Edinburgh

Edinburgh Odds and Ends

This post goes through all the random statues, streets and buildings that don’t quite amount to enough for their own posts. To start with, we have this statue of the world’s only consulting detective. Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh. That building is no longer there but nearby to where it stood is this quite nicely done statue of his creation. The statue was sculpted by Gerald Ogilvie Laing and was moved to its new home on the traffic island here in 2023 after being taken from its original position for renovation.

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The Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh

Home to the devolved Scottish Parliament, the building was formally opened by Elizabeth II in 2004 after building commenced in 1999. It’s been a controversial building since the very start – I can remember the seemingly endless pieces about it in the news at the time – everything from the location, architect and most significantly the design was a hot topic of debate. It was over three years late and estimated to cost a truly staggering £414 million, just a bit out from its £10-40 million estimate! You can go on free tours of the building, the work of government permitting, but I just paid a flying visit here on my way back up the Royal Mile from visiting Holyrood Palace.

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Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh

Holyrood Abbey is the ruins of an abbey founded in 1128 by David I and can only be accessed on a visit to the Palace of Holyroodhouse next door.

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The Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh

Holyrood Palace, as it is more colloquially known, is the King’s official residence in Edinburgh. What this means from a practical standpoint is that photography isn’t allowed inside which is a shame because there are some beautiful rooms and items on display. Adult tickets cost £20 in advance, £22 on the day and gives you access to the 12th century abbey (that will feature in its own post), the palace gardens, the palace itself including the state apartments and what I found to be an excellent multimedia/audio guide.

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Edinburgh Zoo

I’d been to Edinburgh Zoo on my previous visit to the city and had decided to revisit partly because it really is an excellent zoo but also because it was a chance to say goodbye to Yang Guang and Tian Tian the giant pandas who returned to China in December 2023. I’d been lucky enough to see one of them on my previous visit and my luck remained as I was able to take some photos this time round – though with some difficulty and using a great deal of dexterity as this was by far the busiest area of the entire zoo.

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The Georgian House, Edinburgh

The Georgian House is a lovely National Trust of Scotland property a short walk from Princes Street in the centre of Edinburgh at Charlotte Square. It has been restored to how it would have been in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Adult tickets are £12.50 or free if you’re a member of National Trust England/Scotland.

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219 High Street, Edinburgh

This building was the site of the Elsie Inglis Hospice, a maternity hospital created by Dr. Elsie Inglis and Dr. Jessie McLaren MacGregor in 1904. They were among the first female students of medicine in Scotland and the hospice was run by an all female staff to serve the poorest women in Edinburgh and beyond. I made a special pilgrimage here because my great-grandmother was one of those poor, unwed women who gave birth here – to a son who would only live a few weeks.

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National Galleries of Scotland: The National, Edinburgh

The National (as it’s recently been renamed) was another one of the those places I hadn’t managed to get to on my previous visit to the city so I made sure to pop in this time. I arrived in Edinburgh just at the right time as they had recently revamped the building with newly opened galleries specifically to highlight Scottish artists in their collection which I was particularly eager to see. Free to enter the gallery can be found just off Princes Street by the Scott Monument.

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The Writers’ Museum, Edinburgh

The Writers’ Museum was one of the main places that I wanted to visit in Edinburgh itself because I’d wanted to go here on my last trip to the city but ran out of time to do so. Free to enter the museum focuses on three Scottish writers – Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.

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St Cuthbert’s Church and Kirkyard, Edinburgh

I wanted to visit St Cuthbert’s Church because I’m a big Agatha Christie fan and this is where she married her second husband the archaeologist Max Mallowan in 1930. However, I’d already scoped out prior to arriving in Scotland that none of the opening times of the church were going to work around what day trips I already had planned so I went along knowing that I wouldn’t be able to go inside. I was pleasantly surprised therefore to find that the grounds were more extensive than I had expected and I had a very nice walk around the kirkyard late one afternoon.

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