Curious Traveler

This hilly and chilly capital of Scotland is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is full of curious legends and history. Welcome to Edinburgh. (upbeat music) Remember when you were a child and all you asked was why, why, why? Well, I never quite outgrew that whole quest for knowledge phase.

In fact, I've made a career out of asking who, what, where, why, and how as an arts and travel journalist for the passed 20 years. So, if I have an insatiable curiosity about the exciting, inspiring, beautiful world of art, architecture, and hidden history all around us, I bet you do too. This isn't your typical what to do on a vacation travel show, oh no. This is your all access pass to a deeper understanding of the world's great art and architecture, people and places, history and how did they do that.

So, come along on our educational journey. Our field trip for grownups, who have never quite grownup and learn on Curious Traveler. (bagpipes playing) From it's elegant New Town to its medieval Old Town, to an ancient rock that became the perfect spot for its royal castle, it is time to get a wee bit curious about the nooks and crannies of Edinburgh Scotland. (folk music) When you see Edinburgh for the first time, it looks like it's floating up in the sky.

The whole town laid out end to end in front of you. It almost looks magical. And, as we're about to learn, it is. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and it's the home to Scottish royal history.

From Mary Queen of Scots to a whole bunch of King Jameses it is also the home of literary greats. From Sir Walter Scott, to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to another world famous writer, who isn't a sir, but certainly is magical. Edinburgh is also the home to volcanoes, which seems a strange place to build a city. And, it's full of wonky Diagon Alley streets, closed off closes, and an odd number of Greek temples, for such a Scottish city.

There's also a medieval Old Town, and an elegant New Town. Which combined together gives Edinburgh its UNESCO World Heritage status. But in all this history, where do we get the name Edinburgh? Well, it is believed that an ancient Celtic tribe called the Gododdins named their hill for Din Eidyn.

Later the Angles captured that fort and added the old English word, burh, meaning fort. So, that's where we get the name Edinburgh. Now, why the locals say Edinburgh instead of Edin-berg, is a whole different thing, just say it like they do, trust me. (folk music) So, here's what I'm curious about in Edinburgh Scotland, where did Scotland's kings and queens live, and why don't we have Scottish kings and queens anymore?

Why was Edinburgh called Auld Reekie? And, the Athens of the north? And, who is permanently perched inside this gothic cathedral looking monument. Where did Arthur sit?

What's so royal about the Royal Mile? And, what's so royal about this chapel? And, why are there so many tunnels underneath Edinburgh? And, the most magical question of all, where did the Wizarding World begin?

Let's begin our curious journey into Edinburgh where Edinburgh began, Castle Rock and Edinburgh Castle. Perched nearly 400 feet up above its town, circled by a massive wall, Edinburgh Castle keeps an eye on its city below from its lofty perch. And, that perch happens to be on a volcano. Not to fret, Castle Rock is on top of an extinct volcano, apparently a pretty popular place to live for thousands of years.

There's evidence of settlements here dating back to the Bronze Age. This is the mighty Edinburgh Castle, sitting high upon its hill overlooking the city. Of course it was once the home to Scotland's kings and queens, including Mary Queen of Scots. Inside the castle walls we have the royal palace, the Stone of Destiny and the heart of Scotland.

The history of Edinburgh Castle tells the history of the Kingdom of Scotland. Since the Middle Ages, Scotland had its own monarchy, separate from England or Great Britain. In fact, over the centuries, Scotland was in near constant battle with England, until the Union of the Crowns in 1603, which united the two countries. And by the way, this is how we get the Union Jack, the national flag of the United Kingdom from the combination of England's Cross of St.

George and Scotland's Cross of St. Andrew. Later, once Ireland joins the United Kingdom, the Cross of St. Patrick is added too.

This happened under Scottish King, James the Sixth, who then becomes James the First of England. I know, it gets confusing. (bagpipes playing) King James is a very important figure in Scottish history. From him, we get the King James version of the Bible.

And the Jamestown Colony in America. And, he was born here in the royal palace at Edinburgh Castle. King James' mother is legendary too, Mary Queen of Scots. She was famously accused of plotting against her cousin, who happened to be Queen Elizabeth the First of England.

So, poor Queen Mary was imprisoned for years and then ultimately beheaded. Yikes. But, let's chat of happier times here at the castle, shall we? Like the great events held here in the Great Hall with giant wooden beams across the ceiling, and Scotland's military might displayed through shields, symbols, and armory.

