Sightseeing Edinburgh
What to see in
Edinburgh ...
Princes Street Gardens
and view of Edinburgh Castle
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Have you ever wondered why Edinburgh
is called the Festival City? Well, with our
extensive range of world-class events, visitor
attractions, museums and galleries you truly
will be spoilt for choice at any time of the
year.
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Of course there is much more to
Edinburgh than festivals , attractions and
B&Bs. Perched high on an extinct volcanic
outcrop, home of the Scottish Crown Jewels,
Edinburgh Castle dominates the capital's
skyline with stunning views across the World
Heritage listed Old and New Town and out to the
Firth of Forth. B&B in Edinburgh
Nearby our B&B there are lovely
parks and a Nature Reserve for those who enjoy
walking.
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Salisbury Crags in
Holyrood Park
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Arthur Seat in Holyrood
Park
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Other recreational facilities in the
area include a golf course, tennis courts and
an Olympic size swimming pool.
In the city centre you will find a
wide array of quality bistros, bars, b&bs,
cafes and restaurants, offering dishes from a
wide geographical area: Indian, Japanese,
French, Italian, traditional Scottish Fayre,
seafood specialists, catering for every taste
in food and range of budget.
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Your hosts Dawn-Ann & Tony are
more than happy to share their local knowledge
with you and suggest places to visit and see,
eat and drink.
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Scottish Crown Jewels
and Stone of Destiny |
...More Sightseeing
Information!
Click on the following links to
obtain more tourist information! |
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Crown Jewels
[TOP]
The Scottish crown jewels are also known as "The Honors of Scotland". They
consist of a crown, sword and sceptre. On the Union of the Crowns in 1603,
the Scottish crown jewels were left in Scotland when King James VI of
Scotland inherited the English throne. By the Treaty of Union in 1707,
which united the Scottish and English parliaments in London, the Scottish
regalia were to stay in Scotland. They are now displayed in Edinburgh
castle.
Also on display with the jewels is the Stone of Destiny, which was
returned to Scotland from Westminster Abbey in 1996.
Deacon Brodie [TOP]
William Brodie an 18th century Edinburgh "character” was a pillar of the
community by day and drinking and gambling by night which was leading to
his bankruptcy. So he turned to burglary and by taking wax impressions of
the keys to houses in which he was working legitimately as a wood-worker,
he was able to perpetrate some spectacular thefts. He was eventually
uncovered and sentenced to hang. Rumours saying that he had cheated (or
bribed) the hangman and was said to have been seen later living in Paris.
The double life of Deacon Brodie as the respectable tradesman and daring
thief is said to have been the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's
story of "Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".
Dynamic Earth
[TOP]
The futuristic Dynamic Earth building nestles below the Salisbury Crags
and Arthur's Seat - and across the road from the new Scottish Parliament
Building on Holyrood Road and short walking distance from the guest house,
it is the latest attraction to appear in Edinburgh
with a "time machine" that whisks you from the time of the "Big Bang" and
the formation of the universe, through 4,500 years of planet earth. You
will be shaken by earthquakes, chill in the ice ages and see tropical
rainstorms; travel to the depths of the oceans and fly high above towering
glaciers and mountains. You will see, hear, feel and smell the planet as
it was millions of years ago and how it might be in the future with a
myriad of interactive exhibits and the very latest interpretative
technology and special effects.
www.dynamicearth.co.uk
Edinburgh Castle [TOP]
Perched high on a volcanic rock with precipitous sides, 15 minutes from
the guest house, the Edinburgh Castle has been a
stronghold for thousands of years and was the capital of the Votadini, the
early inhabitants of the area. It is because of the defensive value of the
rock and the succeeding castles built on that, Edinburgh became important
and eventually the capital of Scotland.
The area around Edinburgh was not captured by King Malcolm II of Scotland
until 1018 but it was used as a royal residence by King Malcolm III
(Malcolm Canmore) later in the 11th century. It was captured more than
once by the English during the Wars of Independence.
