Beginning from Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile spans right down to Palace Hollyrood. But instead of heading down to the Palace, I made a left turn at North Bridge and walked towards Calton Hill to catch a glimpse of Edinburgh from Nelson's Monument.

Background

The Royal Mile is probably the main area for festivities in Edinburgh, evident by the temporary stands going up on the Esplanade of the castle for the festival and The Hub cafe on Castle hill. The Royal Mile is joined up by three streets, the Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate. Although the Royal mile starts from the castle and ends at Hollyrood Palace, many of the main attractions and activity are centred around the Lawnmarket and High Street. Sights include Camera Obscura, the Whiskey Museum Gladstone's house, St Giles Cathedral, The Hub event venue and further down is Tron Kirk and John Knox House. I also had the luck of spotting a firebreather being filmed at St Giles Cathedral. However, there was nothing much to see in Canongate other than the People's museum, so I made a left turn and made my way towards Nelson's Monument on Calton Hill.

Although there are more than 100 steps to climb in the monument and a fee to pay, there is also the task of getting to the top of the hill. Once at the top, there is a remarkable view of Edinburgh, particularly Princes Street, the Scott monument and the castle from a distance. There is also a view of the Forth in the distance and Hollyrood Palace and Park just nearby. Near the tower are other monuments - the Scottish National Monument (the one that looks like an unfinished version of the Panthenon) that commemorates the dead in the Napoleonic wars; and the Douglas Stewart monument. Other aspects that I found people overlook are the various flora that flourish in the woodland around the hill paths, and thus the hill really is full of life, despite the memorials placed in memory of those lost at war.

Technical

Canon EOS 300V with 28-90mm and 75-300mm USM lenses. Most shots from the Nelson Monument uses the 300mm zoom.

Links

The Royal Mile
Flavour of Scotland
Edinburgh Festivals