Edinburgh Daily Photo/ 日替りエディンバラ写真

Museum on the Mound

2007-01-08T19:39:00.000Z

The green dome you see in the picture is the headquarters (on paper at least) of the Bank of Scotland, or HBoS as it has become. They have turned it into Edinburgh's newest museum, known as the Museum on the Mound. It details the history of the bank and banking in Scotland in general, as well as taking a look at the history of the Old Town of Edinburgh. It's free to enter, as are all the public museums, but I haven't been yet so I can't say if it's worth a look or not.

More Old Town

2007-01-07T19:27:00.000Z

Pictures of the Old Town always seem to be popular so here's another shot, taken from the top of the Museum of Scotland. The church in the shot, is no longer a church, it's now a cafe and arts centre and also the main ticket office for events in Edinburgh. It's now known as the Hub.

Public Art

2007-01-06T19:47:00.000Z

Edinburgh does have some rather odd public art installations, including this one of an insect in the palm of a large hand outside St Mary's Cathedral. I get what it's meant to be, just not really why it's there.

Pigeon Art

2007-01-05T19:56:00.000Z

These pigeons occupy a small piece of Leith Walk by the London Road roundabout and watch the traffic go by day after day, hour after hour. It was reported in the local paper that someone made little coats for the pigeons and dressed them up to protect them from the cold...nice!

Allan Ramsay Statue

2007-01-04T09:27:00.000Z

This is the statue to the Scots poet Allan Ramsay in West Princes Street Gardens. Ramsay is depicted standing with a book in his left hand and a pencil in his right. He has a plaid over his shoulder and is wearing a silk night-cap rather than a wig. Ramsay (1686 -1758) was an Edinburgh poet and publisher and involved in the early 18th century revival of Scots vernacular poetry. As a poet he is best remembered for his five-part work, 'The Gentle Shepherd'. The castle, as usual, provides a stunning backdrop.

Winter Sun

2007-01-03T09:41:00.000Z

The low-level of the sun can be pretty dazzling for drivers, but it does make for some interesting silhouette shots. At least the days are getting longer, not that you'd actually notice!

A fitting start to the year

2007-01-02T20:05:00.000Z

It's 2007 and what a wet and windy start to the new year it has been in these parts. What with the cancellation of the Street Party and the Concert and Ceilidh in the gardens, I'm sure many bemused tourists were wandering around yesterday wondering what there was to do...virtually nothing open and practically no public transport..such is New Year in Scotland! Today, the shops on Princes Street were open but most offices won't start back to work till tomorrow. This year is going to be a big year for Scotland...celebrating (or otherwise) 300 years of Union with England and Scottish elections in May which could spell the end of that Union. On a more global level, I thought this quotation from the paving stones outside the Writers' Museum was apt for the start of the year.

Lang May Yer Lum Reek!

2007-01-01T08:16:00.000Z

A very Happy New Year to all visitors to Edinburgh Daily Photo. I wonder who will be my first foot on the comments page?? As it's Ne'erday, I should explain a few Scottish New Year traditions. One is first-footing...this is the first person who crosses your doorstep in the New Year. To bring luck, it should be a tall, dark handsome man...this stems from the fear of the blonde Viking raiders all those years ago. Second, when visiting someone's house, you would traditionally bring with you some whisky, shortbread and a lump of coal...this shows that you hope that the household will have enough to drink, to eat and that there will be enough warmth in the coming year. Bliadhana Mhath Ùr! Lang May Yer Lum reek!

Happy Hogmanay!

2006-12-31T08:59:00.000Z

The more traditional way to bring in the New Year is to attend a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee). This is a night of dancing, drinking and merry-making and practically every small village up and down the country will have a ceilidh...not all as formal as this one though! The origins of the word Hogmanay are lost in the depths of time, and there is no agreement as to what language it comes from, some suggest Norman or Old French, Flemish or Gaelic. No matter! However you plan to see in the New Year, have a graet time...and remember, when you're singing Auld Lang Syne, the most famous song in the world, think of this wee corner of the world and try not to bring in Ne'erday with a hangover!

Hogmanay Events

2006-12-30T08:35:00.000Z

While the street party is the biggest event, there are plenty of other events going on, many with a more traditional Scottish flavour to them. My criticism of the street party is that there are so many tourists, it has lost all sense of Scottishness. In the 90s, you would get impromptu renditions of Auld Lang Syne and ceilidh dancing on the street...and after midnight all hell would break loose as people try and outdo their friends to the number of people they can kiss. Policemen and women were always very popular at Hogmanay! Anyway, tonight there is the Night Afore International, a sort of ceilidh on George Street, this year with a German theme...fitting as that's where I'm spending New Year!

Torchlight Procession

2006-12-29T08:45:00.000Z

Tonight is the Torchlight Procession to mark the beginning of the New Year festivities. Fire plays an important part in New Year and winter festivals in this part of the world as we try and light up the darkness and cast out bad spirits. Some well known fire themed New Year festivities can be found in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire with the fireballs and in Comrie, Perthshire with the flambeaux.

