Edinburgh is one of the UK's most visited cities, and rightly so... The city in itself is stunningly beautiful and Edinburgh's architecture is renowned the world over. But as well as looks, Edinburgh has substance. It has played a pivotal role in Scottish and British history for hundreds of years and even today everywhere you turn there is a historical building or monument. Edinburgh is essentially divided into two distinct parts - the medieval Old Town, and the more recently developed New Town. But all of Edinburgh is, of course, dominated by the mighty Castle that sits in the heart of the city. Like Rome, Edinburgh is built on seven hills. But unlike Rome, in Edinburgh these hills are the remains of a series of extinct volcanoes. The largest of these, at 825ft, is Arthur's Seat. Situated to the south east of the city it dominates the city's skyline. And, of course, it offers fantastic views if you are up to the climb. But without doubt the most famous of the hills is the rocky outcrop known as Castle Rock, upon which Edinburgh Castle is precariously perched. The earliest settlements in Edinburgh were situated on the site of today's Castle, and so when the city of Edinburgh first began to grow it did so in the area immediately around Castle Rock. Then in 1128 Holyrood Abbey was founded to the east of Castle Rock. So as the city expanded more, it did so eastwards towards the Abbey. (The Abbey later became the site of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, one of the most famous attractions in Edinburgh). These two major establishments, the Castle and the Abbey, dominated the early development of the city of Edinburgh. And as a result a natural thoroughfare developed between the two. This road was to become Edinburgh's most famous street - today still known as the Royal Mile. Along this road developed the medieval Edinburgh, known as the Old Town, much of which remains to this day. This is where you will find tourist sites such as Parliament House, the High Kirk of St Giles, John Knox's House and Canongate Tolbooth. The city that grew up around the Royal Mile was, like all other medieval cities, cramped and crowded. So as Edinburgh grew it became characterised by numerous narrow streets and twisting alleyways. These alleyways remain to this day and are one of the most distinctive features of Edinburgh's Old Town. They are referred to as wynds and closes: a wynd being an alley that is open at both ends, and a close one that is only open at one end. By the 18th century the population of Edinburgh had expanded to such an extent that the medieval Old Town could no longer contain the inhabitants. The result was a public competition for plans to development a New Town. The 22 year old architect James Craig won the competition - his plan being an elegant Neo-classical development to the north of the Castle.
The result was the three parallel streets of Queen Street, George Street and Princes Street, bounded on each end by beautiful squares. With so much to see and do, Edinburgh really should be high up on the list of any visitor to the UK.
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