Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
match the splendor of the Greek Acropolis, ending up with the National
Monument, a never finished facsimile of the Parthenon on Calton Hill
(p. 100). Nearby is the towering Nelson Monument, resembling an inverted
telescope, whose ball drops every afternoon. Robert Louis Stevenson reckoned
the views from Calton Hill were the best as you can see both the castle and
Arthur's Seat. On its southern flank, facing Old Town, is the monumental
Royal High School, a key Greek Revival building by Thomas Hamilton com-
pleted in 1829. Back along Waterloo Place is the Old Calton Burying Ground
and its Emancipation Monument and statue of Abe Lincoln to honor Scottish-
American Civil War soldiers. The cemetery also features Robert Adam's 1777
David Hume Monument.
Follow Waterloo Place west toward Princes Street and:
14
North Bridge
North Bridge offers another superb vantage point for looking toward the castle.
Curiously, this span, like most of Edinburgh's many bridges, doesn't cross
water. Instead they link hills. The first North Bridge took some 9 years to com-
plete in the 1760s, a first step toward creating New Town. This broad span was
designed in 1894.
9
Cross Princes Street, taking West Register Street (to the left of Wellington's statue),
following the lane and stop by the:
15 Cafe Royal
An oyster bar and restaurant at the Cafe Royal (17 West Register St.;
&
0131/556-4124)
has traded continuously since 1863. It retains a good deal of Victorian splendor. The res-
taurant closes after lunch and reopens for dinner, but the Circle Bar is open throughout
the day. Some highlights of the room are the tile pictures of notable inventors. See p. 78
for a full review.
Continue west on West Register Street to:
16
St. Andrew Square
Named for the patron saint of Scotland, this square is the eastern bookend to
George Street. Compared to Charlotte Square at the avenue's other terminus,
the surrounding architecture doesn't offer as much Georgian character. Up the
column in the middle of the gated garden, some 38m (125 ft.) or more above,
is Lord Melville, aka Henry Dundas, who was a leading politician in the late
18th and early 19th centuries.
From the southwest corner of the square, walk south on St. David Street, crossing
Princes Street to the:
17
Scott Monument
Eminent Victorian art and architecture critic John Ruskin hated this monu-
ment to Scotland's greatest novelist, describing it as a church spire plunked on
the ground. Never mind, the neo-Gothic structure (p. 96) remains one of the
city's most notable landmarks. The design was by George Meikle Kemp, who,
apparently, was third in the 1836 competition but somehow got the commis-
sion after the committee requested more drawings. It was meant to stand in
Charlotte Square. The statue of Scott (with his trusty deerhound Maida) was