Hogmanay Revellers

2006-12-28T08:26:00.000Z

My friends Alan, Jack and Ben will probably kill me for using this lovely photo of them! The street party has been a fixture on the Edinburgh calendar for a little over 10 years. It grew sporadically in the early to mid nineties and in the early years needed no control over numbers. However, it was a victim of its own success and at New Year 96/97 there were roughly half a million people packed into the streets of the city centre, way too many for these old streets to cope with. It was dangerous and I was scared that year. I ended up having a fairly miserable Hogmanay as I got detached from my friends and there was no way of finding them. After that year, they introduced a free ticketing system, beefed up security and limited numbers of tickets to 100,000. Now there is space to move around and you can enjoy the party in a safe environment.

Mounds of People

2006-12-27T08:04:00.000Z

The Royal Bank Street Party is the centre point of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations. Some 100,000 party-goers will brave the cold weather to be out on the streets of the city centre to see in the New Year, and they'll be able to enjoy live music from the Fratellis on the Indie stage as well as others on the folk/hoolie stage and of course, the cheesy pop stage! Big screens will count us in to the New Year and at midnight, fireworks from the castle and the 7 hills of Edinburgh will envelope the city.

Life in the Fast Lane

2006-12-26T15:59:00.000Z

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and not too many hangovers and sore stomachs are being nursed today! Christmas is over and Edinburgh is about to get very, very busy as tourists from all over the world descend on the city for our annual Hogmanay celebrations. Over the coming days, I'll show photos from Hogmanays past to give you a flavour of how we bring in the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T10:52:00.000Z

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the festive season. Nollaig Chridheil!

Farewell Frankurters!

2006-12-24T09:56:00.000Z

It is the last day of the Christmas Market today, and typically the stalls have been very very busy as Edinburgh's discerning shoppers hope to pick up a little bargain before the German traders pack up and head home to Frankfurt. Only one more sleep till Santa!!

January?? Sales

2006-12-23T17:48:00.000Z

It's the Saturday before Christmas and the bloody sales have started already! They used to be January sales but have crept steadily earlier and earlier with most shops making people work on Boxing Day to start the sales...but to have the sales start before Christmas Day just smacks of desperation on the part of the retailers!

On holiday!

2006-12-22T16:16:00.000Z

The first day of the school holidays has seen lovely weather here in Edinburgh. While freezing fog has enveloped the south of England and caused transport chaos, the only difficulties faced by Scots travellers are the fact that flights to Heathrow and some other English airports are cancelled. As for me, I've had a suitably relaxing first day...no more work till January 8th...yay!

Castle

2006-12-20T22:29:00.000Z

The trees around Princes Street, the Mound and on the Castle Rock all have lights on them which make them look rather nice at this time of year. The lights of the Castle look nice at any time of year, but with it being dark so early, generally black by 4pm, in winter you get to appreciate the illuminated castle for a bit longer. Tomorrow is the shortest day...after that bit by bit the days will get a wee bit longer...and it's end of term at 12 noon! I wouldn't expect a post tomorrow!!

Castle Lit-Up

2006-12-19T21:08:00.000Z

Apologies for not managing to post yesterday...the busy Christmas season keeps me away from the computer at times! Anyway, here's a zoom shot from the same place as the other day's picture, focusing in on the Castle and its illuminations.

Edinburgh by Night

2006-12-17T18:07:00.000Z

This is the lovely evening view over the city from Calton Hill. I've shown this view before, but not with all the lights on. I think it's pretty special.

Old Town Roofs

2006-12-16T17:53:00.000Z

Usually with a bit of height, you can sort of tell the way streets are laid out in a city, but not in Edinburgh's Old Town. Streets suddenly curve or stop. They go up a level or down a level and the result is the higgledy piggledy joy that is the Old Town.

Old Town and Castle

2006-12-15T23:17:00.000Z

On one of the few days of decent weather recently, this shot was taken from the top of the National Museum of Scotland looking towards the Castle and the Old Town tenements lining the Royal Mile. The weather has been pretty shocking recently with high winds, heavy rain and flooding across many parts of Scotland, most especially in my home region of Perth & Kinross.

Princes Street

2006-12-14T22:03:00.000Z

The poor Scott Monument is almost totally hidden by the bright lights of the Ferris Wheel. I'm sure the view from the top is lovely, especially with the festive atmosphere in the city, but I'm still too scared to go on it!

Festive Edinburgh

2006-12-13T20:42:00.000Z

The bright lights of the attractions in Princes Street Gardens during the Christmas and Hogmanay period really help lift the spirits of us weary Edinburghers who are desperate for the Christmas holidays to arrive. It's a real pleasure to spend time enjoying what the city has to offer in this festive period.

Full Moon

2006-12-12T22:16:00.000Z

I think this is quite an eerie shot of Edinburgh. Early evening darkness, the full moon, the lights from the boxy New St Andrew's House, one of the few art-deco buildings in Edinburgh and Nelson's Monument and Calton Hill looming in the background.

