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The City of Edinburgh is fairly unique among cities in that it is quite definitely divided in to two halves. There is Edinburgh New Town to the North of Princes Street Gardens and Edinburgh Old Town to the South. The names refer quite literally to the periods in which the respective parts of the city were constructed and the differences between the two are striking.

The Royal Mile may well be referred to as the backbone of Edinburgh's Old Town. It starts at Edinburgh Castle at the top of the hill and runs down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse - Her Majesty the Queen's official residence in Scotland - at the bottom. Although many think of it as being one street, it is actually comprised of four separate, adjoining streets: Castlehill, The Lawnmarket, The High Street and The Canaongate.

Castlehill begins quite literally at the edge of the forecourt of Edinburgh Castle. It begins its downhill journey past the castle shop and museum - The Royal Mile here at its narrowest point - between centuries old buildings now adapted for a variety of modern day purposes. We pass The Hub, now a restaurant and caf but once the magnificent Assembly Hall of The Church of Scotland, as well as a great many souvenir shops and fashion stores.

As Castlehill gives way to The Lawnmarket, we find the pub, Deacon Brodie's Tavern, sitting on the corner of the junction with The Mound. This pub is named after Deacon William Brodie, the respected citizen by day and house robber by night and upon whom it is claimed Robert Louis Stevenson based his famous novel, The Strange Tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

The High Street contains Edinburgh's High Court and Council Buildings, as well as St Giles' Cathedral, named after the patron saint of Edinburgh, and at which John Knox, the famous Protestant reformer, regularly preached. John Knox House, where he spent the last few years of his life, is located further down the street. We can also find on The High Street, Mary King's Close, the entrance to a series of underground tunnels and passageways which was actually at one time a working underground city, populated by the city's poorest and least fortunate people.

The High Street of course contains a great many more points of interest and during the Edinburgh Festival each summer, part of it is closed off for three weeks to allow street performers from all over the world to provide entertainment to passers-by in a huge number of ways.

The Canongate sees us starting to head out of the main tourist part of Edinburgh Old Town but there are still some nice pubs, museums and sites to see on this part of The Royal Mile and of course it is at the end of this street that we come to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Royal Mile is a thoroughfare which we could easily spend several days exploring and still not even begin to appreciate all it has to offer. If you have the chance, I very much hope that you will take this walk which we have just briefly touched upon and experience the fire, the heart and the passion - like I have experienced nowhere else on this planet - of Scotland's capital, Edinburgh.

Learn more about this author, Gordon Hamilton.
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