Our wee series of articles on Edinburgh continue today with a look at some of the symbols that have become synonymous with the city, their origins and what they represent and we’ll start off with what must be the most famous of them all, the Luckenbooth…. The story of the Luckenbooth begins on the Royal […]
Edinburgh has a rich history of ghosts and ghastly characters, so much so that it is supposedly the most haunted city in all of Europe! Most of the tales and sightings take place around Edinburgh’s Old Town, in particular the Castle, which is said to be home to as many as seven spirits, the vaults […]
Greyfriars Bobby is known around the world as the epitome of man’s best friend, not budging from his masters grave from the day of his burial in 1858 up until his own passing in 1872. The story is well known in Scotland and around the world, through several books and films, particularly the 1961 Walt Disney […]
Edinburgh Castle has dominated not only the skyline of the city but also the history of the nation. Being at the centre of the capital and of the Scottish Royal family has meant it has amassed a vast array of incredible treasures and artefacts over it’s long history. Let’s take a look at the most […]
Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital and my all time favourite city, is full to the brim with interesting tales, facts and histories that have built up over it’s very long lifetime. We wanted to share a few of the shorter gems(We’ll give the longer one’s a post to themselves :)) that we found whilst doing some research […]
A rare 19th century volume of lavishly illustrated clan fashion is set to go under the hammer in Edinburgh tomorrow. Part of auction house Bonham’s Scottish sale, Costume of the Clans is an illustrated guide that shows how tartan trews and kilts were historically worn. The book, which is numbered 37 of 500 copies, is […]
This posting is a guest posting by Margaret who works at VieAmhor Apartments, an edinburgh based holiday letting agency set right in the heart of Edinburgh’s old town. As you walk up the Royal Mile, it’s hard to miss the arched entryways that sit on either side. Signposted with odd names like ‘Fleshmarket’, ‘Lady Stair’s’ […]
The aftermath of the 1650 Battle of Dunbar saw the grave mistreatment of 5,000 Scottish prisoners-of-war at the hands of the English Parliamentarian army. These battle-weary prisoners were starved of food and sleep, whilst at the same time force-marched over 100 miles to a makeshift prison in hellish conditions. Yet this is one of the […]
This year is the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and 150 years since the publication of his masterpiece, The Origin of Species. The inspiration he found in visiting the Galapagos Islands is very well known, but in the Editorial, ‘Darwin in Scotland’ by Dominic J. McCafferty (The Glasgow Naturalist-2009), we find that the time Darwin […]