City Chambers Illuminations

2006-12-11T21:00:00.000Z

Edinburgh does light itself up nicely at Christmas time. These are the City Chambers, the seat of the city's council right in the historic Old Town. The Chambers sit back slightly from the Royal Mile, and in fact due to the hilly and split-level nature of the city, when you enter the building here from the High Street, you in fact enter at Level 5 I think.

A Sea of Santas

2006-12-10T16:45:00.000Z

My apologies for the lack of posts over the past week or so, but I've been snowed under with work and things and have not been able to devote my time and attention to the blog.

Anyway, today was the Great Santa Run in East Princes Street Gardens with more than 2,000 people dressed as Santa. The event was held to raise funds for the children's charity When You Wish Upon a Star for children with serious or life threatening illnesses. The charity hope to send 100 seriously ill Scottish children on a daytrip to Lapland to meet the real Santa.

Edinburgh Wheel

2006-12-09T16:51:00.000Z

Personally, I hate riding on Ferris Wheels - am scared of heights, but the wheel right in front of the Scott Monument is always a popular attraction during the festive season. The lights at night really add to the festive atmosphere Edinburgh has at this time of year.

Craft Market

2006-12-08T18:21:00.000Z

Alongside the German Christmas Market, there is this Scottish Craft Market selling things ranging from scarves and gloves to children's book and sweets and jam to jewellery. It's in East Princes Street Gardens for the duration of the Edinburgh Christmas Festival.

Pork Sandwich anyone?

2006-12-07T20:28:00.000Z

It's not often you see whole suckling pig rolls on offer, but here at Edinburgh's farmers' market, this was one of the items on sale along with the lovely fresh meats, organic vegetables, juices, local fruit wines and much more. In fact, Edinburgh's farmers' market was voted the best farmers' market in the UK - another accolade for the city!

Bungee Ball

2006-12-06T20:42:00.000Z

The Bungee Ball is another popular regular in the Gardens in the run-up to Christmas and New Year. Don't really fancy it myself, but there are always queues for those that want to jump up and down on elastic bands!

Portrait Gallery

2006-12-05T20:50:00.000Z

The walls of the National Portait Gallery have some wonderful, and very intricate carvings of various characters from Scottish history. I'd love to be able to tell you who they all were, but I don't know!

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

2006-12-04T20:45:00.000Z

The National Portrait Gallery, part of the National Galleries of Scotland is an iconic sandstone building on Queen Street. It has a fantastic collection of Scottish and international portraits and has a rather nice café inside too. It's not just inside the building that there are interesting portraits...I'll show you tomorrow.

The Christian Path

2006-12-03T20:36:00.000Z

At the back of St John's Episcopal Church, and pretty much hidden from view is a set of steps leading down to a little arcade full of 'Christian' businesses. I hadn't really noticed them before and to be honest I didn't actually take a closer look. Anyone know if the Cornerstone café is a good place for a coffee - fair trade of course!

The Falkirk Wheel

2006-12-02T18:30:00.000Z

I took a day trip out of Edinburgh and visited the Falkirk Wheel. It's been the butt of jokes on a Scottish comedy sketch show, but I have to say I was hugely impressed by it. It was designed as a Millennium project to revive the old canals in central Scotland and it links the Forth-Clyde and the Union Canal. Previously there were 11 locks to navigate to get up and down between the two canals, but this lift has replaced 8 of them and saves about 8 hours! It picks up a boat at the bottom and rotates and places it at the top. The weight of the two gondolas is 18 tonnes, I think I was told, but it takes no more energy in one rotation than it does to power 6 electric toasters to make toast! Another great example of Scottish engineering and the only one of its kind anywhere in the world.

Stained Glass Window

2006-12-01T18:25:00.000Z

As people all over the world open the first window of their advent calendars today, I thought I'd share with you a couple of the beautiful stained glass windows from St John's Episcopal Chruch at the west end of Princes Street.

Happy St Andrew's Day

2006-11-30T18:34:00.000Z

Today is our National Day, the day of our Patron Saint, St Andrew. I think traditionally St Andrew's Day has been celebrated more fiercely by the Scottish diaspora (in fact I'm cheating with this photo as it's the London office of Visit Scotland), but the Scottish Executive has pushed for greater celebrations of Scotland and Scottishness on St Andrew's Day. If there hadn't been 80mph winds in Edinburgh today, then I'm sure tonight's One Scotland Street Ceilidh would have been a big success, but I'm going to stay home instead. Have a wee whisky, tuck into some fine smoked salmon and think of the amazing contribution that such a wee country has made to the world.

St John's Episcopal Church

2006-11-29T20:08:00.000Z

St John's stands at the west end of Princes Street, and until the weekend I had never had cause to go inside. I usually find Scottish churches a bit austere and drab however, St John's is well worth a visit. It has beautiful, colourful stained glass windows but what attracted me in was the Charity Christmas card sale. There were cards on sale for so many worthy charities that it was hard to decide which to support, but at least I know that this year the charities will get something. I find the "charity" cards on sale in the supermarkets and High Street chainstores a bit of a joke - 10p from the sale of this pack will be split among seven charities!

