Mary King's Close

Ian Rankin fans will remember that in the novel Mortal Causes a body is found in Mary King's Close and John Rebus has to go down under the city to investigate the murder.

Mary Kings Close is in a section of the city, built over and long forgotten and under the City Chambers.

Ian Rankin said he had gone on a tour through these long forgotten narrow passageways and houses and was struck with the idea of a body being found there. It is after all, a pretty creepy place.

In the 1600's the this area was full of narrow streets running down the steep side of the hill from Edinburgh's main street, the Royal Mile. It was a maze of tenements some seven stories high. People lived in very close quarters along with their livestock. There was no sewage system, people lived crammed into small rooms used a bucket which was dumped into the street and everything ran down hill to a putrid lake at the bottom where, from time to time, they drowned witches.

In 1645 the plague hit Edinburgh, probably brought from Europe by rats on ships docking in Leith. The plague spread through these crowded quarters like a wild fire. In 18 months it had killed a substantial part of Scotland's population.

Mary King's Close is now a tourist attraction. Interesting and kind of fun, in a macabre sort of way even if the guides probably play a bit loose and free with historical fact

A bus to where?

I thought the Hunter's Tryst bus might prove interesting but unfortunately, we seem to have missed the bus.

Sandy Bell's Pub

Coming back to our apartment last night we stopped in to Sandy Bell's Pub on our corner for one last drink. I am always surprised at how small some of these pubs are. This one is long and narrow with not much more that seven feet between the bar and the wall. It was the kind of bar where the regulars rolled their own and went outside for a puff.

As the evening went on,more and more people came in and then, in the corner, at a table reserved for musicians a fiddle player, a guy on guitar and another on harmonica started to play. As the evening wore on they were joined by a mandolin player, a guy on spoons and a woman with an amazing voice who sung the occasional ballad. They played all night with hardly a break, customers harmonizing along with the old traditional Scottish tunes.

t was like a slice from the past. Quite an experience. Needless to say it turned into more than a nightcap and I did drink too many McEwan's and whiskeys but, it was great.

Greyfriars

We are back in in our new favorite city. We are staying in a lovely, comfortable apartment in an older building overlooking the Greyfriars graveyard, famous for many things, including serving as a jail for Protestants (aka Covanentors) back in the pre-Reformation days. They jailed them before hanging them in the Edinburgh market square, or sending the lucky (?) ones off to Australia. Many, many, hundreds died... Who knew?

This graveyard is even more famous for being the place where the master of that cute little dog, Greyfriar's Bobby, is buried. The dog is alleged to have sat by his master's grave every day for 16 years... Or maybe I exaggerate. Perhaps it was only 12. Anyway, I can't imagine the dog really lived that long or believed that the scent of decay really represented his beloved master...

But Disney made a movie about it, so it must be true. (What kind of boring movie would that be? Dog sits beside/above buried coffin, year after year after year after...)

The view from our window is of tombs and monuments to the dead. There is also a row of mausoleums right under our window, the nearest one topped with statues of women, one on each corner. The closest one is missing her head, and the next one around appears to be holding a couple of snakes. (My knowledge of saints is lacking... Is she meant to be a holy figure? A goddess? A muse? )

Leaving Keswick in the Rain

Our last morning in Keswick the skies opened up and it poured. We trudged down to the bus station and headed into Penrith early. We figured why wait in our room when we can spread out in the train station.

We had a quick trip on the Transpennine Express, a little under two hours, up to Edinburgh via Carlisle and Lockerbie.

And, what great timing, when we arrived here in Edinburgh the sun came out again.

Where Rebus Lives

Ok, OK I am beginning to sound a bit obsessive about those Ian Rankin novels. But my sense is that real fans would like to see what Arden Street looks like.

Rankin was living in a basement flat on Arden Street when he came up with the idea for a police novel with Rebus as the cop. He then figured why not have Rebus live there.

Arden Street was a bit more upscale than we expected. I think Rebus made a good investment when he bought the flat.

Authur's Seat Coffins

In The Falls Ian Rankin weaves the story about the Author's Seat Coffins into DI Rebus' case. A coffin is found near a missing young woman's home and Rebus digs around the idea that there might be some kind of connection between the missing girl and the coffins.

The historical record claims that in 1836 five young boys, hunting for rabbits on Arthur's seat found 17 miniature coffins hidden inside a cave. They were arranged under slates on three tiers, two tiers of eight and one solitary coffin on the top. Each coffin, only four inches in length contained a little wooden figure, expertly carved with painted black boots and custom made clothes. The ones on the bottom tier were more deteriorated suggesting that they had been placed there at different times, the ones on top being the most recent.

