GoosePie House Cannonball House
Whisky Heritage Centre Tolbooth Kirk
Boswell Court Assembly Hall
The Royal Mile is far too wide-ranging to
explore in detail in a single day. However, if you're short on time you can
just visit the highlights as presented below. This medieval town is famous
for its intimate pubs, restaurants and specialized shops
and you'll find one after another.. after another!
HISTORY: Nearly
25,000 people used to live in this small area in the 1700s with people
of all classes living together. The buildings on the Royal Mile were
inhabited by rich and commoners alike until the development of the New
Town began. The Old Town was then left with an ever growing population
of poor and knew its worse time of decay and disease.
Many of the buildings on the
Royal Mile are hundreds of years old and are Europe's original
"skyscrapers." The overcrowding in the limited space of the Old Town led
to buildings being expanded upwards. That's how medieval Edinburgh got
its first 6-7 storey high buildings. With them closely built together,
it is said that people on the upper floors could reach out and shake
hands. The lower floors would be inhabited by merchants who had their
own shops. At the very top floor you would find the poorest of
Edinburgh and in between you would find the middle class, lawyers,
doctors, etc.
Today, the Old Town is a
World Heritage Site thanks
to its extraordinary historical and cultural character. Buildings have
been refurbished and turned into tenements and the Old Town now has
8,000 residents. But the ghosts and stories of the past still haunt the
narrow winding streets known as wynds and closes.
Exploring it in detail takes you at least a couple of
days but no other part of Edinburgh has so many attractions and places
of interest in such a limited space.
Walking the Royal Mile
The streets signs for the Royal Mile carry many
names. It starts as Castle Hill, then changes to Lawnmarket, High Street
and, finally Canongate. You'll notice the Old Town has a crowded,
disorganized look featuring curved lanes, mews, closes, and alleyways... and
large crowds. However, it's all downhill with lots of shops, pubs, museums,
kirks (churches) and side streets to explore. You'll find more than one
selling custom kilts, everything tartan, candies such as Edinburgh Rock,
family crests, models of the Loch Ness monster, 'mini' bagpipes, dolls in
highland dress, teddy bears with tartans, and tam o'shanters.
Places to Visit:
Scottish Whisky Heritage Centre
at 354 Castlehill. (Note the spelling of Scotch
whisky as compared to American whiskey.) Three centuries of malt whisky
distilling are explained in a most interesting fashion, and the favorite
hands-on experience is the offer of a wee dram, best taken pure, for those
18 and over. Kids can enjoy a ride in a stylized whisky barrel to tour the
museum exhibits.
Interesting Things to Look For:
Goose Pie House
- (Above) Built around 1740 by poet Allan Ramsay, the name
Goose Pie House comes from its unusual eight-sided shape, similar to a pie
tin. Goosepie House is one of the oldest. It is situated at the front facing
Princes Street Gardens and can be seen by going down Ramsay Lane.
Cannonball House -
Cannonball House, is situated on the right hand side
as you walk from the Castle Esplanade down Castle Hill at the top of the
Castle Wynd steps.
The building takes its name from a cannonball, embedded in the wall about
halfway up in the west gable.
Heart of Midlothian - 
A
heart set into the street cobble stones near the West Door of St Giles
High Kirkand marking the site of an ancient tollbooth.
Places to Eat and Drink:
Boswell's Court
-(above) Now the entrance to The Witchery Restaurant, this
close
was named after Dr Boswell who lived in this tenement in the late 18th
Century.
Tenement built in c.1600
Tolbooth Kirk
- (above) This gothic
style building was built between 1842-1844 to originally house the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the kirks presiding body. The Tolbooth
Kirk's impressive octagonal spire at 74m (240ft) is the tallest in
Edinburgh. It has not been used as a church since 1984 but opened as
The Hub
in 1999 Edinburgh's Festival Centre. There is a restaurant/cafe with
indoor and outdoor seating
The Cafe at Holyroodhouse:
Choose from a selection of soups, two hot main courses and a range of
delicious salads, sandwiches, specialty breads and home-baked cakes.
Architectural and Historical Buildings:
Assembly Hall
- (above) Site of the Annual General Assembly
of the Church of Scotland.