German Market

2006-11-28T20:34:00.000Z

If I'd spent a bit of time on photoshop, I could have got rid of that bollard in the middle of the road, but I prefer to show the city as it is, and to get the view of the Galleries and the Mound buildings behind and to the side of the German Market, I had to be across the road. You can see how popular the German Market is. There was also a French Market at the weekend, which was mainly food and on 14th December, there will be a Polish market too.

Winter Wonderland

2006-11-27T21:39:00.000Z

East Princes Street Gardens have been turned into a fairground as part of Edinburgh's Christmas festivities. One of the most popular attractions every year is the outdoor ice rink in the lower level of the gardens. I'm not a skater myself, but I imagine it would be great fun to skate around and enjoy the lights and the view.

Farmers' Market

2006-11-26T16:46:00.000Z

Edinburgh's Farmers' Market is a weekly treat for foodies in this city. Farmers and local producers come from all over Scotland and the North of England to sell their meat, fish, cheese, eggs, vegetables, sweets and anything else you might expect. It's extremely popular and well worth getting out of bed for. This is the queue at a butcher who specialises in venison. I'm looking forward to trying the venison and whisky sausages I bought from them.

The Aussies are in town

2006-11-25T16:44:00.000Z

Rugby weekends against the major nations are always great fun in Edinburgh. Today the city was awash with Scotsmen in kilts and Aussies wearing green and gold and carrying blow-up wallabies on their way to Murrayfield! I had tickets for the game, but somehow managed to lose them so ended up watching the game on TV. In any case, after a bright start and Scotland going 10-0 up, we ended up getting a bit of a lesson and finished on the wrong end of a 44-15 scoreline. Well done the Aussies!

Waiting

2006-11-24T19:42:00.000Z

This photo was taken yesterday while the stalls were still being set up, but when I walked through earlier today, all the stalls were pretty busy and there was a lovely smell from the food stalls. The city centre really has put on its winter fur coat now and it looks pretty amazing. The trees are adorned with lights, the big wheel and the funfair are up in the gardens, the outdoor ice-rink is open and the markets are in full swing. Edinburgh's Christmas is becoming better and better each year.

German Market

2006-11-23T20:57:00.000Z

This photo was taken just a couple of hours before the Christmas lights were swicthed on and Edinburgh's Christmas festival season was declared officially open. The next time I walk past the German market it will be full of people buying Christmassy things and enjoying a nice mug of Glühwein. The German market, with traders coming from Frankfurt, has been here the last few years and it's something that has really enlivened the dark months of November and December.

Leith 2

2006-11-22T19:51:00.000Z

We're still looking towards Leith, but this time in a slightly more easterly direction. The focal point of this photo is the Easter Road Stadium, home of Hibernian FC...the green and white half of Edinburgh football. When you enlrage the photo you can clearly see the different kinds of housing in the area, from the traditional tenements built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, to 60s low and high rise blocks.

Leith

2006-11-21T20:46:00.000Z

We're looking down from Calton Hill towards the port area of Leith. Leith and Edinburgh used to be separate towns, but Leith has pretty much been subsumed into the city. It still retains a character of its own, and the area has seen a huge amount of regeneration in recent years. It still has its Leith folk and its own identity, but it's come a long way since it was used as the backdrop for Irvine Welsh's novel 'Trainspotting.'

Dreich!

2006-11-20T21:28:00.000Z

It's been a fairly dull, drab and dreich November day. I left work today to howling wind and hailstones and by the time I got to the bus-stop, I was wet and very cold. It's been a night to stay in with a large mug of hot chocolate and sit beside the radiator.

Dusk from Blackford Hill

2006-11-19T16:43:00.000Z

As any cyclist will testify, Edinburgh is a hilly city. The advantage of this is that there are lots of vantage points to get nice views over the city. This is from Blackford Hill on the southside of the city. We're looking over some fairly posh and studenty suburbs such as Newington and Marchmont, towrds the castle and the Firth of Forth and Fife in the distance.

Autumnal Blue Sky 2

2006-11-18T15:33:00.000Z

From the more or less the same spot as yesterday's photo, this time we're looking east over the railway station and towards the extinct volcano of Arthur's Seat. This side of the railway station as some brutally ugly buildings, such as the boxy Jury's Inn hotel on the right of the shot.

Autumnal Blue Sky

2006-11-17T13:28:00.000Z

A nice crisp autumnal day. Lovely blue skies over the city as we look west from North Bridge over the glass roofs of the railway station towards the castle, Scott monument, galleries and the other buildings of central Edinburgh.

Still at the Botanics

2006-11-16T15:16:00.000Z

I hope you're enjoying this walk through the Botanic Gardens. These gardens have a truly impressive array of plants and tress from all over the world as well as some beautifully landscaped parts. No matter the season, it's a relaxing and pleasant place to be.

