Mediaeval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town - Old and New Towns of Edinburgh 728; The Forth Bridge 1485
What and Why
Edinburgh brims with culture, heritage and sophistication as a city and no wonder it is the second most visited city in the United Kingdom. Edinburgh became the first member of the UNESCO Creative Cities initiative when it was designated a UNESCO City of Literature. Edinburgh is also the capital of Scotland (if you consider it a country) since the 15th century CE and hence the level of heritage is unsurpassable, even by British standard, making it one of the best tourist cities of the country.
Toponymy
Edinburgh derives from the regional name of Eidyn, in which the meaning is untraceable; The stem '-burgh' of course means 'hill'.
See
As in the description of UNESCO, the culture centre of Edinburgh is roughly divided into the Old and New Town. We started our journey from the Old Town.
Edinburgh Castle
Clearly the jewel of Scottish Crown, Edinburgh Castle sits atop one of the hills of Edinburgh and oversees the entire city, along the Castlehill Road. Depending on how you read the beginning, the castle dates back to the 12th century CE, under David I (Gaelic: Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim, né Dabid Dunkeld). As in other castles, this has become a tourist hotpsot and now the castle buildings house the regimental museums.
It turns out that the castle stands upon the plug of an extinct volcano. It is interesting to know while the castle is quite formidable in defence, especially when the rock is so hard as it came from a volcano, the fact is that the hard rock makes water supply difficult, and the castle frequently ran into drought.
Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II (née Elizabeth Windsor). The palace is located just opposite to the Edinburgh Castle as in built in the 17th century CE. It also serves as the residence for foreign dignitary visitors.
Saint Giles' Cathedral
Founded in the 12th century CE and dedicated to Saint Giles (Latin: Aegidius), the patron of lepers, the Saint Giles' Cathedral significance came when the church became Protestant with John Knox, the foremost figure of the Scottish Reformation, as its minister. The church distinctive crown steeple is one of Edinburgh's most easily recognised landmarks along the Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of the Old Town leading to the Castle.
Heart of Midlothian
The Heart of Midlothian is a heart-shaped mosaic built into the pavement outside Saint Giles Cathedral along the Royal Mile. Together with markers bearing building dates, it records the position of the 15th-century CE Old Tolbooth, demolished in the early 19th century CE, which was the administrative centre of the town and one of several public execution sites.
The mosaic is named after the historical county of Midlothian of which Edinburgh was the county town. This is not to be confused with the namesake Midlothian which does not include Edinburgh.
The significance of this small mosaic is that one will often notice people spitting on the heart, making it one of the most unhygienic tourist spots on Earth (the other I can think of was the gum wall in Seattle and the Ganges ghats in Varanasi (Hindi: वाराणसी). The unsanitary practice originates as a sign of disdain by the accused for the former prison directly at the heart's location. Incredibly this practice is still preserved nowadays! Beware of the spit projectiles when you look!
Parliament Square
Sitting just behind the Saint Giles Cathedral, the tiny Parliament Square stands the equestrian statue of Charles II (né Charles Stuart) of Scotland. By the way, it is not exactly a square but an L-shaped parking area.
Scottish Parliament
Opposite to the Holyrood Palace sits the controversial Scottish Parliament Building. It reminds people of Guggenheim Museum (Spanish: Museo Guggenheim) of Bilbao and looks like a random clusters of housing estates, and seriously looks nothing parliamentary. Coincidentally it was designed by Enric Miralles Moya of Spain.
Grassmarket
The Grassmarket is a historic market and event space directly below the Castle. The area, now lined with all sorts of pubs, was another public execution site.
A popular story in Edinburgh is that of Margaret Dickson, a fisherman who was hanged in the Grassmarket in the 18th century CE for murdering her illegitimate baby shortly after birth. After the hanging, her body was taken back to her hometown on a cart. However, on the way there she awoke and it turned out her fat neck cushioned her during the hanging and merely fainted her. Under Scottish Law, her punishment had been carried out and hence she could not be executed for a second time for the same crime (only later were the words 'until dead' added to the sentence of hanging). She was allowed to go free. In later life (and possibly legend) she was often seen laughing at others who were being hanged at the site. There is now a famous pub in the Grassmarket named after her, the one next to the tall white building in the picture below.
Victoria Street
Harry Potter's fans' ultimate shrine walk: This is where Joanne Rowling started the entire saga, when she drafted the idea of Harry Potter in the Elephant House cafe when she was unemployed. The cafe, especially the toilets are all graffiti-ed by the fans. One of the balconies on top of the street, is also allegedly where Rowling got the inspiration of Hogwarts, from the view of George Heriot’s School.
The street is easily the most photographed in Edinburgh, coincidentally was painted in very bright colours which adds to the fantasy feel of the street. One of the shops, the Museum Context, literally inspired the Dragon Alley in the Harry Potter's series.
David Hume and Adam Smith
Two of the most important scholars in world history were former Edinburgh residents. David Hume was a 18th century CE philosopher, historian, writer who is best known for his ideas of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, was a Scottish economist, philosopher and writer specialising in moral philosophy and political economy. Their statues, especially Hume's, were prominently visited. Visitors will rub Hume's toes, expecting to bring good luck and wisdom and these rubbings have made the toe exceptionally shiny.
Carlton Hill
Now towards the New Town, Carlton Hill is the headquarter of the Scottish Government on the steep southern slope of the hill. The Scottish Parliament Building and other notable buildings such as Holyrood Palace lie near the foot of the hill. Calton Hill is also the location of several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument and the Nelson Monument. Literally the picture spot of Edinburgh. Just a very short walk from the Old Town.
