Last weekend I decided to pay a visit to Edinburgh, which I haven’t walked through for around nine years (having lived there for around four). The intent of the visit was partly nostalgia, but mainly to do some more photography and visit parts of Edinburgh that I did not got to see when I lived there. In that regard, the visit was a mixed success, and prompted me to look through my photographic archive to see if there are any older shots I took that may be worth uploading - something still to be decided upon. Meanwhile, I have uploaded a selection of photographs I took on this trip to the Edinburgh photography page.
I got up on the Friday afternoon, and the first thing I did was walk up Calton Hill, as I had no memory of actually seeing the view from there when I lived in the city. It was a good view, although I admittedly preferred the atmospheric playground that manifested on the Sunday morning. Afterwards I went on a nostalgia trip, having a drink at my favourite pub (The Regent), followed by a walk through the old neighbourhood (where I discovered that the pizza place and coffee shop had both disappeared) and then towards Bristo + George Square before making my way to Bruntsfield. Whilst the old pizza place may have gone, I did find a brilliant one on Nicolson St. - Pizza Posto. The University hadn’t changed much, although they had obviously finished giving the buildings a clean. This isn’t surprising considering that there were some major building and renovation works going on around 10-15 years ago, so there shouldn’t have been a need for (or even money for) any new ones on George/Bristo Sq.
There was no denying the fact that the weather that weekend was pretty bleak, even if it did offer some atmospheric opportunities on day two. I spent Saturday morning meandering my way down to Leith via the New Town and Canonmills, picking up the Water of Leith walk, which itself was rather sheltered. I always did rather like the old Georgian architecture of the New Town. One thing that was noticeable was the absence of certain financial firms and the shells that they left behind. I’m pretty certain that it was RBS that had a major office in the Canonmills district, and the Scottish Widows building opposite Pollock Halls is also now a derelict. Leith itself is much the same as I remember, although possibly with even more trendy coffee shops, and the upheaval caused by the tramline extension. Unfortunately, I ended up getting soaked around lunchtime, and spent a good 2-3 hours in the afternoon reading in the hotel room whilst my clothes dried off!
Graffiti along the Water of Leith walk
Calton Hill in low cloud
The Sunday proved more fruitful for photography. The moment I saw Calton Hill engulfed in low cloud, I made a beeline for it from Bruntsfield, and felt that I was justly rewarded with some rather cool shots. With the Napoleonic moment engulfed in cloud, I got the strangest sense like I was looking at a film set for a Blade Runner genre film, hence the multiple images I took of the monument, in an attempt to evoke such a feeling. The photo opposite was my attempt at conjuring a slightly more mysterious photographic setting & environment. An adjusted image is paired with the triptych on the photography page as I felt that slightly lighter image fitted in better as a set, however, this darker one I feel sits better as an individual image.
Dean Village, looking South
Dean Village, looking North East.
Having booked a timeslot for the National Gallery of Scotland in the afternoon, I decided to do a loop over to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (which unfortunately I didn’t get in to as it was fully booked), passing through Dean Village on the way back. It is picturesque, although what fascinated me more was how obvious it made Edinburgh’s steep and varied topography. You’d have thought that with the amount of walking up and down I did, both when I lived there and when visiting, this would already be driven home, but I guess it is just something you get used to - much like how flat London is. The visit to the National Gallery was definitely worth it, as there were a handful of paintings that I found fascinating, although I am now kicking myself for not noting down the painters’ names. However, with the internet to the rescue, they are listed below:
Alexander Nasmyth - “Princes Street with the Commencement of the Building of the Royal Institution”
Pieter Jansz. Saenredam - “The Interior of St. Bavo’s Church”
Frederic Edwin Church - “Niagara Falls, from the American side”
David Roberts - “Rome: Sunset from the Convent of Sant’ Onofrio on the Janiculum”
Panorama from Blackford Hill (image starts from the West, panning North and finishing South)
To cap off the trip I went for a walk up Blackford Hill (where the historic Royal Observatory is located) to get a different view of Edinburgh. I’ll admit that I don’t think the panorama quite does it justice, but the view across the South of Edinburgh was fantastic.
There are still plenty of places and districts left of Edinburgh to explore, and of course there are the numerous festivals each year. However, I think for me that visit was a good bit of closure to an earlier chapter in my life. Whether I go back again will, I suspect, depend more on the job market than any particular pull to indulge some nostalgia.