Edinburrrrr

Today we had a great day in Edinburgh, (pronounced Edinburrrrr – no bor-rough!)….we started our day early and couldn’t stop until late as there was so much to see and do in this vibrant city!

We started on the Royal Mile and worked our way through the city. Some of the major points we learned was that Edinburgh was built upon an old volcano and was to be the “Athens of the North” with so many philosophers, writers etc…. the only problem was that it was a dirty and smelly city. There was no sewage system in the 15^th and 16^th century and there were many tenement buildings built upon each other – people would throw out their sewage 2 times a day and yell – “Gardez loo!” Which is French for – Watch out for the water!!

All of this collected waste is now called “The Mound” a popular picnic area in the Princess Street Gardens!

Aside from the sewage issue, one thing that really stood out for me, were the little alleyways found between the shops on the Royal Mile. They call these alleys – “closes” and they lead to some amazing places hidden from Google’s street view. There are over 200 of these hidden gems within Edinburgh. In one of the closes there was a really neat Writer’s Museum that highlights a number of authors who come from Edinburgh, for example Robbie Burns, Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Writer’s Museum

Writer’s Museum

We wanted to explore some of the closes that were below ground, so we entered an area called “Mary King’s Close”. This section is an actual 8 story tenement building from the 17^th Century. Although currently underground, the whole area used to be above ground, but the city cleared the last people out in the 1930s as it was a safety hazard, and they built the City Chambers on top.

It is still possible to explore some of the homes that date back and see what life was like for the poor who lived here. This was an incredible trip back into history and I have never seen anything like it. We spent an hour underground wandering the area and hearing stories of how the plague and other issues affected the poor in the close.

According to our tour guide, there is only one other place that has these “cities beneath the streets” and that is in Naples Italy. We will be sure to check it out when we go there. Sadly, we were not allowed to take photos while in the underground close, so we can only share the models in the gift shop.

Mary’s Close Model

Mary”s Close Model

No trip to Edinburgh would be complete without a visit to the famous castle on the hill. It is enormous and quite a site to see! They were just dismantling the seating from the Edinburgh Tattoo, which is sold out for the next 3 years.

One of the most popular features at the castle is of course Scotland’s Crown Jewels; not only the crown, scepter etc…but the Stone of Destiny! We were not allowed to take photos, but I was able to get a picture of it at the gift shop!

There are a number of legends behind the origins of the stone, but basically, it is used as a powerful symbol for all Scottish monarchs. Edward the first of England brought the stone to London in 1296 where it remained for 700 years at Westminster Abbey and was incorporated into the English coronation ceremony.

In 1996, the Queen returned the stone to Edinburgh castle and placed it with the Scottish crown jewels, but it is on loan and will be used at either Charles or William’s coronation. A neat story, especially when there are legends about the real stone being hidden, students stealing the original from Westminster etc…

After the castle, we wandered through the lower part of town.  There are a number of pubs throughout the city and all of them are named after locals with some incredible stories for example, Deacon Brodie.

Deacon Brodie was a prestigious cabinet maker, security man, and politician in Edinburgh during the 18^th century and was actually helping the local executioners develop the trap door for when people were hung. This mechanism would allow people to die quicker which was seen as merciful.

The interesting thing about this Deacon was that he was a well respected security person by day, but a thief during the night as he would steal from rich homes in the area. His antics did not go unnoticed, and he was actually the first person to use the trapdoor mechanism that he designed for quicker hangings.

This story about the Deacon inspired Robert Louis Stephenson to write the book Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – a story about a respected doctor by day, but a crazy criminal at night.

Probably the story that inspired me the most that day was walking past the Elephant House on the Royal Mile. This is the café that JK Rowling used to come to while she wrote the first books in the Harry Potter series. I was really impressed that the café did not try to capitalize on the her fame, but rather, tried to inspire others to be creative. The café has put in a number of tables with drawers filled with paper and pencils and encourages people to write their stories. We went and sat down and opened the drawers and they were filled with writings from years past and from different parts of the world. It was amazing to see how others were inspired to write and to leave their stories for others to read. It was really neat.

Also, it is said that Rowling walked through the cemetery right outside of the café and actually used names from the tombstones in her novels. The most popular one of course is Tom Riddell’s grave. People leave all kinds of offerings in front of it…it is the most visited grave in Edinburgh!

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in this great city! We met some lovely people and really had a fun time learning so much about it. As a parting gift to ourselves, we decided on a family tartan and bought some scarves as souvenirs. We are now officially somewhat Scottish!

NB We love Horrible Histories – the one for Scotland was really helpful for us to learn about Scotland’s past!