Features
Stroll Down the Royal Mile
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Stroll Down the Royal Mile
Edinburgh's Royal Mile is the epitome of Old Edinburgh. Made up of four linked streets - Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street
and Canongate - it descends the sloping back of a long, steep-sided ridge from Edinburgh Castle at the west end to the Palace
of Holyroodhouse at the east end. On either side of the Royal Mile are tall buildings, riddled with courtyards and passageways
known as “closes” and separated by narrow streets known as “wynds”, all of it a delight to explore. All the way down the Royal
Mile historic buildings punctuate the general streetscape, and there are numerous stores, cafés, restaurants and pubs.
You can begin a relaxed descent of the Royal Mile from the entrance to the Castle Esplanade, starting with Castlehill. Attractions
beckon from either side. On the left is the Edinburgh Old Town Weaving Company, with its masses of tartan cloth and working
mill. On the right is the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre. Next on the left and well worth a visit is the fascinating Camera
Obscura and World of Illusions, where moving images of the surrounding area are projected onto a white viewing table. The
street is narrow here but opens up just past the powerful Highland Tolbooth, a handsome Gothic building with the tallest spire
in Edinburgh. It is now The Hub, Edinburgh's Festival Centre, home of the Edinburgh International Festival and a focus of
the city's cultural life. At this point, the Royal Mile becomes the much wider Lawnmarket, once the city's linen market.
Keep to the left side of the street, where steps rise from street level to the pavement. There are several stores here selling
woolen and tartan goods. Soon you come to Gladstone's Land, a 17th-century merchant's house now restored by the National Trust
for Scotland. The house's Painted Chamber is stunning. Just a bit farther is the entrance to Lady Stair's Close. A narrow
alleyway leads to an open square and to Lady Stair's House, now The Writers' Museum, a quiet little corner housing memorabilia
associated with Scotland's finest writers, including Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. The spiral
stairs have an uneven step halfway up, a common trick in medieval houses aimed at tripping an intruder in the dark.
The Lawnmarket reaches a junction with Bank Street and the street called George IV Bridge, where the Royal Mile becomes High
Street. Here you will find a remarkable concentration of historic buildings. On the east corner with Bank Street is the High
Court, with a bronze statue of Scottish philosopher David Hume in front of it. Next to the High Court is Edinburgh City Chambers,
with an arcaded entrance screen. Opposite is St. Giles' Cathedral. Behind St. Giles is Parliament Square and the old Parliament
House, seat of the Scottish Parliament until the union with England in 1707.
High Street then descends gently to a junction with North and South Bridge Street. Stay on the north side of High Street,
past the entrances to various alleys, and look for Chalmer's Court. Go through the entrance and down the steps to the preserved
apse of the 15th-century Trinity College Church, home to the Brass Rubbing Centre.
On the other side of High Street opposite Chalmer's Court is the entertaining Museum of Childhood. Farther down High Street,
just before the junction with Jeffrey Street and St. Mary's Street, is the John Knox House, a celebration of the 16th-century
religious reformer who brought the Protestant Reformation to Scotland with more than a whiff of fire and brimstone. Beyond
Jeffrey Street the Royal Mile becomes Canongate and narrows once more. Halfway down Canongate is the old Tolbooth, with its
wonderful clock and conical-roofed towers. Canongate Tolbooth was once a courtroom and jail and is now The People's Story,
an exhibition of Edinburgh life. Just opposite is The Museum of Edinburgh, a beautifully restored late 16th-century building
containing an excellent collection of Edinburgh artifacts.
Diagonally opposite the Museum of Edinburgh is the 17th-century Canongate Kirk and Kirkyard, which has a wonderfully bright
interior. The church has close royal connections; the royal family worship here when they are in residence at nearby Holyroodhouse,
and the royal coat of arms can be seen on one of the church benches, or pews. A short distance past the church the Royal Mile
passes the new Scottish Parliament building to the right, and continues as Abbey Street to end its progress through Scottish
history at the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. For the walking route, see the city map on pages 98-99.
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