Edinburgh part 4. Royal Mile

The Royal Mile

The Royal Mile is historically the heart of Edinburgh, a street that connects Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Royal Mile (it is a mile long) is comprised of four different named

streets, Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High St., Canongate. It's a lively, busy thoroughfare - walk the full length with kids, and along the way you'll see all sorts of street performers - fire eaters, illusionists, people reciting poetry, singers, and always bagpipers.

St. Giles' Cathedral (High Kirk of Edinburgh)

 

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 A church has stood on this site since the 9th century. The church is in 13th century Gothic style – check out the fancy spire on the top before you go in. On the left side of the church is a statue of John Knox, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, who was the minister of St. Giles. On the right side is a bronze portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson, who was born and grew up in Edinburgh. In the Preston Aisle, colorful banners of the Knights of the Thistle hang from the ceiling. Adjacent is the 17th century memorial for James Graham, Marquess of Montrose, holding a large sword.

 

 Thistle Chapel

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 This is the chapel for the Order of the Thistle, a royal order of 16 Scottish knights appointed the Queen or King, and one of the highest honors in Scotland. The ornate chapel has Gothic wood carvings over sixteen seats, each one capped with a crest, stained glass windows, and carved medallions on the ceiling.

The Hub 

 The Hub, at the top of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, is a multi-functional building comprising a performance space and venues for functions, conferences and weddings. It is also the home of the Edinburgh International Festival and is the central ticketing office.

  It's gothic spire - the highest point in central Edinburgh - towers over the surrounding buildings below the castle. The building design was the result of a collaboration between Edinburgh architect J Gillespie Graham and the famous gothic revivalist Augustus Pugin. It was constructed between 1842 and 1845.
What is now "The Hub" was built for the Church of Scotland both as a parish church and as a purpose-built General Assembly Hall. It was originally known as the Victoria Hall. 

In 1956 it was named the Highland Tolbooth St John's Church and in 1979 the building was closed. The building was then virtually unused until 1999 when it was redeveloped to create offices and a performance space for the Edinburgh International Festival and renamed "The Hub".

Another attractions of the Royal Mile

Camera Obscura and Outlook Tower – The Camera Obscura, a tourist attraction since the 19th century, is a giant pinhole camera. From the Outlook Tower, there's an excellent panorama of the city. If you want to save on the ticket fee, kids can have fun with all the wavy mirrors outside. Mercat Cross  On the east side on the square around the cathedral is a Mercat (market) Cross, topped with a unicorn holding a blue and white flag (royal emblem of Scotland). The monument is decorated with different heraldic medallions, such as stag with a cross (the "holy rood"), red Scottish lion, blue and white flag with book (University of Edinburgh), royal arms of Scotland. Traditionally punishments, business and public announcements were made at the Mercat Cross. There are many legends connected to the happenings around Mercat Cross, people were publicly punished here, not only criminals but e.g women suspected to be witches.   Scottish Parliament building    A new modern building for the Scottish parliament, it's very different from the Victorian architecture typical of the Royal Mile, but very much a part of Edinburgh today. The exterior of the building is something kids can relate to - geometric granite chunks and windows covered with oak pieces like bunches of twigs.  On the Canongate Wall are Scottish rocks (kids can touch everything on the wall), quotations from famous writers "Bright is the ring of words" - Robert Louis Stevenson), and outline of the Old Town skyline.  Lawnmarket   It was and i the market-place. Currently with a lot of souvenir shops.  The Canongate The district of Edinburgh. The burgh gained its name from the route that the canons of Holyrood Abbey took to Edinburgh - the canons' way or the canons' gait, Dunbar's Close Garden   Next to Canongate Kirk, this is an enclosed garden with large grassy area, shade and benches. Bring your picnic lunch.   Museum of Childhood   The museum is filled with toys of earlier centuries – model trains and cars, dollhouses (including a miniature house made for Queen Elizabeth II on her 6th birthday), toy soldiers, board games, marionettes, extensive doll collection with wax dolls, French dolls, teddy bears having a picnic, toy ferris wheel, old-fashioned cars and airplanes. Toys are also set out for kids to play with. Queen Anne Doll  is the oldest toy in the collection, a rare wooden fashion doll dating from c1740.