Scott Monument
The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí Pérez monument in Havana (Spanish: La Habana). The monument was designed following Scott's death in 1832 CE when a competition was held to design a monument to him. An entrant went under the pseudonym 'John Morvo', who was in fact George Meikle Kemp, a 45 year-old self-taught architect. He had feared that his lack of architectural qualifications would disqualify him and hence used a pseudonym, but his design was so popular with the competition's judges and they awarded him the contract to construct the monument in 1838 CE.
Archivists' Garden
Main government registry with a prominent statue of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
Balmoral Hotel
Luxury hotel and Edinburgh's New Town landmark, but with a twist: Since 1902 CE, Balmoral hotel's clock has been set three minutes fast to ensure that the people of Edinburgh would not miss their trains. This is still the case today. Exception of course during New Year Eve countdown!
In February 2007 CE Rowling finished the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this hotel. Rowling left a signed statement written on a marble bust of Hermes in her room saying; 'JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (552) on 11th Jan 2007'. The room has since been renamed the 'J.K. Rowling Suite,' and is now priced at nearly GBP £1,000 per night and has become another shrine for her fans.
National Gallery of Scotland
The main gallery of Scotland built a bit like a Greek temple. Excellent collection of artworks.
New Town
The new town area of Edinburgh is actually the grid-layout along the Princes Street in front of the Edinburgh Castle. The area just encloses a number of streets which has become a modern commercial and entertainment area. The area is characterised by the neo-classical and Georgian architecture in a rectangular grid which is conspicuously different from the rest of Edinburgh.
Albeit called 'new town' the area was actually designed during the late 18th century CE, when a decision to commission the construction of the city extension was made in the mid-18th century CE when the Old Town started to get overcrowded and the wealthy people and major businesses started to move to London. A competition was 1766 CE to do the urban design and was won by James Craig, who, following the natural land contours, proposed a simple grid-system with a principal thoroughfare along George Street.
The Forth Bridge
Considered an icon of Scotland, the Forth Bridge is the world's second longest cantilever bridge and crosses the Firth of Forth. It spans almost 2.5 km and connects the rail between Aberdeen and Edinburgh and was constructed in 1890 CE, becoming the then longest cantilever bridge. The cantilever principle has actually been used for thousands of years in the construction of bridges.
There are technically two Forth bridges, the red one on the right which is the UNESCO WHS and is solely a rail bridge. The one of the far left is the newer bridge for vehicular transport.
While it was recognised and inscribed by UNESCO as a WHS in 2015, citing it as 'an extraordinary and impressive milestone in bridge design and construction during the period when railways came to dominate long-distance land travel', personally it has to be confessed that the bridge, from a cultural point of view is not particularly interesting. Its design and technology is perhaps now outshone by more modern bridge forms, although one has to appreciate the fact that the bridge achievement was done more than a century ago.
Buy and Do
Grassmarket and the Royal Mile provide enough Scottish memorabilia. The Royal Mile Market is a very local market housed inside a former church. Worth a visit.
Eat and Drink
Whisky
Whisky is an anglicisation of the Classical Gaelic word 'uisce' meaning 'water' and you can imagine how common Scotch whisky is in Scotland. While whisky probably came earlier, no one can deny some of the best whiskies do come from Scotland, although many considered this status is being threatened by Japan as in my earlier blog in Tomioka (富岡). The Scottish Whisky Experience near the Edinburgh Castle is a museum of whisky itself, and you can buy anything you can imagine whisky-ish here. The chart in the museum does show the diverse variety of taste that Scotch offers, which is far from the strength that we usually stereotype them with.
Scotch whiskies are malt and grain and generally distilled twice, although some are distilled up to twenty times depending on labels and make. Scotch whisky regulations require anything bearing the label 'Scotch' to be distilled in Scotland and matured for a minimum of three years in oak casks. Not a drinker, but naturally I bought a bottle. Cheers.
Haggis
Haggis is a meat pudding containing sheep offal, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach, and this food is popularised as the most Scottish of all. While the ingredients might not be that appealing, it is actually very nutritious, cheap and tasty and is widely considered as a 'super-food', especially good during breakfast. The word 'haggis' came probably from the Scottish word 'hag', derived from the Old Norse 'haggw', meaning 'to chop'.
We had a few haggis, especially the chippy-haggis in a local chippy shop. In these chippy shop, you will be appalled to find that Scots deep-fry literally anything, from meat to haggis, sausage to even a chocolate bar.
Getting There and Around
The Waverley Station is right at the smack of Edinburgh. All the above landmarks, except the Forth Bridge, are accessible on foot, albeit climbing up and down a bit. The Forth Bridge is around 15 minutes away from the centre of Edinburgh. I would recommend to spend at least three to four days walking around the Old and New Town, as Edinburgh does have lots to offer.
UNESCO Inscription
Edinburgh has been the Scottish capital since the 15th century. It has two distinct areas: the Old Town, dominated by a medieval fortress; and the neoclassical New Town, whose development from the 18th century onwards had a far-reaching influence on European urban planning. The harmonious juxtaposition of these two contrasting historic areas, each with many important buildings, is what gives the city its unique character.
This railway bridge, crossing the Forth estuary in Scotland,hadthe world’slongest spans(541 m) whenit opened in 1890. It remains one of the greatest cantilever trussedbridges and continues to carry passengers and freight. Its distinctive industrial aesthetic is the result of a forthright and unadorned display of its structural components. Innovative in style, materials and scale, the Forth Bridge marks an important milestone in bridge design and construction during the period when railways came to dominate long-distance land travel.
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