ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN.
On one of my bus trips to Edinburgh in the autumn of 2025 I still had a few hours before my evening bus back to Glasgow so I thought I would do the 1 to 2 hour walk around Edinburgh Castle. This is it....Start at West End of Princes Street Gardens- Walk through gardens to Scott Monument. Either up the Mound or Waverley To Cockburn Street, Royal Mile- Castle Esplanade ( entrance gates) Down Granny's Green Steps ( you can avoid these or reverse the entire route to climb them) Grassmarket-Johnstone Terrace- Kings Stables Road- West End again at the Parish Church of St Cuthbert. Or you can reverse this route.
As I've been in the castle before (around £20 each roughly in 2026) I did not go in but you can. For myself the walk around the castle is equally impressive as you can add or subtract sections to suit. A lot of history is contained in this short walk and this time I found added information ( thanks to AI.)
Also found in West Princes Street Gardens is the Ross Fountain. An elaborate high confection of water nymphs/ mermaids and other creatures that is well worth a detailed look.
A close up here. Middle level.
The bottom pool.
Fisher's Close on the Royal Mile. Between zooming up and down Calton Hill via Jacob's Ladder and the numerous narrow passageways running off the Royal Mile at right angles you can clock up close to 3000 foot for the adventurous. This keeps you fit and saves you money as well as being great fun. Some of the tenement buildings here go up 14 floors or more as Mary King's Close is found underneath this lot halfway up the Royal Mile. Worth a visit to see this underground buried oddity but between that and the Castle Entry its around £40 each whereas this walk is free and just as exciting.
West Bow/ Cockburn Street. A narrow passageway between levels around the orange building on the left takes you up to the Royal Mile. The Wizard of West Bow used to live here in the 1600s- yet another potential inspiration for Edinburgh writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his famous Jekyll and Hyde book. . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Weir. Worth a read. You couldn't make it up :o)
Granny's Green Steps lead down from the Castle. ( hard to get this empty of people on a sunny afternoon. I would still be waiting to take it if I did.)
The Grassmarket which leads to King's Stables Road then back to the West End.
On a previous visit to Edinburgh and The Parish Church of St Cuthbert, seen here, I found out I only had 20 minutes before it closed so it was a rushed visit inside. It has a long history though. I didn't have time for the surrounding grounds on that occasion.
As you can see here. A long history.
Crime writer Agatha Christie was married here apparently.
Wandering around the church grounds I also spotted these Physalis plants. I've tasted the orange fruit inside at wedding banquets and enjoyed them so I knew they originally came from Peru.
St Cuthbert's Church interior view.
Nearby was an exotic lily I hadn't seen before also from Peru. Intrigued by this I looked it up to find out the connection. Thomas De Quincey. I've still got a couple of his books in my collection since the 1970s as he lived beside the English Lake District poets and wrote about them but I had no idea he also lived in Edinburgh and Glasgow, dying in this place. He also wrote a book about a nun who escaped dressed as a man and had numerous adventures all over Peru and South America. A true tale. Thomas de Qunicey also had a remarkable life but not a very enviable one. A link here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_De_Quincey
One of the great pleasures in life is coming across interesting or unusual characters/ history facts and thanks to AI and wiki that is now possible if you have a hunch, like seeing the flowers and wondering why they were planted there. Everybody likes to be an amateur detective now and again.
Also in St Cuthbert's grounds was this guy. Bum. A three legged dog from San Diego, every bit as amazing as Edinburgh's Greyfriars Bobby, yet I'd never heard of him until now.
Edinburgh is twinned with San Diego and the dogs are as well. Which is apt as this dog had an incredible life and survival story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bum_(dog)
No apologies for these three links in one post as each one is remarkable in its own way. A short walk but completely filled with fascinating history. A short post as it is the three links that are important here. Each well worth reading. Each unique and very different.
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