Sunday Post Magazine Online Feature

1. From the top of the Mound and its junction with Lawnmarket, walk along George IV Bridge, with the Scottish Parliament administration building on your right, before plunging down the colourful sweep of Victoria Street and into West Bow. Look out for specialist cheese emporium Ian Mellis, which counts Billy Connolly as a customer and Robert Cresser, The Brush Shop, an institution visited by Rod Stewart and The Blairs when they’re browsing for brooms.
Reaching the foot, to the right is the open expanse of the Grassmarket — an area hoachin’ with history. Granted a charter for a cattle market by James III in 1477, the Grassmarket developed into a forum for trading everything from horses to timber. Also attracting inns and stables, then drinking dens and dives, by the 19th century the area had deteriorated into one of the city’s most notorious slums, full of hostels for the homeless.
At the bottom of West Bow, make for the blue police box, behind which is the low walled area of the Covenanters Memorial. About 100 Covenanters — signatories of the Covenant protesting King Charles I’s efforts to introduce bishops into the kirk — were hanged there between 1680-88. Its history as the site of many public hangings is reflected in pub names such as The Last Drop and Maggie Dickson’s — after ‘half-hangit Maggie’ who suddenly sat bolt upright en route to her own burial, startling her grieving relatives.

2. From the Covenanter’s Memorial cross at the lights to the south side and bear left towards Candlemaker Row. Among several interesting shops along this stretch is vintage clothes store
W. Armstrong. Established in 1840, Armstrong’s has attracted the likes of Kylie Minogue and Susan Sarandon. Wind Things specialises in boomerangs, kites, circus props and frisbees, while Stan Wood’s Fossils sells fossils and stones from all over the world. And there is also the Flodden Wall which once formed the old city boundary.
At the junction at the top of the hill is the statue of one of Edinburgh’s finest, Greyfriars Bobby, the terrier who kept a loyal 14 year vigil to his master John Gray who died in 1858. Donations from dog lovers all over the globe poured in to erect a memorial to Bobby.
As you face Bobby’s statue, the graveyard entrance is to your left, set back from the road. Although the church is undergoing renovation, it’s still possible to see the highlights in the grounds and Bobby’s tomb.
Inside the church grounds, continue along the right-hand side of the church and take the path off to the right. On your left is the grave of Walter Scott’s parents and in front, more of the Flodden Wall. The building through the gates ahead is George Heriot’s School, a former orphanage founded with money bequeathed by the philanthropic jeweller known as Jinglin’ Geordie because of the amount of coins he carried.
Also check out the Covenanter’s prison where, allegedly, 1200 prisoners were interned in the open for five months after the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. Many perished, and 257 were shipped as slaves to the West Indies.

3. Back out of the churchyard, turn right and proceed along Forrest Road to the second set of traffic lights. Don’t cross at those lights but turn right, along Lauriston Place, passing the Telfer Wall, an extension of the Flodden Wall, and the impressive frontage of George Heriot’s School.
Now turn right into Heriot Place that leads to a steep track called the Vennel and one of the surviving Flodden towers. Walk down the steps of the Vennel, enjoying the spectacular views of Edinburgh Castle, before arriving back at the west end of the Grassmarket.

4. It’s worth exploring this precinct at your leisure, especially the White Hart Inn on the north side, where both William Wordsworth and Robert Burns stayed while visiting Edinburgh. And some refreshment will certainly be necessary before tackling the steep Castle Wynd South leading up towards the Castle. At the top of the steps is Johnston Terrace. Follow this to the right until reaching the seemingly endless staircase, Castle Wynd North, ending on the Castle Esplanade. Once there, take in the breath-taking 360 degree vistas over the city — you’ve earned it!