Edinburgh Area

Edinburgh Castle

National Gallery of Scotland

Edinburgh's Lawnmarket

Area Main Page

Edinburgh is Scotland's capital city. People have lived here for the better part of 3000 years, and for a time it had the world's highest population density, crammed into the high rise tenements that grew around the High Street and Lawnmarket.

The name was changed from Din Eidyn by invading Angles in AD638, and earlier armies passing by had included the Romans on two occasions. Over the 500 years to 1745 Edinburgh Castle was attacked, successfully or unsuccessfully, on 13 occasions. When invaders arrived, residents of the city simply carried what they could to the surrounding countryside, returning when it was safe to do so.

Built on and around seven hills, today's Edinburgh is a wonderful blend of the old and the new, a remarkable place in which surprising changes of level occur at every turn. Small enough to be explored on foot and with views to the Pentland Hills, and Allermuir Hill in particular, to the south and the hills of Fife beyond the Firth of Forth to the north, this is without doubt one of the world's most fascinating and beautiful cities.

Undiscovered Scotland's coverage of the Edinburgh area is divided into a series of pages giving access to different types of accommodation and to other services and businesses. These can be accessed via the set of links on the right, which are repeated at the foot of the right hand column.

The Central Edinburgh Features include one on Edinburgh itself, giving an overview of the central part of the city and its history. The Edinburgh Castle page looks at the background to the city's most famous and outstanding landmark, while the Lower Castle and Upper Castle pages take an in depth look at the two main areas of the castle, giving more of an idea of what you can expect from a visit. Also within the castle is the National War Museum. Further down the Royal Mile, The Scotch Whisky Experience, Gladstone's Land, St Giles' Cathedral and Canongate Kirk are also covered, as is historic Greyfriars Kirk, St John's Church on Princes Street, and the Scottish Parliament Building at the foot of the Royal Mile and Our Dynamic Earth. Nearby is Holyrood Park and St Anthony's Chapel. We have also added a feature on the National Museum of Scotland and an Edinburgh Pub Guide.

At either end of the New Town, there are Feature Pages on Calton Hill and St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. The Georgian House gives a sense of the interior of a New Town house when first built. The Royal Botanic Garden, a little to the north of the centre of the city, is also the subject of a Feature. And in the first of a series of themed features about the city, there is a feature on the Edinburgh of Ian Rankin and John Rebus. On the western edge of the city is Edinburgh Zoo.

Each summer Edinburgh is home to the world's largest and most varied arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival. A number of Feature pages cover both the Festival itself and some if its constituent parts. These include pages on the International Book Festival, The Fringe, and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, plus an additional page of Tattoo Images.

The Western Edinburgh Features includes the lovely village of South Queensferry with its views of the Forth Road Bridge and Forth Rail Bridge. Nearby is Scotland's best preserved Norman parish church, Dalmeny Church. To the south of the bridges are Kirkliston and the village of Ratho, now best known for its connections with the reopened Union Canal, linking Edinburgh to Falkirk. Nearby is the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, the largest indoor climbing arena in the world. A mile south of Ratho is St Mary's Dalmahoy, a beautiful little church built on the edge of the Dalmahoy Estate. Not far away are the village of Balerno and the tranquil oasis of Malleny Garden. Also included in the Western Edinburgh Features is the pretty harbour village of Cramond, which has been an active port for two thousand years.

The Southern Edinburgh Features include the remarkable hamlet of Swanston, and Craigmillar Castle, the best preserved medieval castle in Scotland. Whether this is, as some suggest, linked by a tunnel to the mysterious Gilmerton Cove is debatable. Not far beyond Edinburgh's bypass you find Rosslyn Chapel in the village of Roslin. As well as being a truly remarkable piece of architecture, the Chapel is famous for the many legends that surround it, including suggestions that it is the hiding place of the Holy Grail, or the Ark of the Covenant, or part of the True Cross. Nearby is Rosslyn Castle. South of here is Penicuik. On the flank of the Pentlands overlooking Penicuik is the Castlelaw Hill Fort & Earth House. Another important piece of architecture in the area is Mavisbank near the old mining town of Loanhead. Further to the east are Lasswade and Bonnyrigg, and the Scottish Mining Museum. The most important of the towns to the south east of Edinburgh is Dalkeith,

To the north of Edinburgh lies its ancient port of Leith, now effectively a part of the city. The subject of large scale regeneration over the years, Leith is now firmly on the tourist trail as home to the Royal Yacht Britannia, moored alongside the shopping and leisure centre at Ocean Terminal. It is also home to South Leith Parish Church, built around a core dating back to 1483.

The Eastern Edinburgh Features cover some of the less well known attractions on this side of the city. At present these include the traditional seaside attractions of Musselburgh and its racecourse, a stately home in the form of Newhailes, and Inveresk Lodge Garden. Nearby is Prestongrange Museum, while beyond Prestonpans is the little known gem of Seton Collegiate Church close to the twin ports of Cockenzie & Port Seton and the old mining town of Tranent.