Afternoon Sky

2006-11-15T20:31:00.000Z

The darkness descends so quickly on the city during the late autumn and winter months...still, sometimes you get enough time to get a nice snap of the sky before the night falls.

More from the Botanics

2006-11-14T21:51:00.000Z

Because of the lovely autumnal colours, I'm sticking with the pictures from the Royal Botanic Gardens.
As well as this site in the north of Edinburgh, there are three other sites of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Scotland: at Benmore near Dunoon in Argyll, Dawyck near Peebles in the Borders and Logan near Stranraer in Galloway.

Views from the Botanics

2006-11-13T19:03:00.000Z

The Botanic Gardens also offers beautiful views to the south and west of the city. This is overlooking the popular and affluent residential districts of Stockbridge and the Dean Village and out towards the Pentland Hills in the distance.

Botanic Gardens

2006-11-12T20:30:00.000Z

At any time of the year, the Botanic Gardens in the leafy suburbs of northern Edinburgh are a delight to walk around. On a crisp, sunny autumnal day, they are an even greater pleasure.

Autumn in the gardens

2006-11-11T14:15:00.000Z

The autumn colours, the galleries and castle in the background...Edinburgh's autumnal fur coat looks rather impressive. It won't be long till the ice-rink, fairground rides and German Christmas market occupy the very space in this photo.

National Gallery

2006-11-10T14:10:00.000Z

And here we have a full frontal picture of the Natioanl Gallery, one of Edinburgh's slightly hidden treasures. The reason I say hidden is that it sits directly behind the equally attractive Royal Scottish Academy building and you can' really see it from the street.

Night at the National Gallery

2006-11-09T21:51:00.000Z

One positive thing about the early nightfall in the city is that you notice the way the buildings are lit up at night. Most of the important buildings in the city centre are illuminated in some way and this is the front of the National Gallery of Scotland on the Mound, just behind the building steeped in red you saw yesterday.

Red Light District??

2006-11-08T20:18:00.000Z

The Royal Scottish Academy, part of the National Galleries of Scotland has taken on a rather red hue in recent days. All four sides of the gallery are lit up in red, as is the statue above the entrance. When I took this photo, even the traffic lights joined in long enough for me to get a few shots. I don't know if the lighting has been put up to to give some cheer in these dark evenings or if it has anything to do with the new exhibiton, "Superhumanatural."

Bank of Scotland HQ

2006-11-07T18:08:00.000Z

With the darkness descending by 5pm, I'm taking more and more evening shots. This is the official headquarters of the Bank of Scotland, now part of the HBOS group following their takeover by, I mean, "merger with" the Halifax. It is in the process of being turned into a banking museum...am sure that will be very interesting! The Bank of Scotland is one of the three Scottish banks that prints its own banknotes...always confuses tourists when they get handed different kinds of banknotes in their change!

Newspaper Wars!

2006-11-06T18:17:00.000Z

A new evening newspaper has gone into circulation in recent weeks, published by the Daily Record and focusing on Edinburgh. The Record is a Glasgow based publisher and their new product is in direct competition with the long-standing Edinburgh based Evening News. The 'News' is 35p while the Record version is selling for 15p and offering freebies such as chocolate, water and hair gel to persuade and bribe the people of Edinburgh into buying their rag! Edinburgh folk have a proud record of being loyal to local companies...it is one of the few UK cities where the main bus company is entirely locally-run having fought off fierce competition from Stagecoach and First when the buses were de-regulated. It is to be hoped that the Evening News also fights off these encroachers from the West!

A row of buses

2006-11-05T14:20:00.000Z

Cars are banned from driving along Princes Street (apart from late night and early morning westbound) so it has pretty much been turned into the UK's largest buslane! At any given time, there could be about 50 buses on the street with several queuing to stop at the bus-stops. Can anyone come up with a suitable collective noun for buses?? A lateness of buses??

Castle Street Market

2006-11-04T18:50:00.000Z

Surprisingly enough, from Castle Street you get a great view of the castle sitting proudly and resplendently upon its rock. What better backdrop is there than that? The hustle and bustle of the market in the foreground add to the atmosphere.

A Continental Feel

2006-11-03T18:38:00.000Z

This market can be found on Castle Street every Thursday as it's late night shopping night, but this time with the earlier darkness, the after work rush on the market stalls added a real continental and almost Christmassy feel about the place. The smells of paella, tartiflette, crêpes, Dutch pancakes as well as German sausages also added to the lovely atmosphere. It was nice to be addressed as 'Monsieur' and to get a chance to speak French outside the classroom too.

An Edinburgh Commute

2006-11-02T20:58:00.000Z

A very typical Edinburgh scene...the bus going past the castle on its way along Princes Street. Most of the bus roures in the city converge along Princes Street and one of my pleasures on my way to and from work every day is to look out and see the wonderful view of the castle and the old town. This photo was taken at about 5.10pm today...just to show you how dark it's getting!