Edinburgh
Fringe Office
[TOP]
Whilst still remaining true to its founding
principle of open-access for all performers, the Fringe has come a long
way since its organisational beginnings in a disused pub with a leaky roof
just off the Royal Mile.
www.edfringe.com
Edinburgh
International Conference Centre
[TOP]
This modern building is part of a major redevelopment to the west of the
castle. The architect may have been alluding to the fortified round towers
from Scotland's past - or to the rounded form of the Usher Hall which is
not far away.
The EICC provides ultra-modern facilities for conferences of various
sizes, near the heart of Edinburgh. Around 200,000 delegates use the
facility each year and it is estimated that the EICC has generated over
Ł60 million in revenues for the city since it opened in 1995.
www.eicc.co.uk
Edinburgh Zoo
[TOP]
45 minutes by bus from the guesthouse,
The zoo is particularly noted for its large collection of penguins and
when they parade, outside of their pens, in front of the visitors at
feeding time the cameras click furiously to capture the moment. The
penguin enclosure is the largest in the world and a suspension bridge
gives visitors a great view of the pool .
But… is not only penguins!
www.edinburghzoo.org.uk
Forth Rail Bridge [TOP]
The bridge stretches 1.5 miles across the River Forth estuary from Fife to
Lothian, nine miles west of Edinburgh. At its
highest point it is 361 feet above the water and 55,000 tons of steel,
640,000 cubic feet of Aberdeen granite, 8 million rivets and 145 acres of
paint went into its construction.
It was built between December 1882 and January 1890. The number of people
employed on construction reached 4,600 at one point.
Gladstone’s Land
[TOP]
"Gled” is the Scots word for a hawk, which explains the (modern) hanging
sign outside the building which has the date 1617 surmounted by a
gilt-copper hawk with outstretched wings.
Located on the Royal Mile, down from Edinburgh Castle, Gladstone's Land
was a typical 16/17th century dwelling.
In those days, rich and poor would live in cramped rooms in the same high
buildings. In the case of Gladstone's Land, it was bought and extended by
Thomas Gledstanes in 1617 (though it had been in existence before that
date) and rose to six storeys.
Greyfriar’s Bobby
[TOP]
The story of Bobby, the Skye terrier which refused to leave his master's
grave in historic Greyfriar's churchyard, came to prominence in the 1890s
when Eleanor Atkinson, an American, wrote a book about the dog which
became a first reading book for a generation of many Americans.
The
life-size sculpture of Bobby was erected on a drinking fountain at Greyfriar's
churchyard.
www.greyfriarsbobby.co.uk
Holyrood Palace
[TOP]
According to legend, King David II founded an Augustinian monastery where
he had a vision of a stag with a cross between its antlers. This was about
a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle (and the road linking the two
buildings is still called the Royal Mile). The monastery may have taken
its name from a fragment said to have come from the true cross, brought to
Scotland by the king's mother, Queen (later Saint) Margaret.
Many of the succeeding Scottish kings preferred staying beside the
monastery rather than the castle and gradually the Palace was enlarged.
King James IV and James V in particular, added considerably to the
structure and much of what they created has survived. King James IV was
married in the Abbey to Margaret Tudor.
The Holyrood Palace is a 20
minute walk through the Holryood Park from the guesthouse .
www.royal.gov.uk
John Knox House [TOP]
The rear of this old house was built not long after 1450, replacing an
earlier wooden construction. The frontage was added around 1472 and
subsequent additions, floors and modifications have been made ever since.
John Knox, the great reformer of the church in Scotland and over the
years, the legend evolved that he had given one of his thundering orations
to the people of Edinburgh from a bow-window on the house, overlooking the
High Street. By 1800 it was confidently being described as "John Knox's
House" Although there is no record of him ever staying in this house.
Lady Stairs’ Close /
Writer’s Museum
[TOP]
There are many "closes" or alleyways running off the Royal Mile in
Edinburgh. They often contain substantial houses, such as this one which
was built in 1622 for a William Grey of Pittendrum who had the words "Feare
The Lord and Depart From Evil" carved above the door along with his
initials and those of his wife. William Grey installed an early form of
burglar defence in his house - the height of each of the main steps is
uneven, making it difficult to run up and down them!
