European city with royal mile. edinburgh royal mile
The Royal Mile is four streets in Edinburgh that stretch for exactly 1 mile. A mile is counted from the gates of Edinburgh Castle to the gates of Holyrood Palace. Its history began in the 12th century, when King David I of Scotland gave a place near the castle to market traders, and decided to build Via Regis (Royal Way).
In the 17th century, 70 thousand people already lived on this street, and some buildings had 14 floors.
Later it became known as the High Street. This is a street that was chosen by artists, musicians, artists who constantly entertain tourists. All pedestrian roads converge on this street and lead here - to a bustling merry holiday. Here you can see the Gothic St. Giles Cathedral, the Thistle Chapel, the Museum of Childhood. If you look closely, then on the square near the cathedral a heart is laid out of paving stones - the place of the former public executions of the city. They say that if you spit in the center, you will definitely return to Edinburgh.
There are many souvenir shops, shops, fairs on Lonmarket Street. From here it is simply impossible to leave without a kilt or a blanket made of Scottish wool.
Part of Castlehill Street is open space. Here, in front of Edinburgh Castle, royal parades were held, and today there is a festival of military bands. On the territory of the castle in a cozy cafe, which used to be a "garage" for medieval carts, you can try the national Scots cakes - scoons with butter and jam, washed down with hot chocolate.
Exactly at 13:00, a cannon shot is fired from the castle wall. A kind of landmark for tourists is the Church of St. John, which has the largest tower with a spire. It houses the founders of the festivals. And it is simply impossible to pass by the whiskey museum without looking into it!
The monastic street Canongate is famous for Canongate Church, which is still visited by kings and queens when they are in Edinburgh. Holyrood Palace - the residence of the Queen of England - completes the Royal Mile.
Royal Mile - PHOTO
The Royal Mile street is an area of Edinburgh between Edinburgh Castle and the royal residence of Holyrood House. It is often called a street, but in fact it is four parallel streets with many branches, lanes and dead ends. The length of the Royal Mile is approximately one Scottish mile, which is equal to 1800 meters - that is, 200 meters longer than the traditional English mile.
The Royal Mile is part of the Old City, which was built up in the Middle Ages. Medieval Edinburgh was an unattractive and dirty place, terrible unsanitary conditions reigned on the streets of the Royal Mile, there was no sewerage, cattle were bred in dead ends and alleys, and so many people crowded into cramped wooden buildings that there was no free space in the rooms. In 1644, Edinburgh was struck by a plague, which forced the authorities to take extreme measures: one of the quarters in this part of the city was completely blocked to prevent the disease from spreading. No one was able to go outside, all the inhabitants of the quarter died. It is said that since then the streets of the Royal Mile have been haunted by ghosts.
The same medieval streets lie under modern pavements. Buildings of the late time, starting from the 18th century, were built right on top of the old city. The "locked" quarter, later named after the owner of most of the buildings, Mary King, lies under the picturesque streets of the center of Edinburgh. Tourists are offered to go down on an unusual excursion to the ancient city of the plague, in which there was no light left. Dark tunnels are lit with dim light bulbs, wooden doors of old houses lead to cool, damp rooms where wine cellars, ovens, buffets have been preserved.
The modern Royal Mile is friendlier and livelier. Four main streets pass through it - Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate. The streets, according to medieval tradition, are rather winding, with narrow pavements, they often branch out and intersect with other streets.
Castlehill Street is home to the Scottish Whiskey Heritage Center, the headquarters of the Edinburgh International Festival called The Hub in the former cathedral building, and the Museum of Illusions. Lonmarket is a street of souvenir shops and shops selling woolen items, plaid Scottish plaids, kilts. There used to be a linen market here.
High Street is the center of the cultural and social life of the city, where artists and street musicians dressed in national kilts gather. On it are the buildings of the old Parliament of Scotland and St. Giles Cathedral, near which a heart is laid out on the pavement. It is called the "Heart of Midlothian", according to tradition, tourists spit into it to return to Edinburgh again. Few people remember the origin of this custom: there used to be a prison here, and when it was demolished, the locals spat on this place as a sign of contempt for the authorities. Canongate Street is home to the Edinburgh Folk History Museum and Canongate Church.
This is only part of all the attractions of the Royal Mile. Walking along its streets, you can see the monument to Adam Smith, the Cathedral of St. Egidius, the John Nash House Museum, the Museum of Childhood, the handprints of the Edinburgh Award winners (including the British writer JK Rowling).
The Royal Mile is beautiful in the evenings, lit up by lanterns. Modern illumination does not violate the medieval atmosphere of the Old Town. Night tours of the dark lanes, church cemeteries and Royal Mile courtyards are just as popular as daytime walks.
