Day 3: Edinburgh Walking Tour

Wed 18 Sept 2024

Today we catch a double decker bus from the end of the road into Edinburgh and Andrew and Doreen take me on a walking tour of the old town areas.

Walking tour of Edinburgh

On the bus journey, I delight at all the stories of ‘that was where I used to live’, ‘that is where I went to school’, ‘there are the playing fields’, ‘that’s where we had our wedding reception’….etc. It was lovely to get such a good feel for where they spent their childhood (although much has changed since).

It is a beautiful day and we get a good view of Arthur’s Seat from the bus as we get closer to the city. From where we get off the bus we walk past many university buildings (including where Andrew had studied and worked). We also pop into the National Museum for a quick look at Dolly the Sheep, who now resides in a glass container in the innovation section.

After a stop for an obligatory photo with Greyfriars Bobby, we walk up through the Greyfriars Church yard seeing some of the fascinating old tombstones. Earlier Andrew had pointed out the coffee shop where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, and from the churchyard we can see the roof of the George Herriot Private School that she is said to have modelled Hogwarts on.

We wind around little streets with fascinating peeks down lanes and through buildings. Edinburgh Castle looms on the hill above us. The Edinburgh Festival has just finished and we can see them dismantling the grandstands for the Military Tattoo. The Royal Mile is still packed despite the Festival being over. We make our way to Gladstone’s Land, a National Trust property that is a tenement building (bought by Thomas Gladstone in the early 17th century) that has seen over 500 years of history of the Old Town area. We start with a coffee and then explore the tenement.

Each floor in the building is furnished as it would have been in a different era. The first floor is from 1632 when wealthy merchants lived and worked there, running a shop and a tavern. We see their apartment, kitchen and stockroom. The second floor demonstrates a draper’s shop from 1766, where wealthy members of Edinburgh society should have bought fashionable fabric, ribbons and accessories. Coming to such a shop was the only thing that young women could do without a chaperone, so it was often a place where they would gather and gossip (and buy a ribbon or two). The third floor represents a 1911 boarding house. The woman owner advertised in the Scotsman for “two or three respectable men” to share one of the large front rooms. This relatively comfortable but affordable multi-occupancy room would have attracted working class men in steady jobs.

We continue on through Lady Stair’s Close and past the Writers Museum, then past the National Galleries (where there is an Impressionist’s exhibition that Andrew and Doreen will be visiting next week). We get a good view of the Scott Monument and a spectacular view across the valley to the Royal Mile up on the hill. Next step is the Railway Station where I collect my ticket and see where I will need to go on Saturday.

Then we on to St Andrews Square and have a peek into the Royal Bank of Scotland with its magnificent domed ceilings. I have my photo taken with a very nice kilted gentleman who works at the bank. Just around the corner we peek into ‘The Dome’ – this also has magnificent dome ceilings and impressive decoration – it now operates as a bar and restaurant. Next stop is the National Portrait Gallery for a very nice late lunch.

Then we wander along George St (the Georgian part of town) and back along Rose Street (previously known for its large number of bars) before catching our bus back to Roslin.

That evening we head down to The Original Rosslyn Inn (est 1827) for a pub meal – I had prawns and chips followed by a crème brûlée. It was a lovely warm evening and all the tables in the courtyard are full, most tables inside are full – and we hear that in another room they have been hosting 100 Ikea staff all day as well as for dinner this evening. The staff are remarkably calm and friendly considering.