Streets of Edinburgh Volume I

The Royal Mile is the principal street running through the Old Town of Edinburgh, it is the Old Town's spine. It developed from two directions along a narrow ridge: eastward down the ridge from a hill, the castle rock, its castle once a royal residence; westward, up from an Abbey near which a royal palace was built. Hence the nickname, Royal Mile, the street being about a mile in length. The Royal Mile is actually five streets: Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate and Abbey Strand. It was initially constituted as two separate burghs, a fortified gate between, Edinburgh to the west up to the Castle and the Canongate burgh to the east down to the Abbey. The street is on a narrow ridge that slopes down to the east from a volcanic crag, the ridge forming the tail. The crag and tail were the product of forces of nature, volcanic eruptions leaving a hill of hard rock. Later glacial ice swept across the land, blocked by the hard volcanic rock, carving out valleys on either side, leaving the ridge with valleys to its north and south. On the hill a fort and later a castle were built. Seeking security, early residents settled on the upper western section of the ridge, near the castle. The urge for security dominated the area till the mid-18th century, the residents building defenses for protection. But this led to them being hemmed in crowded into a confined area.This volume of narrative verse tells the story of the five sections of the Royal Mile and the development of access bridges and roads so that the inhabitants could break free. These access routes began with the construction of the North Bridge across the valley to the north. This was followed by the construction of the South Bridge across the valley to the south. Other access routes followed including the Mound and South Bridge.