Streets of Edinburgh Volume II

The Old Town of Edinburgh is characterized by alleyways, Closes and Wynds, that access the tall tenements in which the people lived. Leading off on either side of the central spine, the Royal Mile, on the ridge between the Castle and the Palace of Holyrood, these alleyways viewed from above form a fish skeleton. Many of the closes and wynds still survive, offering interesting insights into old Edinburgh and Edinburgh today. Several have recently been upgraded. The verses in this volume explore the closes and wynds. The origin of these terms will be explained, including what is a close and what a wynd.Over more than a century visionary residents have sought to convert areas in the Old Town into gardens. Some are well known, particularly the Geddes family. These verses explore the surprising number of gardens within the Old Town and the pioneers who saw nature as a way of softening the often harsh built-up Old Town environment.South of the Royal Mile is a deep valley in which we find the Grassmarket and Cowgate, areas whose fortunes have changed over centuries. On the slopes to its south are a prominent school dating back to the 17th-century, Greyfriars kirk and parts of Edinburgh University. They and their origins will be explored.