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| City Skyline from The Rooftop Terrace at The National Museum of Scotland |
Our itinerary was simple: The National Museum of Scotland, The Camera Obscura, The National Museum of Scotland, The Real Mary King's Close, The National Museum of Scotland, Greyfriar's Kirkyard, and The National Library of Scotland. Oh, and did I mention The National Museum of Scotland.
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| City Skyline from the top of The Camera Obscura |
You might wonder what this has to do with writing. I'll try and explain. Edinburgh has inspired some amazing books, and not just recently either. My tour guide (my sister, Judith!) explained how Deacon Brodie had inspired the writing of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, while my other guide (another sister who is an Edinburgh resident) pointed out the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series. I hoped to tap in to a little bit of this age-old inspiration.
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| The Coffin Dolls (picture by Judith) |
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| The Window on the World at The National Museum of Scotland |
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| A Sabre-Toothed Tiger at The National Museum of Scotland |
To appease my slight obsession with Lord Byron we visited the John Murray Archive exhibition in the National Library of Scotland, conveniently a two minute walk from The National Museum of Scotland where (as you may have guessed!) we spent a lot of time. But there was stacks of inspiration to be had here. Judith loves the mystery and intrigue surrounding the Coffin Dolls (pictured above), a set of miniature figures resting in tiny boxes decorated as coffins. The Real Mary King's Close has a story to every room, even those that seem empty, and they're all stories worth telling.
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| My head on a platter (picture by Judith) |
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| Jaw Dropping at The Camera Obscura |
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| Judith's dream come true! |
Walking through The Camera Obscura is like stepping into the pages of a fairytale, where everything is real but nothing is true, while Greyfriar's Kirkyard, with its new herb gardens, is a world away from the chaos of city life outside its gates. The old city wall splits the kirkyard in two as it weaves through the elaborate and heartfelt memorials that have been erected upon or against it.
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| The Ensign who took an eagle and changed a crest |
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| My Gingerbread Bear at The Hub |
I'll be honest with you though. Edinburgh is not my sort of city. Litter was drifting through the streets, bins were overflowing, and there seems to be a tradition of disposing of cigarette ends between the cobbles. Despite my initial misgivings these fantastic establishments, in a city which scarcely matched their devotion and fervour, brought life to the streets of our capital. I think it was Anthony Burgess who first used the phrase "All Human Life is Here" and it's the echo of that, calling down through the ages, which sparks a flicker and fans the furnace of Edinburgh as an inspirational city.
Incidentally, these were amongst my favourite finds:
These all relate to Sir David Baird, a man whose need for justice (or revenge) knew no limits. The Storming of Seringapatam is the twentieth instalment of Beneath Black Clouds And White - the prequel to Day's Dying Glory - currently serialised on Channillo.
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