Add-on

I really like this recent addition to the Chrystal Macmillan Building, now home of the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. The building sits on the north-west corner of George Square and faces the Middle Meadow Walk. The extension was designed by SMC Davis Duncan Architects and completed in 2008.

Chrystal Macmillan was an important suffragist and the first woman science graduate of the University in 1896.

North Bridge

This photo should be seen next to yesterday's one. North Bridge connects the Old Town on the right with the New Town on the left (at the Balmoral Hotel). It was originally built in 1772 but was reconstructed in the 1870s. The ravine it spans houses Waverley Station.

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).

Walking to Work - Omni Centre

Having turned right from Pilrig Street onto Leith Walk, I am now approaching the Omni Centre at the Top of the Walk (also mentioned in a post a few days ago). This "home of entertainment in Edinburgh" was designed by Allan Murray Architects and was opened in 2002, having cost £73m to build. It houses a large cinema, a health club and several bars and restaurants. It also incorporates the facade of a 19th century church (to the left) which, surprisingly, gives entry to the very modern Glasshouse Hotel!

Old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary

Another exceedingly depressing day, weather wise! I took this photo a few weeks ago; these stunning buildings are part of the old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, built in the 1870s off Laurison Place. If you look closely though, you will see that the windows are boarded up. This is because the hospital relocated to a brand new building in Little France, just south of Edinburgh, about three years ago. The Old Infirmary buildings are now part of a much larger redevelopment of the area called Quartermile, which includes very modern office blocks and flats among the traditional buildings. Some people hate it, but I quite like it!

Old Town contrast

I'm back! Though I adore the buzz of London it's so nice to be back in Edinburgh, where the pace of life is so very different, the air so much cleaner and the commute so much easier!

This is a view from Chambers Street looking up towards the 'back' of the Royal Mile. I love the contrast between the white render and the old stone. The white building of flats is actually about ten stories high (this is only the top of it) and has its entrance on the Cowgate. Because of its steep hills, Edinburgh is very much a three-dimensional city, where buildings often have an entrance at different street levels - which can be very confusing when you're trying to read a map!

Coffee, p(o)lease!

One of many old police boxes that were converted into little coffee shops. They were originally built as mini police stations, often with a phone on the outside for members of the public to contact the police. In England they're usually blue but in Scotland they're often red.

Cycling on the railway

I took this picture this morning on my way to work. It's part of a wall along one of the cycle lanes that run where the old railway lines used to be. They are brilliant green spaces in the middle of the city (see below), used by cyclists and pedestrians alike – and even the odd city fox!

It is hard to believe these days, but back in the 19th century there used to be an extensive network of railway lines in North Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Leith & Newhaven Railway opened in 1842 and connected the city centre with the old chain pier in Trinity, which was used by steamboats. Within a few years the line was extended to Granton Harbour, from where train ferries crossed the Firth of Forth to Burntisland in Fife. However, by 1890 the new Forth Railway Bridge put the Granton train ferries out of action, so from then on trains were only used by local passengers and for goods. In the 1920s, the arrival of trams eventually signalled the end of passenger transport on the trains. By the 1960s only very few goods trains were still running, and in 1986 the last line was closed.

Rocky indeed!

To demonstrate the point I made about the castle on 26 May, here's a picture from the Grassmarket to show that it really does sit on a pretty impressive bit of rock! The Grassmarket itself - known for its quaint shops, pubs and 'vibrant' wildlife on a Friday and Saturday night - is being partly pedestrianised in a bid to make more of its picturesque character (hence the digger and roadworks).

After I took this photo I walked on past the second-hand bookshops in the west end of the Grassmarket, when I noticed this print in the window of an antiquarian printseller (apologies for the reflections but the picture was taken rather surrepticiously to avoid conflict with the owner):

Old and New

This is a great view of old and new from the top of Whale Brae, over the roofs of the old buildings to the new Platinum Point developments at the Western Harbour! Especially when the light from the sun setting over the Firth of Forth catches the shiny facades of the highrise. It always reminds me of those backdrops you get on filmsets, as if it's not quite real.