Relax
and enjoy Scotland's splendour. The
Scottish Highlands and Islands are Europe's last great wilderness
so why not escape with Rabbie's personalised small group tours.
Get off the beaten track and discover the secrets of Scotland.
Rabbie's
promises to get you in touch with the people, places, history
and legends of Scotland and deliver you a unique and memorable
experience to last you a lifetime.
The
Royal Mile
Edinburgh's
Royal Mile stretches from Edinburgh Castle to the West and Holyrood
Palace to the East.
The Royal Mile was used as the definition of a Scottish Mile.
A Scottish Mile is approximately 200 metres longer than an imperial
mile, which allows the Royal Mile so much more space to accommodate
all of its treasures.
Below we present you with a list of Royal Mile attractions that
await visitors to our beloved Edinburgh. Should you wish to
stay close to this Royal Mile of historic interest you can't
do better than stay in one of our Castle Apartments which are
all either on the Royal Mile or within 250 metres of the Royal
Mile.
City Chambers
The City Chambers look out impressively on one side across the
city and the Prince's street gardens. The front entrance is on
the Royal Mile. The chambers are built around a central piazza
with a statue of Alexander the Great training his horse, Bucephalus,
in the centre. Originally they were built for the use of the merchants
of the city, however these business men preferred to use public
houses and the Royal Mile, itself for doing business, so the chambers
were bought by the Council in 1811.
The building was designed by John Adams who came from a family
of architects and was built on the site of the Provost's mansion,
where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night. Its construction
also covered various closes or small streets which led from the
steep sided Royal Mile down to Market Street below. Mary King's
Close was one such Close which was recently opened to the public
in 2003 and is a wonderfully kept example of 17th Century Edinburgh.
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The Tron Kirk
Currently the Tron Kirk is used as a visitor centre on
the Royal Mile. It sits on the junction between the North Bridge
and the Royal Mile and was built in 1636. The building was constructed
just along the road from original high Kirk, now called St Giles
Cathedral. In the 17th century Charles I attempted to create an
Episcopal structure within the Scottish Church, and one of his
methods was to make the High Kirk the seat of the Bishop of Edinburgh.
The Tron was built as an act of defiance by the congregation.
This church got its name from a set of weighing scales which were
kept here until the 18th century. The Church spire was burnt down
in 1829, though the main structure of the church was left unharmed.
Until 1952 it was a working church, but today it houses a visitor
centre and an exhibition about Marlin's Wynd. The cobblestones
and foundations of this Wynd and earlier Roman remains were found
when the floor of the church was excavated. The buildings would
have been divided into apartments to rent, and records show that
lawyer, a surgeon, shoemaker and writer all lived at this address
in 1653. The ground floor would have extended out into the street
providing places for merchants to sell their wares on the Royal
Mile.
The Tron was the traditional meeting place for Edinburgh citizens
to greet the New Year, in the days when the Hogmanay celebrations
did not attract people from around the world. Celebrations are
centred around Prince's Street today, and fireworks are set off
from the castle walls
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John Knox's House
This fascinating house juts out into the Royal Mile, and is a
wonderful example of 15th century architecture. It was built by
John Moss who was a goldsmith to Mary Queen of Scots. It is currently
owned by the Church of Scotland and houses an exhibition devoted
to John Knox, the religious reformer.
It is not certain that John Knox ever came to live in this house,
but he is reputed to have come here to die. The John Knox House
Museum is worth a visit, as is the Netherbow Centre which is next
door on the Royal Mile.
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Dunbar's Close
This delightful little close just off of the Royal Mile has a
garden which was donated by the city of Edinburgh Mushroom trust
in 1978 and is laid out in the style of the 17th century.
The close has often had literary connections and is named after
David Dunbar, an Edinburgh writer, who lived in the close for
a time. Robert Burns is also known to have visited the close off
of the Royal Mile in 1786.
Our Castle Apartments provide the perfect base for exploring Dunbar's
Close and the many other individual closes off of the Royal Mile.
Edinburgh was not always the clean and beautiful city you see
today. In previous centuries it was dank, filthy and cramped with
many of the city's poorer residents packed into small rooms along
the various closes which branch off of the Royal Mile. Much of
the city's filth drained into the Nor' Loch which used to fill
the area where the Prince's Street Gardens and Waverly station
are today. The stinking loch helped give Edinbugh the name ‘Auld
Reekie’ and produced poisonous fumes which drifted up the
small closes causing hallucinations and black outs. As a result
the city was city became known as ‘auld reekie’ until
1759 when the Loch was drained by the Victorians.
Such close living quarters provided the perfect breeding ground
for diseases like the plague, and Edinburgh's closes are said
to be haunted by countless ghosts. It is easy to find ghost tours
on the Royal Mile which will give you the full story of Edinburgh's
haunted past.