Royal Mile(The Royal Mile) - these are several streets in the center of Edinburgh. It starts at Edinburgh Castle and descends to Holyrood Palace. The length is, as you might guess, one Scottish mile, which is about 200 m longer than the English one (about 1.8 km in total).1.
In the first half of the 12th century, King David I of Scotland settled in a fortress on Castle Rock, and ordered the construction of High Street, then called Via Regis (Royal Way).
Today we will not go all the way, but from the North Bridge to Edinburgh Castle.
Throughout its length, the street is filled with souvenir shops. Scottish romance is exploited to the fullest - bagpipes sound everywhere, kilts hang, I don’t even talk about magnets and plates.
2.
If someone wants to dress up in Scottish outfits, then it will cost him at least 200-250 pounds.
3.
After taking a last look at the Tron Kirk, which I wrote about in the previous part, let's go to the castle.
4.
Narrow gateways diverge from Mili on the sides.
5.
City Chambers built in 1753. The building stands on the site of the Lord Provost's mansion. Queen Mary Stuart spent her last night here.
6. 
In front of it stands a monument to Alexander the Great, taming Bucephalus.
7.
There are several more monuments on the street nearby. Here is Adam Smith, whom I think everyone remembers from an economics course at school or university. The monument is quite fresh - installed in 2008.
8.
A local politician with a long name is Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, Lord President of the Privy Council. This one has been standing for a long time - since 1888. The duties of this lord include participation in the Privy Council of the British monarch, and the presentation of cases for royal approval.
9.
Mercat Cross is the place where official royal decrees were read. Placed in 1885 on the basis of the XIV century.
10.
The centerpiece is cathedral of st. Giles, or else there is a version of St. Egidia (St Giles "Cathedral). Saint Giles is the patron saint of cripples and lepers, and is also considered the patron saint of Edinburgh.
11.
The oldest part of the building - four massive central columns - presumably dates back to 1124. Most of the modern cathedral dates back to 1385. After the Reformation of 1560, St. Giles' hand with a diamond ring was sold to Edinburgh goldsmiths.
12.
For almost 300 years after the Reformation, the cathedral was also widely used for non-religious purposes. In the cathedral at different times there was a police station, a fire station, a school, a coal shop. There was also a guillotine in the cathedral, and a prison for prostitutes operated in one wing of the cathedral.
13. Images of St. Giles 
In 1829, for symmetry and to improve the appearance of the building, several chapels were demolished, more modern stained-glass windows were inserted into the window openings, and the outer walls of the cathedral were lined with new hewn stone.
14.
15. Organ 
In 1872-1883, Sir William Chambers, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, financed a new restoration. During the repair work, the old galleries and partitions erected during the Reformation were demolished.
16.
Stained-glass windows with biblical scenes were inserted into the window openings - stained-glass windows from the north-eastern part to the north-western part of the cathedral continuously in chronological order bear the narration of the Bible.
17.
18.
19. Beautiful ceiling, right? 
20. Archibald Campbell, Robert Stevenson and others are buried in the cathedral. 
21.
22.
24.
Monument to Scottish philosopher David Hume.
25.
This corner house is interesting because there is a tavern "Master Brodie". This same Brodie owned the house in the 18th century and led a double life - a law-abiding merchant during the day, a banal robber at night. In the end, he was happily amused, but this story impressed Stevenson so much that he brought this hero out in his work The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
26.
27. Bank of Scotland, 1801 
28. The banker on the roof holds out bagels to someone :). 
29.
30. Another look at the cathedral 
31. Do you see the cockerel? :) 
32. Souvenir rows go continuously 
33.
34.
Rising like a dark mass Tolbus Kirk, she is the church of St. John (St. John's Highland Church). Its 73-meter tower is the tallest in the city. The church is relatively young - it was built only by 1845. But because of the city soot of the 19th century, the walls were heavily smoked, and began to look older (this is typical for many buildings in Edinburgh). The church was closed for many years, now it is used for various urban and tourist needs.
35.
36. Alleys of the Royal Mile 
37.
On the right you can see the building of the watchtower, with a camera obscura (Camera Obscura) at the top. It houses a museum with optical illusions, but we did not go there.
38.
39.
40. Kelsky cross with an elephant 
41.
When the Scottish King David I began to actively develop trade in the 12th century, local merchants quickly concentrated on one street in order to unite to increase sales. Subsequently, merchants and artisans began to build houses near their place of work. Thus, Via Regis (the Latin name of the street) turned into a long boulevard, starting at the square near the castle and including four parts, branches in different directions and dead ends. According to one theory, the modern name of the street is due to the queen of the country, who followed it every Sunday to mass.
