Edinburgh

Introduction

I’ve been to Edinburgh several times before, most recently for a conference in 2014, but R has never been. So we decided to take a long weekend there.

Calton Hill

Our hotel was very near the base of Calton Hill, so after leaving our bags we went up for a first look at it (and a first experience of walking up hills, which is a key skill for the Edinburgh tourist).

View across town from the path up.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
Looking across to Salisbury Crags from the top.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′14″N 3°10′51″W

Evening

On the way to a restaurant, we went into town and across the bridge by the railway station.

Looking down from part of the higher-level street.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200
The railway station on our return.
1/2 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO800

Edinburgh Castle

On Saturday morning we visited Edinburgh Castle. We took the tram a stop further than necessary and walked back around Castle Rock.

Looking up the Rock at the castle walls.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′50″N 3°12′4″W
Purple pipe below the castle.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′50″N 3°12′2″W

The actual castle has a lot of buildings, mostly Victorian, hosting various museums. We followed a guided tour then looked into as many of the more interesting parts as we could.

Statue in the sunlight.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′53″N 3°11′58″W
Window (I think in an old cell block).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′53″N 3°12′1″W
Iron bars.
1/60 at f4, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′53″N 3°12′1″W
Arch.
1/30 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO800 55°56′55″N 3°12′0″W
Cannon aimed at tourists below. Cathedral to right, Calton Hill to left.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′54″N 3°11′56″W

Arthur’s Seat

Our afternoon plan was to climb Arthur’s Seat, a popular hill (or as R would have it, mountain) near the centre of Edinburgh. It’s easy to climb although the route is sometimes a little steep.

Gorse beside the path uphill; ruined St. Anthony’s Chapel in background.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′59″N 3°9′42″W
Looking back along the stepped path at the view out over the Firth.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′45″N 3°9′41″W
Hills.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′45″N 3°9′41″W

R waited a little short of the top while I climbed the last bit.

View over the city from the top. (With crow.)
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′38″N 3°9′43″W
Rocks on the way down.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′3″N 3°9′41″W
Small tree at ground level.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′1″N 3°9′51″W
Nice lamp-post on the way to our hotel.
1/250 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200

Museums

We spent Sunday morning at the National Museum of Scotland (there’s actually two museums joined into each other).

View of station again, with blue buses behind.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′7″N 3°11′18″W
Alley on the way to the museum.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′57″N 3°11′19″W
Sloping lane.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′56″N 3°11′19″W
Side of building.
1/125 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′51″N 3°11′19″W

There's a rooftop terrace you can visit.

Steps to the roof.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′48″N 3°11′24″W
View from roof through concrete frame.
1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′48″N 3°11′24″W
Another view of Salisbury Crags.
1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′48″N 3°11′24″W

Water of Leith

For the afternoon, we followed the path beside the Water of Leith from the city to Leith docks.

Water (not of Leith) running down the side of a building.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′1″N 3°12′32″W
Cute buildings painted yellow.
1/125 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′8″N 3°12′59″W
View from bridge over the Water of Leith.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′8″N 3°12′59″W
Another bridge (with railing).
1/320 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′10″N 3°12′45″W
Same bridge (without railing).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′10″N 3°12′45″W
St Bernard’s Well, by the river.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′20″N 3°12′41″W
Gateway taking riverside path under a bridge.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′22″N 3°12′38″W
Pleasantly bulbous bridge.
1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′29″N 3°12′31″W
Pipe bridge.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′44″N 3°12′11″W
Flood defence gate.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′55″N 3°11′55″W
Powderhall Waste Transfer Station.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′2″N 3°11′29″W
And one of the trains it loads waste onto.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′5″N 3°11′22″W
Tall brick sewer vent.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′7″N 3°11′24″W
Nice old building.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′19″N 3°11′14″W
Water of Leith, house, road cones.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′18″N 3°11′14″W
Multicoloured window sills and washing.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′18″N 3°11′15″W

Leaving the river, the path followed the route of a disused railway into Leith.

Road bridge over the footpath (1).
1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′21″N 3°11′14″W
Road bridge over the footpath (2).
1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′21″N 3°11′13″W

Leith itself has various buildings relating to use as a port.

Graffiti made positive?
1/60 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′24″N 3°11′2″W
Tall windows of an engineering firm on Timber Bush.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′37″N 3°10′7″W
Victoria Swing Bridge.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′43″N 3°10′9″W
Alexandra Dry Dock Hydraulic Station (which used to power the swing bridge).
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′44″N 3°10′9″W
View of dock and ships.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′44″N 3°10′8″W
Imperial Dock grain elevator.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′44″N 3°10′2″W
Another view of the dock.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°58′44″N 3°10′2″W

Calton Hill

On Monday morning, we walked up Calton Hill again.

View toward where we stayed. Island in background is Inchkeith.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′22″N 3°10′57″W
One of the silly buildings on Calton Hill.
1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′18″N 3°10′56″W
Inchkeith again, through the building.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′17″N 3°10′55″W
Observatory buildings.
1/1000 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′18″N 3°10′58″W
Observatory gate (nice lettering).
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′17″N 3°11′0″W
Our reflection, with railings.
1/125 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′16″N 3°11′3″W
Dugald Stewart was a philospher and mathematician.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′16″N 3°11′3″W
Rock House, below the hill.
1/125 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′15″N 3°11′5″W

Town and cathedral

We walked back to the end of the Royal Mile and visited the cathedral before heading to the station and our train home.

Steps.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′2″N 3°11′28″W
Cathedral.
1/500 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′59″N 3°11′25″W
Entryway.
1/125 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′58″N 3°11′29″W
Cathedral roof (1).
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Cathedral sunlight.
1/60 at f5.6, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′58″N 3°11′28″W
Cathedral roof (2).
1/15 at f2.8, 23mm, ISO200 55°56′58″N 3°11′28″W
Tat shop near castle. (The state of their UK flag may be a metaphor?)
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Roofs near castle.
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Cathedral window and banner.
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Alleyway.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′0″N 3°11′17″W
Scotsman steps.
1/125 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′4″N 3°11′18″W
At bottom of steps by station entrance.
1/250 at f8, 23mm, ISO200 55°57′4″N 3°11′18″W

We then got a train which was supposed to take us home but gave up at Carlisle along with the rest of the railway line. But we did eventually make it back, a couple of hours late.

All images © Samuel Marshall. All rights reserved.