Edinburgh - Scotland - page 129

You can reach the summit of Calton Hill via the road beside the Royal High School or
by the stairs at the eastern end of Waterloo Pl. The largest structure on the summit is the
National Monument Offline map Google map , an overambitious attempt to replicate the
Parthenon in Athens and intended to honour Scotland's dead in the Napoleonic Wars.
Construction - paid for by public subscription - began in 1822, but funds ran dry when
only 12 columns had been completed.
Looking like an upturned telescope - the similarity is intentional - and offering even
better views, the Nelson Monument Offline map Google map (admission £3; 10am-7pm
Mon-Sat & noon-5pm Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-3pm Mon-Sat Oct-Mar; all Leith St buses)
was built to commemorate Admiral Lord Nelson's victory at Trafalgar in 1805.
The design of the City Observatory Offline map Google map , built in 1818, was based on
the ancient Greek Temple of the Winds in Athens. Its original function was to provide a
precise, astronomical time-keeping service for marine navigators, but smoke from Waver-
ley train station forced the astronomers to move to Blackford Hill in the south of Edin-
burgh in 1895.
Dean Village
If you follow Queensferry St northwards from the western end of Princes St, you come to
Dean Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford and built between 1829 and 1832. Down in
the valley, just west of the bridge, is Dean Village (from 'dene', a Scots word for valley).
It was founded as a milling community by the canons of Holyrood Abbey in the 12th cen-
tury and by 1700 there were 11 watermills here operated by the Incorporation of Baxters
(the bakers' trade guild). One of the old mill buildings has been converted into flats, and
the village is now an attractive residential area.
GALLERY
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Offline map Google map
( www.nationalgalleries.org ; 75 Belford Rd; fee for special exhibitions; 10am-5pm) Set
in an impressive neoclassical building surrounded by a landscaped sculpture park some
500m west of Dean Village is the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
The main collection, known as Modern One , concentrates on 20th-century art, with
various European movements represented by the likes of Matisse, Picasso, Kirchner, Mag-
ritte, Miró, Mondrian and Giacometti. American and English artists are also represented,
but most space is given to Scottish painters - from the Scottish colourists of the early 20th
century to contemporary artists such as Peter Howson and Ken Currie.