2018-04 - Rick Steves Tour of Edinburgh

We arrived in Edinburgh this afternoon. After settling into our AirBnB in an old stone building in a close on the Royal Mile (check out the start of the Around Edinburgh album for some interior photos), we made our way up toward Edinburgh Castle for lunch. Afterward, we started on the Rick Steves audio tour.

Looking down the Royal Mile from the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle

Rick Steves has a tour company with almost exclusively European tours. However, he also has an app with several walking tours of London and one of Edinburgh. It downloads offline, so, no need to have WiFi or data plan when you're listening to it. We had all downloaded the app and tour to our phones. We weren't the only ones along this path of sites listening to our phones! Plus, while the tour points out different buildings, it doesn't require going into any that charge any type of entrance fee.

Witches' Fountain

The tour begins on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle at one end of the Royal Mile. There were beautiful blue skies above us as we slowly walked down the hill to the first stop, a fountain commemorating all the witches that Edinburgh had killed (300). \

Camera Obscura

The next stop is a building with a Camera Obscura that is still in use today, although it looks more like a fun house amusement house. Just down the street at a roundabout is the Tollbooth Church. It's a beautiful building that continues in use today as an information center.

Along the Royal Mile there are all these little pedestrian paths between the buildings that lead into courtyards of more buildings. We entered one called the Lady Stair's Close to a courtyard that houses a building from the 1600s that is now the Writers' Museum (more photos here).

Continuing along the Royal Mile, we come to a pub named after the original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Deacon Brodie. He paraded as an upstanding citizen but burglarized people at night. The pub signs are two sided - one showing him as an honorable member of society and the other side as a burglar.

Bank of Scotland

As we look left at this intersection, we see the green dome of the Bank of Scotland. It was the world headquarters since 1695 but now houses a museum. Crossing the street, we see a famous person from Edinburgh: David Hume. I'm still at a loss at exactly what he contributed to philosophy and science. However, you can rub his toe for good luck.

St. Giles church

We cross the street to the site of the lost public execution in Edinburgh. It wasn't Deacon Brodie for all of his breaking and entering, although he was also executed on this spot, on a gallows that he designed! We pass an old well, the old parliament building (from the 1300s) and the Heart of Midlothian in the pavement before entering St. Giles church. (While there's no entrance fee, there is a 2 pound fee if you'd like to take photos within the church.)

St. Giles church

The entire church is very ornate with stain glassed windows and side chapels. Inside, you'll find a statue of John Knox, looking quite fearsome. In the far back corner is a small chapel of the only chivalrous order in Scotland: the Knights of the Thistle. There's a fee if you'd like to enter that section. However, staying within the main church provides plenty for the eye to see and enjoy.

Mercat Cross

Continuing down the Royal Mile, we see the "Mercat Cross", which marks the former main market in Edinburgh. Atop it is a unicorn, the animal symbolizing Scotland. It is also the place for royal proclamations since the 14th century up to at least 1952. We took a ghost tour later in the evening and ended at this cross, as do several other tours.

The next item of interest along the Royal Mile is the statue of Adam Smith, credited with the economics of free market capitalism. Just down the street are some more recent historical artifacts: telephone boxes!

John Knox's house

Now, there is more walking between items of interest. The next is John Knox's house. While it may not be his actual house, it is now a museum set up with furniture of the same time period. Then, we are at the World's End, which signifies the end of the city walls of Edinburgh. Today, it contains a pub, which we stopped at after hiking up Arthur's Seat.

Robert Fergusson in front of Cannongate Church

We continue done the Royal Mile, crossing over the street to Cannongate Church. Just in front of the church is a statue of Robert Fergusson, an author credited to be one of the first to write in Scottish. He looks quite young! Beside the church is a cemetery that includes the grave of the economist that we saw earlier: Adam Smith.

Scotland's Parliament

 From here, it's another long walk to the new Parliament building. At least the walk is downhill! Scotland formed a union with England in 1707, at which time it gave up its old parliament in Edinburgh (the building by St. Giles cathedral). However, it gained the right to hold it's parliament back in Edinburgh at the very beginning of the 21st century. At that time, it built this new parliament building and held it's first parliament here in 2004. The building is free to enter. The exterior of it is quite fun to look at.

Holyrood Palace

At the very end of the Royal Mile stands Holyrood Palace. It was used as an abbey before the palace was built. Mary, Queen of Scots, lived here; and, England's royal family today continue to use it. There is an entrance fee if you'd like to tour the palace.