Scotland: Edinburgh New Town

In the age of empire, slavery and colonies, Edinburgh expanded beyond the Royal Mile, a New Town was built on reclaimed swamp land, along with museums, botanical gardens, and universities.

We had a rather enjoyable walk on part of the Water of Leith walkway to Dean's Village, a scenic village that milled grain for Edinburgh, dating back to Medieval times.

The New Town is laid out in a grid. We started at St Andrew Square and walked east to Charlotte Square with a detour to trendy Thistle Street. Then circled back through the West Princes Street Gardens, featuring the colorful and captivating Ross Fountain, and great views of Edinburgh Castle.











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The excellent Scottish National Gallery is also in New Town. It features many Scottish artists. Below are some of our favorites, starting with the embroidered monumental Arts and Crafts panels from 1895 by Phoebe Anna Traquair called "The Progress of a Soul". Amazing
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The Hunt (1926) by Robert Burns.


"Portrait of Anne Estelle Rice" (1908) by John Duncan Fergusson


"Edinburgh (from Salisbury Crags)" (1927) by William Crozier


"Lady Agnew of Lochnaw" byJohn Singer Sargent


"Distraining for Rent" (1815) by David Wilkie


The Galleries.








We visited more than several very good museums. First below is "Dolly the Sheep", the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, whose preserved body is a highlight of the National Museum of Scotland. Second is the amazing Lewis Chesspieces, found on the Isle of Lewis, and dating from 1200 AD. Third is the Millennium Clock Tower, which moves twice a day>.






In addition, maybe the best view of the castle end of the Royal Mile is from the National Museum. Not to mention the Grand Gallery (2nd below)








For us, the Water of Leith walk started with a visit to the Modern One and Modern Two National Galleries. Below are some of the highlights. First, "Vanessa Bell Painting" (1915) by Duncan Grant. Second, "Hat in Hand, Hat on Head" ( 1919) by Max Ernst, and third, "Raphaelesque Head Exploding" by Salvador Dali, and fourth, "Theatre" (2021) by Scottish Artist Caroline Walker.










There was an installation by Antony Gormley at the beginning of the Water of Leith walk. Farther downstream, there were many folks admiring the scenic Den Village.








The Himalayan Blue Poppies stole the show at the Royal Botanic Garden.

Scotland: Edinburgh Old Town (UPDATED)

Edinburgh was rather gray and had a lot of tourists. It is famous for its Royal Mile, between the Castle and the Palace. The street is filled with souvenir shops. The atmosphere = circus. Easily half of the people are on guided tours, while busking bagpipers make a ruckus.



To be fair, the Royal Mile is essentially a narrow ridge. When it came time for expansion, the buildings went upwards. The Royal Mile has some of the tallest Medieval buildings in Europe, clustered around alleys or courtyards known as "close." We went up in a few of those buildings, rather claustrophobic as expected.

The other thing I noticed was decommissioned churches which we'll encounter time and again. The number I was able to ascertain is 30%-40% of all churches. Fewer and fewer people attend church services. I guess all the religious genes went with the Puritans to the New World.

We had a walk to Arthurs Seat, an ancient volcano with views over the city. We went there first thing in the morning, by the time we finished, we noticed an astounding number of people were heading up the walk. I thought nearby Calton Hill had the better view.

At the castle end of the Royal Mile, workers were building grandstands for the famous Edinburgh International Festival, held every August.




We strolled down the busy Royal Mile, loosely following a Rick Steves walking tour, turning into several "closes" such as Lady Stair's Close (2nd below), and Gladstone's Land Tenement (3rd below, center building, 3 windows wide).








We walked by Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) security barriers near St. Giles' Cathedral. They provide protection from hostile vehicles, and help manage pedestrian traffic during festivals.A few days later we attended an evening Choral Concert at St Giles'. The concert was ho-hum, but we liked the building.








One section of the Royal Mile is especially busy with street performers and free tour touts.






The palace end of the Royal Mile features Holyrood Palace (official residence of His Majesty The King) and the Scottish Parliament Building (2nd and 3rd below, free admission, visitors welcome)






Above the Palace is Arthur's Seat, a must climb, from which one can see Edinburgh below, and the Firth of Forth Bridges way in the distance. First below is a view back to Edinburgh Castle, second, the Firth of Forth Bridges, and third a view to Parliament (center left), Holyrood Palace (center right) and Calton Hill (right).










And opposite, sits Calton Hill with a massive historic (1939) Art Deco government building, St Andrew's House (1st below), views to the Royal Mile (2nd) and Arthur's Seat (3rd), and an unfinished model of the Parthenon in Athens (5th)










View of Waverley Station and the Iconic North Bridge from Calton Hill (1st below). And a view to the Port of Leith (2nd below).




By chance, we were walking on the Royal Mile during "Pedal on Parliament", a bicycle safety awareness event.







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