Royal Mile Totally Explained

Everything about Royal Mile totally explained

The Royal Mile is the popular name for the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of Edinburgh's Old Town.
As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scottish mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle Rock down to Holyrood Abbey. It is said to be referred to by locals as "High Street", but properly, this is the name of only one stretch. The streets which make up the Royal Mile are (west to east) Castle Esplanade, Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate and Abbey Strand. The Royal Mile is Edinburgh Old Town's busiest tourist street, rivalled only by Princes Street in the New Town.

Geography

Retreating ice sheets, about a millennium ago, deposited their glacial debris behind the hard volcanic plug that's Castle Rock (which Edinburgh Castle sits upon), resulting in a distinctive crag and tail feature. Extending in an eastwards direction, the Royal Mile sits upon the spine of this crag and tail trailing gently down from the Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Steep closes (or alleyways) run between the many tall lands (or tenement buildings) off the main thoroughfare, many of which give way to the royal mile which is 1 mile long

Castle Esplanade and Castlehill

The Castle Esplanade was laid out in the 19th century primarily as a parade ground for troops. It is the venue of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Cannonball House is notable for a cannonball lodged in the wall, said to have been accidentally fired from the Castle.
From the Castle Esplanade, the short Castlehill is dominated by the former Tolbooth Highland St John's Church (on the right), now the headquarters of the Edinburgh International Festival society - The Hub. The Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland and New College are on the left - the Scottish Parliament met in the Assembly Hall between 1999 and 2004.

Lawnmarket

The Lawnmarket, which was the linen market, is dominated by tourist-oriented shops. On the left is the preserved 17th century townhouse Gladstone's Land owned by the National Trust for Scotland. The bottom of the Lawnmarket is marked by a major intersection with George IV Bridge on the right (south) and Bank Street on the left, leading to The Mound and the New Town. The view down Bank Street is dominated by the baroque headquarters of the Bank of Scotland.

High Street

During the annual Edinburgh Festival, the High Street becomes the city's central focus, and is crowded with tourists, entertainers and buskers. On the left is the High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's supreme criminal court. On the right, about one-third of the way down from the Castle toward the Palace is Parliament Square, named after the old Parliament House which housed both the law courts and the old Parliament of Scotland between the 1630s and 1707 (when it was adjourned by the Act of Union) Parliament House is now the home of the Court of Session, Scotland's supreme civil court. St Giles Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh, also stands in Parliament Square. By the West Door of St Giles is the Heart of Midlothian, a heart-shaped mosaic built into the pavement marking the site of the former Tolbooth (prison). Tolbooth prisoners used to spit as they entered the prison, and this tradition is maintained by some people, who spit on the Heart for good luck as they walk past. On the left, opposite St Giles', is Edinburgh City Chambers, where the City of Edinburgh Council meets. On the right, just past the High Kirk, is the Mercat Cross from which royal proclamations are read, and election results announced.
   The central focus of the Royal Mile is a major intersection with The Bridges. North Bridge runs left (north) to the New Town's Princes Street across Waverley station. To the right South Bridge (which appears from above to be simply a road with shops on either side: and even from below, only one arch is visible) spans across the Cowgate, a street many storeys below, and continues as Nicolson Street past the Old College building of the University of Edinburgh.
   Between The Bridges and John Knox House is one of the only remaining buildings on the Royal Mile that's still used for the same purpose for which it was built - Carrubbers Christian Centre. Built in 1883 to house the Carrubbers Close Mission, the building at the heart of the Royal Mile is home to a lively church.
   After John Knox's House the High Street reaches the former limits of the city, at its crossroads with St Mary's Street (north) and Jeffrey Street (south). At this point formerly stood the old Netherbow, a fortified gateway to Edinburgh (long since demolished). The recently rebuilt Netherbow Theatre is owned by the Church of Scotland and houses the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Following the English victory over the Scots at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, a city wall was built around Edinburgh known as the Flodden Wall, some parts of which still survive. The old Netherbow was a gateway in this wall and brass studs in the road mark where it use to stand. On the corner of St Mary's street is the World's End Pub, so named because this was formerly the boundary of the burgh - beyond was the land controlled by Holyrood Abbey (hence the name of the next section: Canongate.

Canongate

Beyond the crossroads, the Royal Mile continues on Canongate, meaning the canon's gait or monk's walk. It continues downhill past Moray House (now the School of Education of the University of Edinburgh), the old Canongate Tolbooth (now a museum of social history called The People's Story), the Kirk of the Canongate (the Canongate's parish church) and the new Scottish Parliament Building to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the ruined Holyrood Abbey. Until 1856 the Canongate wasn't merely a street, but the name of the surrounding burgh, separate from Edinburgh and not enclosed by the Flodden Wall.

Abbey Strand

The short approach to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Royal Mile today

Today, the Royal Mile is an eclectic mix of tourist shops and eateries as well as pubs and historical attractions. It also serves as the heart of Scotland's legal system, being the home of both the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session. However, since the Edinburgh City Council pedestrianised the area outside several of the shops, many businesses have been closing down and are going out of business.

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