And, a curious little detail, you just might miss, at least the king was hoping people would miss it. In the heart of the castle is the Great Hall, built in 1511, for state banquets and grand ceremonies. As grand as the Great Hall is, there's a tiny detail here that is the most curious. It's a little tiny window above the fireplace, called the laird's lug, laird meaning lord and lug meaning ear.

It is believed that the king himself would hide behind it to spy on his court below. Did you see what she was wearing? Don't ya love it? (somber music) Next, from an insecure king to a charitable queen, we go back outside to see the tiniest part of the castle, this little building is dedicated to The Pearl of Scotland.

This is the lovely St. Margaret's Chapel, named after Queen Margaret. It was built around 1130 and it is the oldest surviving building here at the castle. It is also one of the oldest buildings in all of Edinburgh.

Queen Margaret lived in the 11th Century and according to legend, as her family fled northward after the Battle of Hastings, their ship veered off course and landed in Scotland. And that's how she met and later married King Malcolm the Third and became the Queen of Scotland. Then, because of her virtuous life and charitable works, she became known as The Pearl of Scotland. And, later more than a century after her death, she became a saint.

Next, from a tiny chapel to a soaring cathedral, let's take a stroll down the Royal Mile. (bagpipes playing) Edinburgh's Old Town is like stepping back in time, with story book stone cottages, winding cobblestone streets, and a majestic gothic cathedral. But it all looks a little charbroiled, doesn't it? In fact, Edinburgh's nickname is Auld Reekie, meaning old smokey.

For centuries, smoke from all the chimneys and all the coal fires, poured onto these buildings, all trapped by the medieval town wall, so that gave the town its toasty color and nickname. But today, it just adds to its charm. And the best place to experience that charm, just roll down the hill from the castle. In the heart of Edinburgh's Old Town, is the Royal Mile.

It's called the Royal Mile because it connects the two royal houses, Edinburgh Castle at one end, and the Palace at Holyrood House at the other. But here's the funny thing, as royal as it may be, it is not technically a mile. It's length is actually about a Lang Scots Mile long, which is about 1.2 miles. Why?

Well, until Scotland began using English standardized measurements, you could call anything you darn well pleased a mile. But it gets even better, the Royal Mile is actually made up of several streets, including Lawnmarket, Canongate, Castlehill, and High Street. Believe it or not, for centuries, all of Edinburgh was squished, centered along the Royal Mile. And because all the shops wanted to face the street, the only choice was to build up, up, up.

But, it is what's between these squished buildings, that's the most curious feature of all, which we'll get to in a minute. But first, we visit a crown topped cathedral, named for Edinburgh's patron saint, whose best pal was a deer. (somber music) Saint Giles Cathedral was founded in the early 12th century. Today, it is the historic city church of Scotland and it is dedicated to St.

Giles, the patron saint of Edinburgh. And, the legend of St. Giles is quite curious. It is believed that he lived in the seventh century, in France, as a hermit with only a cute little deer as his buddy.

One day the King of the Visigoths went out hunting, shot at the deer, but St. Giles took the arrow instead. Because of this, and other miracles, St. Giles is known as the protector of the weak.

And St. Giles Cathedral itself is quite important to Scottish history, during the Middle Ages, Scotland's Stewart Kings, from James the First, through James the Fifth, all attended services here. And, John Knox, the leader of the Scottish Reformation, preached here. But while St.

Giles Cathedral arises prominently from the Royal Mile, our next curious spot is a little more mysterious and hidden, and sometimes dark and creepy. (mythical music) If you look closely at the Royal Mile you will see signs like, Advocate's Close, Roxburgh's Close, and Warriston's Close. What the heck is a close? Well, they are old and curiously steep, and I do mean steep, alley ways, between the close buildings, that were closed off with gates at either end, to become tiny little streets that led to side doors and people's cramped little homes.

So, why were these tiny streets needed here in Edinburgh? Well, because at one time this was the most congested city in all of Europe. The 30,000 people lived inside our medieval walls and they enclose about a quarter square mile. Now, if those are just numbers let me put that in human terms.

If we're talking population density, think modern day New York City. Okay. Times four. Interesting, okay.

No running water, no sewage system, and then someone says, let's have some farm animals right in the middle of that. That limited space forced buildings to be built higher and higher and closer and closer. Fortunately, a little bit of sun would peak through to the closes below. At least there used to be some sunlight.

So, tell us why we don't have sunlight coming through anymore? Because they put a big building on top of it. That's right, right now we are underneath Edinburgh City Chambers. Why?