The reason the coffins were placed there and who might have been responsible has never been discovered and remains a mystery. We had a bit of a challenge finding them in the museum but we tracked them down. Eight of the coffins remain today and they are housed in the National Museum of Scotland.

The Museum is a stone's throw from Edinburgh City Apartments, Greyfriars flat.

Blantyre Crescent

When Shelley was a babe in arms she lived here, on Blantyre Terrace, with her parents and sister while her dad spent a year at the University of Edinburgh.

The house seems to have been gentrified a bit since then. My sense is that very few students live here these days.

The Food is Great

When it comes to restaurant food, the UK gets a bad rap. My sense is that people don’t think about Edinburgh when they think about food, perhaps they should. Many Canadian restaurant owners could learn a thing or two from Edinburgh chefs.

Of course there is what you would expect when it comes to pub food, a bit too heavy for many but, with a good pint to wash it down, who is complaining. There is much more than that however. Edinburgh has every thing from Oink which offers Scottish Hog Roast Rolls to Indian, Italian, Middle Eastern to Scottish contemporary. With all the up and down walking, you can build a mighty appetite in this town

Last night Shelley had a great penne with cherry tomatoes, spinach, pine nuts and chevre. She insisted that I taste it so I could make it for her when we get home. Another evening I had pan seared scallops with chorizo and wild mushroom risotto. They were great.

Arthur's Seat

Although the castle does predominate the city landscape you are always aware of the Salisbury Craigs and Arthur's seat. They are the remains 350 million year old volcano. The castle site on an old vent of that same geological feature..

Yesterday we walked up Radical Road which starts up the side of the craigs beginning near the Scottish Parliament buildings. It was built up the side of the Salisbury Craigs by unemployed weavers as a job creation project 1n the 1820's.

It was a tough climb particularly at the start but what a view. We felt pretty good at our ability to walk up the steep trail until we were passed by a couple of locals who were running up.



It is all part of Holyrood Park established in the 1100's as a royal hunting ground.

What a Great City

We walked quite a bit at home before we left, trying to make sure we could handle anything this trip threw at us. We did it primarily because of Hadrian's Wall which starts in a couple of days. I don't think we ever could have imagined how much we'd walk here in Edinburgh.

This town is really made for walking and where we are staying, a few feet off the Royal Mile, is ideal. Everything it seems is within a reasonable stroll. Even so I feel like we have barely scratched the surface. There is so much here to see and do.

The town in divided into old and new, new meaning built between the end of the eighteenth century and the early 19th century. The old town, built along a ridge of volcanic rock along each side of the Royal Mile which stretches from the castle to Holyrood Palace, the Queen's residence here. (We can't visit it however since Prince Charles we are told is in residence although there is certainly no sign of him in the shops) The new town is laid out to the North of the old one, kind of, down the hill and across the railway tracks. It is all very geometric and Georgian and a lovely contrast to the winding cobblestone, different levels, steep stairs and narrow closes the old town offers..

The castle can be seen from almost everywhere. Even in a modern city it predominates, in the early years it must have been such an omnipresent reminder of the undercurrents of unrest which so often swirled around Scotland.

The Oxford Bar

I have been on the Rebus trail so in seemed fitting that we drop in at the Oxford Bar around 7:oo this evening.

It is smaller than I ever imagined. Fifteen or twenty people would absolutely fill the front room of the bar up. The back room is a bit bigger but there isn't much to it.

The place has a clubby feel to it. It is very much a local pub and those having a beer were local clientele. Everyone was quite nice though and they didn't seem to mind a stray Canadian dropping in for a pint.

No sign of Ian Rankin though.

The Elephant House Cafe

We had lunch today and the Elephant House Cafe. It is a lovely space with very high ceilings and huge south facing windows. It is full of University of Edinburgh students working away on projects. They seem very tolerant and don't seem to hurry anyone along.

The claim is the J. R. Rowling worked on her first drafts of her Harry Potter series in that same sun lit room with her daughter asleep in the chair beside her.

It is a great spot to chill out for a while and it has a great view of the castle. It is on the George IV Bridge which is quite something onto it's self. The street runs north/south and the east/west streets and is about five stories above the east/west streets. So what seems to be the ground floor in the photos is actually the fifth floor.

I think you have to see it to understand it.

The Witches Memorial

It took us quite some time to find the Witches Memorial. Every time we walked up or down the Royal Mile we looked for it to no avail. This afternoon Shelley spotted it on the side of a building up near the castle.

It was a fountain originally but now there are flowers planted in it. The memorial recognizes the fact that there were over 300 witches burned in Edinburgh. The last one in 1722.