DP Theme Day: Something that's going to disappear soon

2006-11-01T18:11:00.000Z

I swithered for a long time as to what I was going to put for this month's theme day. Would I be political and put the Union Jack, showing the impending disapperance of the United Kingdom as a political entity? Would I be funny and put a pint of beer? Would I be nostalgic and put a little corner shop - soon to be beaten in the ground by the arrival on the scene of Tesco Express and Sainsbury's Local. In the end, I thought I'd be a little poetic and show the autumn colours...here for a short while to be enjoyed, and then gone for another year.

Have a look at the other towns and cities taking part in this month's theme day.

1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19 -20 -21 -22 -23 -24 -25 -26 -27 -28 -29 -30 -31 -32 -33 -34 -35 -36 -37 -38 -39 -40 -41 -42 -43 -44 -45 -46 -47 -48 -49 -50 -51 -52 -53 -54 -55 -56

Early Sunsets

2006-10-31T17:56:00.000Z

Now that clocks have gone back an hour, we're beginning to get used to the early sunsets. For the moment at least, it is light when I arrive at work but that won't be for much longer, and it's dark by the time I get home.

No doubt our doorbell will start ringing soon for kids out for Hallowe'en. It's a shame that the more traditional Scottish Hallowe'en has been usurped somewhat by the American version. Kids talk about trick or treating instead of guising; they use pumpkins instead of the more traditional turnips and many kids expect to get sweets or money for nothing...in Scotland they are expected to come into the house and do a little performance, sing a song or tell a joke before they get their rewards. Find out more about the roots of Hallowe'en or Samhuin here.

Info...Renseignements...Informazioni

2006-10-30T17:40:00.000Z

Tours at the Scottish Parliament are conducted in English, but there is plenty of information about the parliament and its workings available in the main tourist languages such as french, german, Spanish and Italian and the main community languages like Mandarin, Cantonese, Urdu and Punjabi.

Crown Room

2006-10-29T09:21:00.000Z

This is the building in the Castle where you'll find the Honours of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny. They form the centrepiece of a permanent exhibition about the Kings and Queens of Scots and about the role of the honours and the stone in coronation ceremonies. Both the Honours (hidden from the puritan Cromwellian armies and then forgotten for a century) and the Stone of Destiny (stolen by King Edward of England in 1296 and kept by the English for 700 years) have had interesting and chequered histories.

Scottish Crown Jewels

2006-10-28T16:36:00.000+01:00

The Honours of Scotland, or our Crown Jewels are on display at Edinburgh Castle. The honours consist of the Crown, the Sword and the Sceptre. The crown was made in 1540 from gold melted down from the previous one. The sword was a gift from Pope Julius II to King James IV in 1507. The sceptre, made in 1494, was gifted to King James IV by Pope Alexander VI.

Balmoral Hotel

2006-10-27T20:18:00.000+01:00

The building you see in the centre of the photo is the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street, one of Edinburgh's top hotels. It occupies a perfect city centre location on the junction with North Bridge and has very friendly doormen standing by the entrance. Given the hotel's location, so close to Waverley Station, the clock on the clocktower runs about 2-3 minutes fast so that people hurry to catch their trains, and hopefully, the trains can leave on time. I did say hopefully!

Old Town and Railway

2006-10-26T21:49:00.000+01:00

The railway line into Waverley station effectively marks the border between the Old Town and the New Town. Hree you can see a part of Princes Street Gardens, the railway lines which are pretty well hidden from view until you're very close, and some of the buildings from Market Street and the Mound in the background.

St David's Street

2006-10-25T21:01:00.000+01:00

Coming back into the city centre, we have a view down St David's Street and onto St Andrew's Square. Naturally, the patron saint of Scotland should get his own square while the Welsh saint just gets a wee side street! In the background you can see the buidlings of the New Town and right down to the Firth of Forth and across to Fife.

Museum of Scotland

2006-10-24T20:12:00.000+01:00

The Museum of Scotland is another example of modern architecture sitting among the more traditional parts of Edinburgh, and it's another building you either like or loathe. Prince Charles apparently resigned from the trustees committee overseeing the design of the new museum when this building was chosen. And at the official opening, which was on a Wednesday, when asked what he thought about the new museum, he apparently said, "I never talk about architecture on Wednesdays." The circular tower part of the museum houses a fantastic restaurant with superb views to the castle.

Royal Museum

2006-10-23T20:38:00.000+01:00

Hey folks, I'm back. Had a lovely time in Greece, despite the nasty storm which hit the Greek islands on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. I'll post photos to flickr sometime this week when I get a minute to myself. Got home at 11.30 last night, then back to work this morning in the dark. It didn't begin to get light until about 7.30am...winter is coming!
Anyway, back to Edinburgh...this is the Royal Museum, a very grand, traditional building on Chambers Street, next to the Old College and just across from the Sheriff Courts. Tomorrow, I'll show you what they built next door...caused a royal storm!