The
High Kirk of St. Giles -
Church (Open Mon-Sat 9.00-5.00)
Later additions to the late medieval tower and "Burgh Kirk". From here John
Knox preached and directed the Scottish reformation in the early 1500's.
Parliament Square
- Parliament House was built here in 1641 giving the Square
its name. It was used by the Scottish Parliament until the Treaty of Union
in 1707. Largely unchanged since the time when it could be described as “the
busiest and most populous nook of the Old Town”. Many buildings around
the square, including the Post Office of the mid 1700’s perished in the
Great Fire of 1824.During festival season the square provides a convenient,
open area for many street performers to gather an audience.
Palace Of Holyroodhouse
Note: The Palace of Holyroodhouse is
closed to the public on these dates during 2009: 10 April, 16 May – 6 June,
22 June – 3 July, 24 July, 25 – 26 December and during Royal Visits.
Holyrood Castle Grounds and Abby Church ruins
Front of Holyroodhouse
Walk down Canongate to reach the
Palace of Holyroodhouse ("Holy Cross"), the present queen's official
residence in Scotland. The complex was originally a monastery
(12th century) before it was converted to a royal palace. The nave of
the abbey church, now in ruins, still stands. The palace suffered long
periods of neglect, but later Holyrood's fortunes were revived -- as were
other royal holdings in Scotland -- by Queen Victoria.
Today
the Palace is often used as a Royal Residence, and this means that it is
sometimes closed to the public at irregular times. But if you do get a
chance it is well worth visiting. The interior is fascinating, both the
older Historical Apartments in
the 16th century round tower where Mary, Queen
of Scots, was married at Holyroodhouse and witnessed the brutal killing of
her secretary Rizzio by her jealous second husband, Lord Darnley, in her
private apartments. (A plaque marks
the spot where he died on March 9, 1566.) The
State Apartments, used regularly
by The Queen and other members of the Royal Family for State ceremonies and
official entertaining, are decorated
Restoration-style and notable for their paintings, decoration, chimneypieces
and plasterwork dating from between the 1600's and 1900's. Your tour starts
with the Great Staircase and visits the Royal Dining Room, Great Gallery,
State Apartments and Royal Gallery, which features portraits of Scotland's
rulers.
The palace and
abbey back up against Holyrood Park,
the largest within Edinburgh. With rocky crags, a loch, sweeping meadows,
and the ruins of a chapel, it's a wee bit of the Scottish countryside in the
city, and a great place for a picnic. The new avant-garde Scottish
Parliament building is nearing completion on the right approaching Holyrood.
A half-hour climb up Holyrood
Park, you'll come to 250m-high (823-ft.)
Arthur's Seat of volcanic origin. From here the
panorama is breathtaking. Also Closed
when Royal Family in residence.
There are
several ways to approach Arthur's Seat
and Salisbury Crags. It takes about one to two hours to climb
to the very top of Arthur's Seat. The most difficult way up on the
Crags is along the obvious and steep pathway that starts from across the
street from Holyrood Palace. It is so steep that sometimes it feels like
climbing a wall and an increased level of fitness is surely required.
An
easier approach is to start
from Holyrood Palace and walk along Queen's Drive, the road that
surrounds the base of the park. A good 30 minutes are required to go
around the park and get to the smooth paved slope up Salisbury Crags.
Of all possible paths in Holyrood Park, this is probably the most
scenic. You walk along the dramatic sheer drops that are Salisbury Crags
or even on top of them looking down. The views across to Edinburgh with
its Castle and Old Town are truly impressive.
The trick to climbing Arthur's Seat safely and easily is to go up the
tourist path.
TICKETS on line for Holyroodhouse: HERE
- You can buy your ticket online from the Royal
Collection Website or on the day of your visit from the Ticket
Office outside the Palace.
- A souvenir shop is available where you can
purchase items related to the Royal Family. A guidebook to
Holyroodhouse is available although it includes mainly information
about the Royal Family rather than the Palace itself.
- Photography is not permitted inside Holyrood
Palace although postcards illustrating the interior are available.
- When visiting Holyrood Palace you can choose to
use the free audio guide which is included in the price. The audio
guide gives a very comprehensive and detailed presentation of the
Palace and its history.
