Last nights walking tour was a fun way to spend a couple of hours - My group were taken around some of the old town's dark alleys, into some vaults under the streets and for an after dark walk in a churchyard.
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| Inside the Blair Street vaults where ghostly things happen |
Edinburgh is of course well known for the escapades of the body snatchers or "Resurrection Men" of which the most famous are Burke & Hare. In the 19th century Edinburgh was a leading centre for medicine and therefore medical learning. This inturn meant that there was a demand for bodies for anatomical study. Scottish law said that only the bodies of prisoners, suicides, foundlings or orphans could be used for medical research so as demand grew there was a shortage. Seeing an opportunity some people started digging up newly buried corpses. To thwart the Resurrection Men people started investing in mortsafes for graves instead of gravestones which then inturn lead Burke & Hare to start killing people themselves.
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| Mortsafes in Greyfriars Kirkyard |
Moving on to other things, Edinburgh is a city built on a series of hills created by an excinct volcano. The main cone is Arthur's Seat, the castle sits on another and another is Calton Hill. I personally prefer Calton Hill to Arthur's Seat as I think the views are better and its much less windy. Here are some views from Calton Hill this morning
The city itself is divided into the "Old Town" which is the Royal Mile/Castle area - full of fairly narrow steep streets, alleyways and tall somewhat overpowering buildings - and the "New Town" a Georgian creation of wide streets, graceful buildings and big squares on the land between the old town and the Firth of Forth. One of the houses in Charlotte Square - now known as The Georgian House is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and open to the public.
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