Well, as historic as these little closes were, in later years they were taking up prime real estate along the Royal Mile. So, instead of leveling off the sloppy hill, city planners just put a flat platform over the old closes and built brand new buildings up on top. So, that's why today we are walking in cool labyrinth of underground streets and former homes. This main close is named, Mary King's Close, after a business woman who had the right to vote.

Pretty impressive for a woman of the 1600s. Now we didn't actually decide how streets were gonna be named, that just kinda grew organically. If you had a lot of butchers on the street, it would become Flesh Market Close, because the butchers are the fleshers. And the lawyers are on Advocate's Close, but sometimes one person is special enough.

So in this case, if I lived here, and I wanted to describe to you were I lived, I would ask you, do you know where Mary King lives? -

Christine

But as cool as that is to have a street named after you, life here for the working folk was pretty harsh. Many families were too poor to afford candles, so lived in the dark. And no family had something as luxurious as indoor plumbing. I don't know if you remember about the gardyloo being flung to the street?

Yeah. If you think this is hard to navigate, there's a layer of filth about this deep. Ah, gosh. And, you have to somehow make your way through that as well huh?

-

Christine

Do you think they had Febreeze back then? (whimsical music) After the closes were covered over, and this network of streets and homes became underground, you'd think no one would want to live here right? Well, sadly some people still did. Okay, so I can almost reach it, so this was the doorway.

You can see the line here, that was the original one. Exactly. In the 17th century, and this brick was put in when? 1930s.

And tell me again, why was the brick put in? That was the time of the Great Depression, there's a lot of desperate people here in the city, of course, people have lost their jobs, desperate need a place to stay, and they knew about these little hide-y holes where they might be at least out of the weather. But if you look at this place, the state it's currently in, you can imagine how it is an absolute disaster waiting to happen. If we had let those people in here, people would of died.

So, they were all kicked out, and the entrances, both the doors and the windows were bricked up behind them. These bricks are here to keep people out. (magical music) Alright-y, anyone else ready to come up for air? Let's head back above ground, high high above ground in fact, above all of Edinburgh, to a seat fit for royalty.

(bagpipes playing) This curiously shaped rock behind me, is known as, Arthur's Seat. Now, in fact, Arthur's Seat is the remnants of a 350 million year old extinct volcano. In legend though, it is one of the possible locations for King Arthur's Camelot. All I have to say is, if that is the seat for King Arthur, than his round table must be pretty darn big.

Arthur's Seat is another extinct volcano, just like Castle Rock. Surrounding Arthur's Seat are the Salisbury Crags. Add in some breathtaking hills, rocks, and glens, and you get the beautiful Holyrood Park. It's a little taste of the Scottish Highlands, right here in Edinburgh.

It is so beautiful, in fact, that the men of the Scottish Enlightenment supposedly walked along here to get inspiration. We'll meet some of them in a moment. Next, we go high above Edinburgh to visit some Greek temples, well of course we do. (Scottish folk music) Calton Hill holds up many of Edinburgh's most important monuments, most of them built in the 1800s.

Like the National Monument dedicated to Scots who died in The Napoleonic Wars. It was supposed to be a replica of the Parthenon in Athens but funds ran out, so today we only have these 12 proud columns, standing tall, overlooking the city. The Nelson Monument is dedicated to Admiral Lord Nelson, and shaped like a telescope turned on its side. And, the City Observatory and The Royal High School are just about as Greek temple as you can get.

As is this monument, dedicated to the national poet of Scotland. At the foot of Calton Hill is the Burns Monument, dedicated, of course, to Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns. But his monument doesn't look very Scottish does it? Well, just like the rest of the monuments here, this one is neoclassical.

And fittingly, it is modeled after an ancient Greek monument that also was dedicated to the arts. The Burns Monument was modeled after the Choragic Monument to Lysicrates, in Athens. Even the design at the top mimics that ancient Greek arts trophy. Now, will all this Greekness going on up here, you might think that's how Edinburgh got its nickname, Athens of the North, but in fact that name came about for quite another curious reason, which we will find by heading back down the hill and exploring Edinburgh's New Town.

(Scottish folk music) In the late 1700s, Edinburgh had a major expansion, a huge area of land was purchased north of the Old Town to create a New Town, full of gorgeous Georgian architecture. Nice wide streets and dotted with these lovely little parks. Here's the most amazing thing though, as you wander through it today, some 300 years later, it still feels like a new town. So, who do we have to thank for this lovely New Town?

