ‘One Good Turn’ would be for the Dark Angel of the North.

Royal Mile 5 - Wardrop's dragon

I found this beauty above the entrance to one of the many closes running off the Royal Mile. Go through Wardrop's Court to access the 17th century Lady Stair's House, now home to the Writer's Museum.

Come back tomorrow for the next instalment of the Royal Mile tour (I am still away).