The royal mile for 2 km, and that is exactly how much one mile is, was built up with wooden houses. During the conflict with England, all the buildings were burned to the ground. However, later the English King Henry VIII ordered to rebuild everything anew, but from stone.
The boulevard starts at Castle Square and flows into Castlehill Street, where the Museum of Illusions and the Whiskey Center are located. Then the traveler goes to Lawnmarket, where they used to sell fabrics, and now souvenir shops and boutiques with Scottish kilts and wool products have settled here. The High Street is home to administrative buildings, including the Supreme Court and the Cathedral, the main center of Presbyterianism. Canongate is famous for its Dutch-style church. Famous Scots are buried in her cemetery: Adam Smith and Robert Ferguson. From there, not far from.
How to get there?
Getting here is extremely easy. After all, this artery crosses the entire Old City, the historical part of Edinburgh, from west to east. This is the busiest place in the capital. You can walk directly from the train station or take bus 37 to the castle.
What is the price?
The abundance of souvenirs will not leave indifferent even an experienced tourist. Enough £150 to bring a real kilt from Scotland. The range of colors and sizes allows you to choose an unforgettable gift for yourself and your loved ones. A complete outfit with shoes and a blade will cost more than £400-1500.
The Royal Mile is a quarter in Edinburgh, where, literally, attractions are located at every turn. The history of the name of the Royal Mile goes back to David I, who granted local merchants the right to trade at the foot of the Castle Rock. The market was connected to the castle by High Street, which in those days was called the "Royal Street". Since - it so happened - the length of the street was exactly one Scottish mile (1.8 km), the people also called the street the Royal Mile. Later, the toponym stuck and took on the official form for the name of the historic quarter.
The Royal Mile includes 4 consecutive streets with adjacent lanes and dead ends.
Mile start falls on the castle esplanade, now used as a square for parades. In the forefront of the houses closest to the castle is the Whiskey Heritage Center, which contains a grandiose collection of this drink from different regions of Scotland. Not far from it is the Camera Obscura - a museum of optical illusions, very popular in the last century.
Great video with great views of Edinburgh
Longmarket street starts below, the buildings on which fully correspond to its name: every centimeter of the area is occupied by shops, shops and offices, obsessively offering their goods to passers-by. It is worth noting that this area sells some of the best kilts in Scotland, which tourists often buy as a stylish and easily recognizable Scottish souvenir.
Even lower - the same High Street. Today the site is the center of Edinburgh's social life and regularly hosts community forums, concerts, festivals and performances by street musicians and dancers. Many tourists like to take pictures next to the Heart of Midlothian, which is laid out in stone paving exactly on the spot where the Tolbooth prison used to be. Also on High Street is the Knox Museum, a Scottish religious reformer.
The last street name of the Mile is Canongate, which means “monastic street” in translation, speaks for itself. In the past, all the religious institutions of Edinburgh were located on this street, which were inseparable from most social institutions. Therefore, in addition to the Canongate Church, universities, orphanages, a history museum and the Scottish Parliament, crowning the Royal Mile, are also located on this street.
About Mile among the inhabitants of Edinburgh there are gloomy legends associated with the plague epidemic. In the Middle Ages, doctors believed that the "black death" was transmitted by direct contact with the sick, although, in fact, rat fleas were the carriers of the plague. So, at one time, the Mile was blocked, blocking all exits for a month, and every one of the residents of the quarter died out - some from the plague, some from hunger, and some, exhausted, were finished off with a bayonet by the gendarmes-cleaners. They say that in some alleys since then they regularly see the ghost of a little crying girl who, huddled in a corner, calls for help from any passerby. Although such a situation may well turn out to be a banal hoax on the part of local residents speculating on a legend.
panoramic walk
However, even without a digression into history and urban legends, Edinburgh will appeal to lovers of bright and magnificent celebrations. It's hard to believe, seeing the old gloomy colonial buildings, but the Scottish capital is a world city of festivals. Their annual number in Edinburgh sometimes exceeds several hundred, and each has its own narrow concept.
The piper festival is striking in its scale: hundreds of people from all over Scotland fill the air with the sounds of this unusual instrument - so that even the castle walls vibrate.
Theater lovers will love the Fringe Festival, the only such event in the world that combines classical theater with surreal psychedelia.
The Royal Mile in itself means little, without the rest of Edinburgh it is nothing, but the city cannot exist without the Mile either. This place allows you to discover new horizons in it and explore the unknown, and therefore it is impossible to get enough of Edinburgh, even by frequently visiting the Royal Mile.