The building was later bought by Lady Stair in 1719 and the exterior was
much modified in the 19th century with a balconied tower and other
stonework being added. The building is now occupied by a "Writers' Museum"
dedicated to Robert Burns (who stayed in a house opposite during his first
visit to Edinburgh in 1786), Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Lincoln Memorial
[TOP]
A monument to the American President, Abraham Lincoln, was erected in the
Old Calton Cemetery in Edinburgh 1893. It is said to be the first monument
outside of the USA to the American president It was built in memory of the
Scottish soldiers who fought in the American Civil war. It carries a
quotation from Lincoln: "To preserve the jewel of liberty in the framework
of freedom".
Mary King's Close
[TOP]
Edinburgh’s new icon
attraction, The Real Mary King’s Close is open now. Beneath the Royal Mile
lies a warren of concealed streets where real people lived, worked and
died in bygone centuries. Step back in time at The Real Mary King’s Close
to walk through these hidden closes.
www.realmarykingsclose.com
Museum of Scotland
[TOP]
A Museum of Scotland had been talked about since 1780. It became a reality
on St Andrew's Day, 30 November 1998 when it opened next door to the 19th
century Royal Museum of Scotland. A major feature of the building is the
"Drum Tower" which is of course reminiscent of many of the castle towers
to be found around Scotland. The museum is a treasure trove of exhibits,
ranging from pre-history in the basement through the early Scots and the
Roman Invaders and the early Christians. The Wars of Independence, Mary
Queen of Scots, the Reformation and the Scottish "Enlightenment" are all
covered. So too is the industrial revolution, when Scotland was the
workshop of the British Empire and modern Scotland is not forgotten
either.
www.nms.ac.uk
National Gallery of Scotland & The Royal Scottish Academy
[TOP]
The National Gallery of Scotland was designed by William Playfair,
completed in 1858. It houses an important collection of Italian, French
and Dutch paintings, as well as Scottish artists. The Royal Scottish
Academy, facing Princes Street, was also designed by same architect in
1822-26 and was enlarged by him five years later. The building has a
profusion of detailed carved stonework and a regal statue of Queen
Victoria on the roof at the front of the building.
National Monument (Calton
Hill)
[TOP]
Dominating Calton Hill, east of Princes Street, the National Monument was
intended to be a memorial to those who died in the Napoleonic Wars. It was
designed by an eminent expert on Grecian architecture, C R Cockrell,
assisted by a young William Playfair who was to go on to complete even
more successful works. The foundations were laid during the visit of King
George IV to Edinburgh in 1824. But work came to an end in 1929 when the
money which had been provided by public subscription ran out - due in part
to the ambitious scale of the monument. While it has been suggested that
the architect had deliberately designed only the 12 columns, it was later
to be described as "Scotland's shame". Even so, the prominent Grecian
columns of this and other buildings in Edinburgh have led to Edinburgh
being described as the "Athens of the North".
This Gothic edifice stands on Queen Street in the centre of Edinburgh. The
building was designed by Sir Robert Rowan Anderson with all the
embellishments you would expect from a late Victorian architect. The
Gallery moved there in 1889 and has been compared, appropriately enough,
to a great shrine. On the exterior, it is decorated with life-size
sculptures. Inside can be found paintings, sculptures and photographs of
all the famous Scots of history - and also many of the lesser known and
"ordinary" people of Scotland. That is particularly true of the National
Collection of Photography, part of which is on display in the gallery.
www.natgalscot.ac.uk
Rosslyn Chapel
[TOP]
A candlelight service held in the historic Chapel, surrounded by its
unique carvings, gives a magical setting for any couple wishing to be
married here.
Built in 1446 by William St. Clair, third and last Prince of Orkney. Many
Bible stories can be found depicted in the beautiful carvings. There are
also carvings of plants from the New World which predate Columbus by 100
years. You can reach Rosslyn Chapel directly from the
guesthouse by the local bus.
www.rosslynchapel.org.uk
Royal Botanic Gardens
[TOP]
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Inverleith is full of flowers, trees and
shrubs at all times of the year and there is a Victorian Palm House and
more recent greenhouses which help in the winter time. The gardens moved
here between 1822 and 1824, making them amongst the oldest in Britain.
www.rbge.org.uk
Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh
[TOP]
Scotland's largest historical medical
library collection ( started in 1682) house in impressive portrait-lined
19th century premises, with over 50.000 printed monographs on subject
areas that include medicine, botany, science and travel.
