Edinburgh - Scotland - page 141

Pass under the arch of George IV Bridge - the buildings to your right are the new law courts, while high up to the
left you can see the complex of buildings behind Parliament Sq. Past the courts, on the right, is Tailors Hall
(built 1621, extended 1757), now a hotel and bar but formerly the meeting place of the Companie of Tailzeours
(Tailors' Guild).

Turn left and climb up Old Fishmarket Close, and perhaps stop for lunch at the little brasserie, Passepartout .
Emerge once more onto the Royal Mile - across the street and slightly downhill is Anchor Close , named for a
tavern that once stood there. It hosted the Crochallan Fencibles, an 18th-century drinking club that provided its pat-
rons with an agreeable blend of intellectual debate and intoxicating liquor. The club was founded by William Smel-
lie, editor of the first edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica ; its best-known member was the poet Robert Burns.

Go down Anchor Close, which leads to Cockburn St, one of the city's coolest shopping streets, lined with record
shops and clothes boutiques. The street was cut through Old Town tenements in the 1850s to provide an easy route
between Waverley Station and the Royal Mile. Turn right and head uphill. Look up high on 55-7 Cockburn
Street (on the left) - on either side of the gable are the carved figures of an owl and a grotesque catlike creature
with huge claws and vampirelike fangs. Their origin and meaning are unknown.

At the top of Cockburn St turn left along the Royal Mile, and pause at Paisley Close , beneath a protruding
castellated window. Above the entrance is a carving of a young man's head, and the words 'Heave awa' chaps, I'm
no dead yet'. This is a monument to a young man who survived a tenement collapse in 1861; his rescuers heard him
yell these words from beneath a pile of debris.

Continue down the Royal Mile and look for the first alley on the left after Canongate Kirk. This is Dunbar's
Close , which leads to a hidden garden laid out in 17th-century style. Across the street and slightly downhill (beside
Starbucks), follow Crichton's Close past the Scottish Poetry Library , an architectural-award-winning modern
building, to Holyrood Rd. Turn left to finish outside the Scottish Parliament Building , beneath the imposing
skyline of Salisbury Crags.

Tours

Bus Tours
Open-topped buses leave from Waverley Bridge, outside the main train station, and offer
hop-on, hop-off tours of the main sights, taking in New Town, the Grassmarket and the
Royal Mile. They're a good way to get your bearings, although with a bus map and a Day
Saver bus ticket (£3.50) you could do much the same thing (but without the commentary).
Tours run daily, year-round, except for 24 and 25 December.
Tickets for the following three tours are valid for 24 hours.

City Sightseeing
( www.edinburghtour.com ; adult/child £12/5) Bright-red, open-top buses depart every 20
minutes from Waverley Bridge.

BUS TOUR