If someone accused you of being a witch it was a bit of a no win situation. The accused were often bound with their thumbs tied to their ankles and the accused would be dunked in a pond. If you died the perpetrators were comforted by the fact that you were innocent and would go to heaven. If not, you were obviously a witch, so they burned you at the stake.

Practicing this this type of tough justice was finally abolished in 1736.

St Leonards

Shelley has been very tolerant with my need to find locations from Ian Rankin's Rebus novels. We were walking down from Arthur's Seat and just found ourselves just down the street from St. Leonard’s Police Headquarters.. Anyone who has read the Rebus novels knows the Inspector worked out of St. Leonard’s. At least for most of the books he did.

I had Shelley take my picture right outside the station's main door. I thought it might be fun to go in and ask for Inspector Rebus but, of course, we all know he is retired and I don't remember the Edinburgh police having that kind of sense of humour so we just moved on before they arrested us for loitering.

Scottish Parliament Tour

Shelley and I had a rare treat late Wednesday afternoon when Tricia Marwick a Member of the Scottish Parliament gave us a tour of the five amazing buildings which make up the Scottish Parliament. I met Tricia when she spoke to the Fair Vote Canada AGM about electoral reform in Scotland. She invited me to get in contact with her when we came to Edinburgh and we met late afternoon. She gave us a tour most of the public never get the opportunity to see.

The controversial structure was designed by Catalan architect Enric Miralles and officially opened in 2004, three years late and millions of pounds over budget. Still the subject of some controversy it is a stunningly magnificent, if eccentric structure. Although from the outside it consists of five separate buildings, one dating back to the 17th century, on the inside the transitions from one to the other are seamless.

The space is quite wonderful and we had a great tour guide in Tricia who knows the building inside out, quirks and all. We were quite taken with it.

This isn't really Shelley's First Visit

Shelley usually says this is her first visit to Edinburgh but, she actually lived here as a babe in arms.

Her father, Neil Banks, was a United Church minister and he studied at the University of Edinburgh, School of Divinity, New College and the family lived here for a year or so, The "New College" by the way was built in 1846.

We went in and talked to the warder and explained the reason for our visit. He let us in so we could wander around and take a good look at the facility.

Edinburgh is a Walking Around Kind of Town

Edinburgh is a town made for walking. Most things you might want to see are within a reasonable walking distance. That would make it easy if Edinburgh was flat. Believe me, it isn’t

We started our day with a walk along Cowgate then walked up the hill to the Royal Mile and along to Deacon Brodie’s Close where we had some good strong coffee and some toast. The restaurant is located in what they claim was where William Brodie, the deacon’s son lived, William was a respected councilor and cabinet maker who often plied his craft in peoples homes. The only problem was that he duplicated the keys of the houses he was working on and went back in the evening and helped himself to their belongings. He basically was a reno-man by day, burglar by night. He was caught and hung in 1788, ironically on a scaffold of his own design.

They claim that the image of Brodie and his two personas gave Robert Lewis Stevenson nightmares as a child and subsequently served as the inspiration for his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The Castle

We spent the rest of the morning walking around Edinburgh Castle. It is a pretty amazing place built right into the hill which is really a volcanic plug somehow never scraped away by the glaciers. It is so steeped in history that I hardly would know where to start. The evidence of first structure built here goes back to the 11th century. It is an predominant, imposing presence which can be seen all over the city. Unfortunately the entrance way is marred by huge bleachers set up so the tourists can watch the military tattoo. Not being a big fan of that kind of military pageantry, from my perspective it only serves to block the view of the castle from those walking up the street to visit.

The picture is of a cannon nicknamed Mons Meg. like many things here the reason for the name is obscured by time. It is not your "run of the mill" cannon however. It was built in 1445 and weighs almost 8 tons. It was designed to fire stone cannon balls weighing 400 lb two miles or more. No mean feat. It could only be fired half a dozen times a day or so because of the tremendous heat generated by the explosion.

It was last fired in 1681 on a ceremonial occasion. The barrel exploded apparently. No word of the fate of soldiers who were firing the gun at the time.

The castle still serves a military purpose and makes for a fascinating visit on a great many fronts. If you visit don't miss the dog cemetery, the prisoner of war exhibit or the Scottish Crown Jewels.

Fleshmarket Close

One of the things I look forward to in Edinburgh is digging up locations and situations which turn up in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus novels.

Fans will remember his 2004 novel Fleshmarket Close in which two skeletons, one of a woman and another of an infant which turn up under a cellar floor during a restaurant renovation.

Well, this is Fleshmarket Close.

One hates to think of how they came up for the name for this narrow passageway.