Old Town is by far the most popular part of Edinburgh, and it’s not hard to see why.
In this video, we will focus on the Royal Mile, walking from Edinburgh Castle at the
top to Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom. In the next video, we’ll venture off to
a few other parts of Old Town.
Because Old Town is so popular, we’re only going to point out the main tourist attractions
that many of you will have already heard of. If you’d like to know more about them, you
can check out our accompanying blog post in the description below. In this video, we’re
going to focus a bit more on some of the lesser known spots.
Before we start, we do want to point out that some of the places that we show in this video
may be temporarily closed due to the strange times that we’re currently living in, so when
the time is right to travel again, be sure to double-check that where you’re planning
to visit is indeed open. Let’s go!
So of course, we have the crown jewel here at the top of the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle!
Close by to the castle is The Scotch Whisky Experience and Camera Obscura & World of Illusions.
When you’re walking along the Royal Mile, it can seem as if it’s just one big long
street, but you’d be surprised at how much is tucked away behind the street! Let’s go in here.
This is Ramsay Garden, an apartment block situated behind the Royal Mile. They stand
out because of the red ashlar and white harled exterior, which in plain terms means the red
stone and white walls. It’s a nice little wander around.
There are a lot of what are called closes and wynds off of the Royal Mile, and they’re
basically alleyways. Because of the way the Royal Mile is situated, the closes typically slope
very steeply off of the main street. Let’s check out a few of the closes.
Behind Lady Stair’s Close, you’ll find The Writers’ Museum. It showcases the lives
of three famous Scottish writers: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
Now, this is an Instagrammer’s favourite: Advocate’s Close. You get some great views
of Scott Monument and Princes Street in New Town.
And here in this close, you can really see the steepness that I mentioned
earlier.
A little bit further down the Royal Mile is St Giles’ Cathedral. Now, you can see these
brass cobbles outside of the cathedral, and here is the Heart of Midlothian mosaic. They’re
both linked because the brass cobbles and the mosaic mark where The Old Tolbooth prison
used to stand. You might see people spitting on the heart for good luck, but it was originally
done as a sign of disgust at prisoners.
And this here is the Mercat Cross, which is where important announcements used to be made. And if you look
to the very top, there is a unicorn, which is Scotland’s national
animal.
And across from St Giles’ Cathedral is The Real Mary King’s Close, which we can highly
recommend.
Now, we’re coming to The World’s End, which is a pub that got its name from where
Edinburgh's residents used to feel their world ended. This is because Edinburgh used to have
city walls and outside this pub were the gates to the city. There are also brass cobbles
here that mark where the Netherbow Port gate used to stand.
Further down the Royal Mile, we just wanted to point out Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, which
is Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, having been established in 1842.
If you’re looking for some peace and quiet amongst what would normally be the hustle
and bustle of the Royal Mile, look no further than behind Dunbar’s Close, which holds
a secret garden!
At the end of the Royal Mile is the Scottish Parliament Building, which is home to the
Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. There’s something very interesting about Scottish
Parliament’s address. The Edinburgh postcode always starts with EH with a number, and most
buildings in Old Town start with EH1. The Scottish Parliament is an interesting exception
as it uses the postcode EH99.
And last but not least is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch
in Scotland.
There is of course so much more to see along the Royal Mile but we hope this gave you a
wee glimpse into some interesting spots to visit! Again, if you’d like more detail,
you can find our accompanying blog post in the description below.
We hope you enjoyed this video! Please give it a like, subscribe to our channel, and comment
below on what your favourite place on the Royal Mile is! We’ll see you in the next
video!