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Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyrood has played a long and important role in
the history of Edinburgh. It sits at the bottom of the Royal Mile
with the impressive Salisbury Crags as a backdrop. Founded as
an Augustinian monastery in the 12th Century, it was rebuilt by
James V of Scotland and later by Charles X to be the impressive
baroque building it is today. Currently the Palace is the Queens
residence when she is in Edinburgh, but much of the grounds are
still open to visitors to wander through. You can swee hen the
Queen is in residence as a flag flies from the battlements. Much
of the Royal art collection can be viewed at Holyrood and the
neighbouring Queens Gallery. Within the grounds stands Queen Mary's
Bath House where she was said to bathe in white wine.
Much of the drama of Mary Queen of Scots life was played out at
Holyrood Palace. She was married twice in the neighbouring Holyrood
Abbey, and witnessed the brutal murder of her Secretary, David
Rizzo, in 1566 by her jealous second Husband. For a time the Palace
became the Head Quarters for Bonnie Prince Charlie's 1745 uprising
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The Museum of Childhood
This museum can be found next to Hyndfords Close at the Canongate
end of the Royal Mile. It occupies two floors of an 18th century
building and was the first museum of its kind when it opened in
1955. Admission is free and it is one of the noisier attractions
you will visit in Edinburgh. It is obviously a big hit with children,
but adults also love finding toys that they used to play with
in the exhibitions featuring toys from all over the world.
The museum not only concentrates on toys but has slot machines,
a 1930's classroom, puppets, books, teddy bears and tricycles.
Different exhibitions show how children in Edinburgh were educated,
the street games they used to play, while the museum also has
a programme of temporary exhibitions and events.
The Museum on the Royal Mile, was founded in 1995 by Patrick Murray,
a town councillor and contains many items from his personal collection.
After the museum opened it received gifts for its exhibitions
from around the world.
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Heart of Midlothian
Along the Royal Mile St Giles Cathedral is a destination for most
visitors to Edinburgh and for football fans it is a must on the
agenda. Edinburgh's two football teams, Hearts and Hibs, have
a long history of rivalry and Heart's history is tied up with
St Giles Cathedral. Outside the cathedral in Parliament Square
is a heart shaped design in the cobbles. It is claimed that Hearts
got its name because the team originally used this Square as their
pitch. Some say that the players had to give up their pitch because
the Cathedral was scared that their precious stained glass windows
would be damaged. Parliament House was built in the Square in
1641 and this building was in use until the union with England
in 1707. During the festival in August the square provides a perfect
area for street performers to gather an audience.
We have various central apartments along the Royal Mile which
provide the perfect base from which to explore Edinburgh's central
attractions.
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Mary King's Close
This Close on the Royal Mile, was only recently reopened to the
public. It is a fascinating place to find out what Edinburgh's
streets used to be like and how it gained the nick name ‘Auld
Reekie’. Today the main shopping street in Edinburgh is
Prince's street, but originally Mary King’s Close was the
place to shop. It was named after Mary King, a stall holder who
and sold fine lace and ribbons.
The close on the Royal Mile, was not a nice clean shopping thoroughfare,
but was instead filled with human waste, poured onto the street
from the houses above. A holding pen for cattle destined for the
slaughterhouse also existed on the close for some time. Many of
the city's poorer residents were packed into small rooms above
the close and such close living quarters provided the perfect
breeding ground for diseases like the plague. Some say that the
ghosts of the victims still walk the close, and you can hear all
about them in the newly opened Mary King's Close guided tour.
The top two stories of the close were demolished when the City
Chambers were built on top. It was believed that plague victims
were shut up in their houses alive and buried when the construction
began, in order to stop the flood of black rats which had infested
the city. As building work only began 100 years after the plague
had left Edinburgh this legend cannot possibly be true. Plague
victims were used to construct some of the ceilings in the close
however. Their bodies were burnt down to ash and then mixed with
horse hair.
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The Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The festival had over 1,800 shows last year, it attracts
performers and audiences from across the world and is famous for
the weird, wacky and original. The Fringe Society has a shop at
180 the Highstreet on the Royal Mile, which is open all year round
selling merchandise, but the main festival occurs throughout the
month of August. During the festival the upper High Street section
of the Royal Mile becomes pedestrianised and is taken over by
performers advertising their shows in the most outlandish and
enterprising ways.
Whether you like comedy, drama, ground breaking new theatre, music,
or musicals there is award winning theatre to suit everyone. The
Fringe Festival began in 1947 when 8 groups of performers turned
up to the official Edinburgh Festival uninvited. The following
year the "Fringe Festival" was born and grew from strength
to strength, creating an official programme in 1954 and a box
office on the Royal Mile in 1955. In the mid 1950's a corporate
identity was attached to the Fringe Festival and it has grown
every year since then.
Scotland
Highlands tours
Relax
and enjoy Scotland's splendour. The
Scottish Highlands and Islands are Europe's last great wilderness
so why not escape with Rabbie's personalised small group tours.
Get off the beaten track and discover the secrets of Scotland.
Rabbie's
promises to get you in touch with the people, places, history
and legends of Scotland and deliver you a unique and memorable
experience to last you a lifetime.
Rent
a self catering in Edinburgh
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Apartments in Edimburgh