Old College

2006-10-13T20:28:00.000+01:00

Old College houses the Faculty of Law of the University of Edinburgh. It also plays host to the Europa Institute where I did part of my degree towards the end of the last century, a splendid library called the Playfair which is a very off-putting place to sit exams as you spend half your time looking at the beautiful ceilings, busts and bookcases. There is also the small Talbot Rice Art Gallery nestled in the back of the building. It is a handsome building and is certainly one of the city's educational landmarks.

It's half term now at school and I'm off to Greece for 8 days. I haven't got round to organising my posts when I'm away so there will be a brief hiatus in service. I will be back posting on Monday 23rd October.

The Big Gap

2006-10-12T19:12:00.000+01:00

In December 2002, fire gutted one of the buildings which stood on the Cowgate and South Bridge and we are still left with the gaping hole that was left behind. The fire began in a nightclub and there are doubts as to whether it was an accident. It's a real shame that somebody's greed or desperation for insurance money saw the condemnation and demolition of an entire group of tightly packed buildings and closes in the Old Town. You can see pictures from the fire here. Hopefully re-building will begin on the site soon.

Cowgate

2006-10-11T19:34:00.000+01:00

The Cowgate is one of the low streets in the Old Town. Two main thoroughfares running north to south in Edinburgh, are in fact bridges going over this part of town. You can see George IV Bridge in the background. Many of the buildings on the High Street and Chambers Street actually start at ground level on the Cowgate. It is the home of a lot of student pubs and nightclubs and it gets pretty noisy here on a Friday and saturday night.

The Sheriff Courts

2006-10-10T18:55:00.000+01:00

The current building for Edinburgh's Sheriff Court was opened in 1995. It sits in the Old Town with the entrance from Chambers Street opposite the Royal and Scottish Musuems. Given the way the Old Town is built on hills and bridges, you actually enter the building on Level 4. The cells are down at the Cowgate level (level 1) and it's quite a walk up the stairs from the cell area, especially to Court 10, where we were, which is on level 5. It was the first time I'd been inside the courts and I'd be interested to go back to watch a real trial some time.

In solitary

2006-10-09T18:48:00.000+01:00

That's me locked behind the door, and below is a wee taste of the kind of en-suite facilities the prisoners in the solitary cells enjoy.

The cells

2006-10-08T10:11:00.000+01:00

We were shown down to the cells several floors beneath the court level. I'll never forget those long stairs leading from the dock in the court room down into the cell area below. It was really interesting to see something you would never normally see, and having our head boy locked in a cell, even if only for a minute or two was amusing. As for the cases the pupils enacted, the first was a drugs case (possession with intent to supply) which our team was prosecuting. The verdict ended in 'not proven' (a controversial verdict which is unique to Scots law). In the second case, we were defending a dangerous driving charge and the accused was found not guilty.

Inside Court 10

2006-10-07T20:48:00.000+01:00

Today I was at the Sheriff Court in Edinburgh. The court is not normally open on a Saturday, but today was a special event organised by the Faculty of Advocates and the Education Department of the City Council, whereby the lawyers, court officers, jury members and witnesses were all high school pupils from 8 different schools across the city particiapting in mock trials. The courtroom was real, the judge was real and the kids were fantastic. I'll describe more about the cases and processes in the coming days. Given that photography and filming is not allowed in Scottish courts, this was a golden opportunity for me to bring you something you wouldn't normally see.

Chapel Entrance

2006-10-06T18:30:00.000+01:00

The entrance at Rosslyn Chapel does have a few carvings, but only a small amount compared to what you'll find inside. The building has been undergoing structural works for a couple of years now and is covered in scaffolding...the pictures you saw in the film of the chapel in its surroundings were digitally enhanced! Hopefully the works will be successfully completed soon so that people can enjoy the chapel both inside and out.

More Rosslyn

2006-10-05T22:43:00.000+01:00

In answer to Kris yesterday, no I didn't wander around with the book in my hand...but more and more visitors to Rosslyn Chapel do come armed with a copy of Dan Brown's best-seller. Still, due to the publicity generated by the book and the film, more and more tourists make the effort to come out to this quiet corner of Midlothian.

Rosslyn Chapel - more carvings

2006-10-04T22:07:00.000+01:00

After another trip out to Rosslyn Chapel, and the first since reading the Da Vinci Code, I could spend hours looking at the amazing carvings which adorn every last inch of space on the walls, columns and ceiling of the Chapel. The chapel is well worth the 40 minute bus-ride from the centre of the city.

Edinburgh Rock!

2006-10-03T21:01:00.000+01:00

From this photo of a part of the castle, you can see the way the castle was built into the rock. Also, the stone used to build the castle blends into the colour of the rock as well. Interestingly, the castle was built on top of an extinct volcano...Scotland while having a very interesting geological history is practically geologically dead these days! Edinburgh rock is something else though!!

Polish Influx

2006-10-02T18:00:00.000+01:00

Since Poland joined the EU in 2004, young Poles have come to Edinburgh in their droves to work and save money. Recently, businesses catering to the Polish community have opened up, particularly in the Leith area, where I live. We now have Polish delis, Polish restaurants, Polish bars, Polish club nights and Polish Mass at the Catholic Church. You can also get Polish newspapers and Polish beer in the Pakistani owned corner shops - cross cultural mingling at its finest! It is thought that there are approximately 40,000 Poles living in Edinburgh - almost 10% of the city's population, and certainly on the streets and on the buses it has quickly become the city's second language.