www.rcpe.ac.uk/
Royal Museum of Scotland
[TOP]
The Royal Museum of Scotland is the largest museum in Britain outside of
London. Its interior, slim, elegant cast iron pillars and glass roof has
galleries leading off from the main hall. It was opened in the 1860s at
the height of Victorian confidence as an "industrial" museum. It became
the Royal Museum of Scotland in 1904 and is now part of the National
Museums of Scotland.
www.nms.ac.uk
Royal Yacht Britannia
/Ocean Terminal
[TOP]
The former royal yacht has become a tourist attraction at Leith Docks
which was voted "Best New Attraction in the UK" in 1999. The site gives
details of how to book a tour of the ship, its history and there is a gift
shop and tartan goods collection.
www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk
Not only the berth of the Royal Yacht Britannia , the Ocean Terminal is a
444,000 sq.ft. shopping and leisure complex at Leith Docks, including
restaurants, bars and a 12-screen cinema complex.
www.oceanterminal.com
St. Giles Cathedral
[TOP]
Named after the patron saint of lepers, St Giles has had a long and varied
history. There has been a church on this site since 854 although the
oldest parts of the present building date back "only" to 1120. The church
was burnt down by the English in 1385. Thereafter, it was rebuilt,
enlarged and adapted over the centuries. The distinctive crown spire was
raised in 1495. In 1637, King Charles I set up a new diocese in Edinburgh
and made St Giles a cathedral. He also attempted to re-introduce the
Episcopalian mass which led to a riot in St Giles (and Jenny Geddes
supposedly threw her stool with the words "Don't thou say Mass in ma
lug").
www.stgilescathedral.org.uk
Scott Monument
[TOP]
The soaring, Gothic monument to the memory of Sir Walter Scott (who died
in 1832) was built in Princes Street Gardens in 1840-46 to a design by
George Meikle Kemp, a self-taught architect. But he never saw his ideas
come to fruition - he tripped in a fog into the Union Canal in 1844 and
drowned. The building rises 200.5 feet and has 287 steps to the top and it
is decorated with 64 statuettes, illustrating many of the characters from
Scott's novels, placed there in the 1870s, some years after the monument
had been completed.
Surgeons'Hall, Museum of Surgery
[TOP]
At only 15 minutes walking
distance from the guest house, The Royal College of
Surgeons of Edinburgh was founded in 1505, is the oldest medical institution
of it kind in the world. The college holds the lager collection of
medical, anatomical and pathological material in Scotland, dating from
Roman times to the present day. Surgeons' Hall Pathology Museum, opened in
1832, is Scotland's oldest medical museum.
www.surgeonshallcomplex.com
www.rcsed.ac.uk
Tolbooth at
Canongate / People’s Story Museum
[TOP]
Built around 1590 in a Franco-Scottish style, this was the centre of the
burgh of Canongate, at the lower end of the Royal Mile. The entrance to
the Council Chamber was by an external stair as the ground floor was the
local prison. On the front of the building is an inscription (in Latin)
which reads "The place of the seal of the Burgh. For one's country and
one's successors, 1591. King James VI. Justice and Piety are the strong
bulwarks of a Prince." The building was restored in 1879 and it now houses
the "People's Story Museum". This illustrates life of ordinary people in
Edinburgh over the last 200 years. The clock on the outside of the
building is a replacement for one made in the 17th century.
William Wallace & Robert
the Bruce [TOP]
The bronze statues placed on niches in the gatehouse of the castle in
1929. Robert the Bruce was initially prepared to kneel before King Edward
of England but in 1306 he declared himself king of Scotland. His fight
against the English was long and hard and it took until the Battle of
Bannockburn in 1314 to fully set Scotland free - at least for a time. Sir
William Wallace (on the right ) was the first leader of the Scots to rebel
against the rule of the English King Edward I who had over-run Scotland in
1296. After a guerrilla campaign, Wallace appeared to be successful when
he defeated the English army at Stirling Bridge in 1297. But the freedom
was short-lived and Wallace and the Scots army were defeated at Falkirk in
1298. Sir Wallace was not fighting to gain the throne of Scotland but in
order to free the country from English domination.
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