Scotland July/August 2022 - Sample Issue

ANCESTRY • HISTORY • HERITAGE • TRAVEL

The world’s leading Scottish-interest magazine

GEORGE IV’S VISIT

Essential Edinburgh The ultimate guide to Scotland’s capital

Roll out the tartan carpet

Isle of Iona

The small island with a lot of soul

Turrets & Towers Fyvie is the fairytale castle you’ve been dreaming of

EXCLUSIVE

THE ROAD DANCE

Meet the star of the new Hebridean film

THE KILTED CHEF

On cooking for Sean Connery and his return home

ISSUE 123 Jul/Aug 2022 £4.95

TRAVEL

| Edinburgh

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Taleof Two Cities

Planning your next visit to Scotland’s enigmatic capital? Read our editor Sally Coffey’s guide to Edinburgh before you book

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Edinburgh |

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LEFT TO RIGHT: Lady Stair’s Close in Edinburgh’s atmospheric Old Town; in contrast, elegant Georgian townhouses in the city’s New Town

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| Edinburgh BELOW: Colourful shops and cafes in the Old Town’s West Bow curve round to join Victoria Street

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or a compact city, Edinburgh packs a big punch. There’s no doubt it’s Scotland’s most handsome city – with the medieval street plan and Reformation-era buildings of the Old Town on one side of Princes Street Gardens, and the neoclassical squares and terraces of the New Town on the other, it was rightly declared a World Heritage Site in 1995.

It’s this dual personality that gives Edinburgh its eternal appeal, and to really understand the city, you simply must experience both sides.

With Waverley train station conveniently placed between the two sides, Edinburgh is relatively easy to explore on foot – though climbing the steep steps that mark the entry to the Old Town to reach the Royal Mile, certainly takes some stamina (taxis are readily available if you’d rather).

The Royal Mile is the name given to the bustling thoroughfare that connects Edinburgh Castle at the top with the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom. It didn’t get its ‘Royal Mile’ moniker until 1901, when author W M Gilbert described it thus in his book, Edinburgh in the

Nineteenth Century, and it’s a Scots mile, which is about 200 yards longer than the English equivalent.

Of course, it wasn’t always a thoroughfare either. Until the 18th century, the Old Town, including the castle, was enclosed by the city walls, which hemmed it in around halfway down the Royal Mile.

Conditions within had grown increasingly cramped, leading to the nickname Auld Reekie (meaning ‘Old Smokey’), first coined in the 17th century, referring to the heavy smog that hung over the city from the open fires in the high tenement buildings.

By the 18th century, living conditions had become so bad in the Old Town that plans were drawn up to create a New Town on the other side of Nor Loch (today Princes Street Gardens).

A relatively unknown architect called James Craig won the bid to design the New Town, and though work began in the 1760s and the area soon became a hotbed of ideas during the Scottish Enlightenment, as Edinburgh’s greatest thinkers and the highest members of society moved in, the project wasn’t completed until the 1820s.

Living conditions had become so bad in the Old Town that plans were drawn up to create a New Town on the other side of Nor Loch

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OPPOSITE: The magnificent Ross Fountain in Princes Street Gardens, with the castle behind

© AK-STREETPHOTO/IAIN MASTERTON/ALAMY/FRANK FELL/VISITSCOTLAND/KENNY LAM ILLUSTRATION: © MICHAEL A HILL

Edinburgh | TRAVEL

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| Edinburgh

As work progressed, the plan grew more and more ambitious, with new architects employed to extend The New Town. Robert Adam was the creative mind behind stunning Charlotte Square, while William Playfair created both The National Gallery and The Royal Scottish Academy – buildings that incorporate many Greek revival features, such as columns and statues of goddesses, as was the fashion of the time.

It’s the Parthenon-style National Monument, stood atop Calton Hill, that borrows the most from Ancient Greece, though – a lasting reminder of Edinburgh’s attempt to shake off its not-very-flattering Auld Reekie label, and be assigned the title of ‘Athens of the North’ instead.

And so, Edinburgh’s tale is very much one of two cities, and to see one without the other would be doing it (and yourself) a disservice, so I recommend staying a couple of nights in one side of the city and a couple of nights in the other. S Read on for tips on how to enjoy the best of Edinburgh, Old and New

It’s the Parthenon-style National Monument, stood atop Calton Hill, that borrows the most from Ancient Greece 18 Scotland

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: The neoclassical National Gallery; the National Portrait Gallery’s Great Hall; Cheval Old Town Chambers offers modern comfort in the Old Town

PLAN YOUR VISIT

The Old Town

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ueen of the Old Town, indeed Queen of Edinburgh, is the castle, which sits upon its throne of Castle Rock, surveying its subjects, in full view virtually everywhere you go.

For some visitors to Edinburgh, seeing it from the outside is enough, but if you’d like to see the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels) which were miraculously rediscovered just before King George IV’s historic visit (see page 44) then it’s worth paying the ticket price. The guided tours are also excellent (edinburghcastle.scot).

A Gothic atmosphere pervades throughout much of the Old Town, where wynds (narrow lanes) and closes snake off the Royal Mile – historic settings of murder and other nefarious activities – and brooding buildings loom above.

If walls could talk, St Giles’ Cathedral (stgilescathedral.org.uk), with its striking crown spire, would have many a tale to tell. It has stood for over 1,000 years and in its time has been a place of worship of such prominent Scots as King David I and John Knox – the latter turned it

The Witchery by the Castle Book a room at Edinburgh’s most theatrical hotel – think red velvet drapes, four-poster beds, and bathrooms hidden behind bookcases – and you’ll be about as close to the castle as it is possible to get. Book direct with the hotel and you will receive a free bottle of champagne, which can be enjoyed before or after dinner in the oakpanelled 16th-century restaurant downstairs. Set in an old tenement building, some rooms are only accessible up a steep staircase, so check when booking. thewitchery.com The Bow Bar Halfway down Victoria Street – inspiration for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley – on West Bow is this personal favourite. With a good choice of cask beers and single-malt whiskies, and friendly staff, it’s a good place to rest between sightseeing and pick up some insider travel tips. thebowbar.co.uk

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© MAURITIUS IMAGES GMBH/ALAMY/MARK SYKES/AWL IMAGES LTD/KEVIN MCCOLLUM PHOTOGRAPHY

Cheval Old Town Chambers Opposite St Giles’ Cathedral, in terms of centrality, this beautifully converted hotel couldn’t be better placed. Guests have the best of both worlds here, with the 24hour concierge service, excellent restaurant, and swish public areas that you would expect of a luxury hotel, and the flexibility of an apartment-style room – complete with its own kitchen. Look for special deals when you book, such as the Jubilee-themed Fortnum & Mason hampers currently being offered for stays of three nights or more (until 18 September 2022).

It also has a sister property, The Cheval Edinburgh Grand on St Andrew Square in the New Town. chevalcollection.com/cheval-oldtown-chambers

STATELY HOMES

| Fyvie Castle

Words by SALLY COFFEY

IN THE

Pink

Kings, ghosts and unsavoury characters, Fyvie Castle’s history will reel you in

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STATELY HOMES

THIS IMAGE: Fyvie Castle’s fairytale appearance masks a turbulent history steeped in legend

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© VISITSCOTLAND/DAMIAN SHIELDS

Fyvie Castle |