Well, a young man named James Craig, who was only in his 20s when he beat out the older competition during a design contest held in the 1700s. His design was influenced by the great cities of Europe and his simple grid iron plan was put into place here in Edinburgh in the late 1760s. Edinburgh's New Town is one of the best preserved examples of Georgian town planning in the entire United Kingdom. With it's Greek porticoes, columns, grand terraces, and elegant feel, Edinburgh's New Town was intended only for people of a certain rank and fortune.

You wouldn't find any shops, theaters, or markets here, that riffraff was reserved for the working class back in Old Town, indeed. (bagpipes playing) It wasn't these superficial socialites, it was more of an enlightened crowd that made Edinburgh the Athens of the North. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Edinburgh was a hot bed of genius, from great thinkers, to philosophers, to artists. This was the period of the Scottish Enlightenment, a movement of groundbreaking philosophies, ideas and publications.

The very first Encyclopedia Britannica was published here in Edinburgh. These great thinkers used to meet here along the Royal Mile so it is fitting that today you can find their statues here. In front of St. Giles Cathedral is the philosopher and economist Adam Smith, considered the father of modern capitalism.

And nearby, is philosopher David Hume. Apparently rubbing his big toe brings you great wisdom, some call it enlight-toe-ment. Later the Scottish Enlightenment Movement brought about great writers in Scotland too, like Robert Burns and a certain Sir, who permanently hangs out in Princess Street Gardens. Princess Street Gardens is full of monuments to Scotland's historic figures and to get to its grandest, we stroll through this lovely public park.

It's really pretty isn't it? Right in the center of Edinburgh, full of fresh green grass, flowers and sunny spots to while the day away. Well, hate to burst this vision of paradise but you'll never guess what Princess Street Gardens used to be. This area was the Nor Loch, or North Lake here below the town and all that gardyloo from the closes above, not to mention the towns dead bodies, were all dumped here into the loch.

Probably not a good place for swimming. But later the loch was drained and eventually replaced with this park, with a really giant monument at one end that looks like the top of a gothic cathedral. It is the 200 foot high tribute to legendary Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott. This is one of the largest monuments dedicated to a writer in the entire world.

It is decorated with characters from his novels and with his dog Maida, forever at his side. It gets even more curious. One of Scott's greatest works is the Waverley Series, and wouldn't you know it, right across from his monument is the Waverley Train Station. But, he's not the only Sir that goes down in Scottish literary history.

Here's a curious question for you, where's the hometown of one of the most popular writers in history? Well the answer my dear Watson, is elementary. (whimsical music) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, here at Picardy Place. From humble beginnings, he went on to become one of the most famous mystery writers in history, with dozens of books on a certain sleuth named, Sherlock Holmes.

But, there's one more writer that is forever linked to beautiful Edinburgh. Although she is not a Sir, she is rather magical. This simple coffee shop behind me is one of the most popular spots for visitors to snap a selfie. Why?

Well, of course it is where J.K. Rowling did some of her earliest writings about the boy who lived. Now, for you muggles out there who don't know what I'm talking about, I'm sorry but I just can't help ya. (mystical music) That's right, the worldwide sensation that is Harry Potter had its humble beginnings right here.

Author J.K. Rowling sat in this coffee shop to write her scripts and gaze out the back window at Edinburgh Castle. She was also known to roam the streets of Edinburgh, perhaps getting her inspirations for Harry's Wizarding World. Can't you see a little Diagon Alley in these streets, maybe a hint of Hogwarts in this castle, or maybe Hogsmead in these wonky pubs and shops?

Possibly Nocturn Alley in these creepy closes? What a wonderful connection, the writer of one of the most successful book series in modern time getting her inspiration along the same streets and cafes as the great thinkers of the Enlightenment. It's all just part of the magic of Edinburgh. So, from a couple of extinct volcanoes to a medieval street that isn't exactly a mile but it sure is royal, that was so popular that more and more and more people kept moving in, until the buildings had to go up, up and up, and alleys got smaller, and smaller, and smaller, until they eventually went underground.

With shouts of gardyloo that did more than get your shoes dirty, to a seat fit for a mythological king, to a castle fit for kings, queens and even a queen who became a saint, to another saint with a deer pal, to a novelist with a dog pal. From an Old Town to a new, to an enlightened city that encouraged free thought, which lead to great writers of mystery, and great writers of magic, all inspired by these same craggy, cobble-y streets we walk today. Edinburgh has so much to be curious about. Thank you for joining us on our educational journey and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when and how of curious Edinburgh.

As the Scottish say, bye for now! (bagpipes playing)