DP Theme Day: Taxis

2006-10-01T08:22:00.000+01:00

Taxis is the theme for October, and Edinburgh Daily Photo is happy to be among the growing band of DP blogs who come together on the 1st of each month to share a particular theme. I've posted Edinburgh taxis before because they're pretty colourful and fun. Most cabs are painted with adverts for something or other, but they're obviously expensive to paint or re-paint as I still see a cab going around painted out in an advert for EU Jet, an airline that went bust about 18 months ago!

Go and see what cabs are like in other parts of the world.
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 43 - 44

Edinburgh Rooftops

2006-09-30T10:25:00.000+01:00

The rooftops of the New Town, particularly nearer the Princes Street side are certainly not as impressive as the spires and gable ends of the Old Town. That said, looking from the Scott Monument north towards the Firth of Forth and onwards to Fife is still a pleasant enough view.

Princes Street Scene

2006-09-29T19:34:00.000+01:00

Looking down from the Scott Monument, you get a perfect view of the hustle and bustle of Princes Street. Edinburgh's maroon coloured double-decker buses are very distinctive, and indeed I have ditched the car commute and joined the ranks of the bussing commuters as of August this year. My bus is the number 10...for some reason, it's never one of the more modern buses in the fleet!

Waverley Bridge

2006-09-28T21:57:00.000+01:00

Waverley bridge is where the tour buses and the buses to the airport depart from. You can see the platforms from Waverley station extending out from under the bridge, the roof of the station and the Old Town in the background. The train lines are pretty much the boundary between the Old and New Town. The bridge has a bit of a bend to it and I always think one day it's going to crack under the weight!

Jenners

2006-09-27T22:43:00.000+01:00

You really do step back decades, into retailing history when you walk into Jenners, the UK's oldest independent department store. At least it used to be able to boast that title, but it was bought by the House of Fraser group a few years ago but the distinctive Jenners name stays. It is one of the these labyrinthine stores with pillars, half floors, back passages to hidden departments and a nightmare for those who like to get in, find what they're looking for and get back out again!

Hungry?

2006-09-26T20:48:00.000+01:00

I'm back! It's been quite a weekend and getting back to work on Monday was a bit of an anti-climax. Anyway, despite having just polished off a lovely home-made Thai green curry, I felt in the mood to share some traditional Scottish food with you. Here we have haggis, neeps and tatties...Scotland's national dish! Enjoy!

Busy Weekend coming up

2006-09-22T07:00:00.000+01:00

Sorry folks, but I have a mad busy weekend coming up and won't have time to post anyhting over the next few days. Will be back on Tuesday once everyone has left! Have a great weekend!

The Scotsman

2006-09-20T21:07:00.000+01:00

The Scotsman newspaper is Edinburgh's only national contribution to journalism, and is a good, serious paper. Edinburgh is far too posh to publish tabloids! Glasgow is undoubtedly the capital of Scottish media, both broadcasting and print. The building they currently occupy, behind the Parliament was purpose-built a few years ago. Their previous home was a rather sumptious old building on North Bridge, by the station. It is now a luxury hotel! Everything changes in Edinburgh.

Blogger Trouble

2006-09-19T22:05:00.000+01:00

Having problems uploading today's photo and am now heading to bed! Night night!

Smoking Ban...6 months on

2006-09-18T20:42:00.000+01:00

These signs are up at the airport and railway station greeting visitors as they arrive in Scotland. The smoking ban has been in place now for 6 months and is working very well. Admittedly there have been winners and losers. Pubs serving food have seen takings increase substantially while some pubs whose customers are mainly old men have lost money or closed. Many however have been taken over and given a new lease of life. One spit and sawdust old man's pub near me, The Old Salt, closed in the summer. It re-opened three weeks ago as Destination, a drag-queen gay cabaret bar! Quite a transformation!

Scots for Sale

2006-09-17T18:53:00.000+01:00

Whoever came up with the idea for this collection of coasters, T-shirts, mousepads and mugs must have made a fortune from it. When I lived in Japan, I got sent a mug and mousepad with everyday Scots words on them like these and I really treasured them...I had a 'fitba' mug and a 'blether' mousepad. These are really popular, especially as they give a Scots dictionary defintion of what each word means and examples of usage. Any guesses on what the words mean...Scots, let the others have a go first.

Public Lobby

2006-09-16T18:28:00.000+01:00

Inside the entrance lobby to the Parliament, you can find out all sorts of information about the function of the parliament and about how the democratic process works in Scotland...next elections May 2007...with the factional infighting in the Labour Party at a UK level, they could be interesting. Anyway, the lobby has this odd curved ceiling with lots of little odd-shaped crosses on it. Any guesses what they are meant to represent? I'll give the answer later (at least what the guides say they are meant to represent!)