St. Andrew's House contributes greatly to the experience of impressive buildings alongside those…read morefound on Calton Hill and Old Calton Cemetery this side of the city centre. It is particularly interesting for those with an interest in architecture. Now I am not usually one of those people, but I know an interesting building when I see it, and this is one of those! The scale and detail on the North facing side is outstanding. As usual with this type of building, I am amazed by the thought of how much effort went into its construction, particularly the attention to detail and patience necessary to carve some of the ornate decoration. It is quite interesting to compare this to the Scottish Parliament building down in Holyrood and to think how different attitudes and tastes in architecture have changed over the past 70 to 80 years. Truly amazing. Well worth stopping and viewing on the way down from Calton Hill.

This Art-Deco building dominates the sky line of the southern Calton Hill area of Edinburgh. This…read moregem of a building is now the home of the Scottish Government but the building was built upon an old prison, very appropriate some would say! With the coming of devolution to Scotland the building went under a major refurbishment in 2001 allowing the building to now house hundreds of civil servants. Having from the outside, this early twentieth century building has been pretty much left in its original state. St. Andrew's House is most defiantly a monolithic structure from looking at the building from the north (on Regent Road). However, when looking up at the building from the Scottish parliament, the building is, in contrast to its other side, has a much more layered structure, allowing it to stretch over Calton Hill. A building, defiantly worth taking a look at, from the south and the north!

It's a pretty cool tower, oddly located in between a Tesco extra and Kilncraigs, home to the local…read morecouncil. It's apparently one of the earliest tower houses in Scotland and is a surviving part of the medieval residence of the Erskine family,, and later the Earls of Mar. As far as I know there is no access to the public to get inside and over the years the signage has faded, but if you're out and about in the Alloa area its worth having a look at since its in the town centre anyway.

While in town for a wedding we spent several days exploring and walking around the Abby. The…read moregrounds are so interesting and the history gives you such insight into local aspects. It is a beautiful site and has a lot of aspects. We thoroughly enjoyed just having a wander and not using a guide. If you wanted a more thorough visit a guidebook or tour would more history. There are some stairs and harder to reach spots, but it is a fascinating area.

So much history and completely free to visit and walk through. A small gift shop inside had a…read morevariety of things to buy. I thought it was well worth the visit, but to be fair, my last name is Bruce!

Visiting the kirkyard at nighttime is such a creepy experience. We decided to do it on our own,…read morewhich meant that we were completely unaware of the ghosts that are said to haunt this place. I didn't know about "Bloody MacKenzie" until our tour guide told us how brave we were for going at night. Did you know that this poltergeist attacks people at night? I had no idea. I think we even passed by his crypt when we were lost trying to find Tom Riddell's grave. It's super dark in there. Here's a little hint when trying to find the grave that is said to be JK Rowling's inspiration for the dark wizard in Harry Potter. Your GPS will take you to the part of the wall facing the church. Apparently, it happens to everyone because there is a sign at that point telling you that Tom Riddell is actually on the other side of the wall. Trying to find the pathway at night that leads you to that side of the kirkyard is the tricky part. There are many walking ghost tours that will take you here, but it was quite the experience discovering it on our own. Don't miss seeing the Greyfriars Bobby grave & memorial. It's at the main entrance to the kirkyard in front of the church. We didn't see it right away since we entered from a side entrance. I love that people are placing broken tree limbs in front of this famous Skye Terrier's grave. Doggies love to play with sticks. It's said that the doggie ghost is still seen around his master's grave (John Gray). There's a sign with the names of notable people of Edinburgh that are buried there. I'm speculating that the poltergeist may have taken his anger out on it. The sign has a few chunks of wood missing. There just happens to be a deep scratch mark by his real name, Sir George MacKenzie. How creepy is that? We didn't get to visit the church due to an evening service. I believe the museum and gift shop is open to visitors as well. It was great just to explore around it. It was a fun evening in a kirkyard!

Come for the Tom Riddell grave but stay for the beauty. A wonderfully gothic church and graveyard…read morehide in plain sight in the heart of Edinburgh. Don't miss it!

Standing just over 200ft (61m) high, and known as the Gothic Rocket, the Scott Monument is often…read moremistaken for a church - understandably, perhaps - and dominates the view of the eastern section of New Town along Princes Street. Following Scott's death in 1832 the people of Edinburgh decided that a monument should be built in memory of one of Scotland's best-loved literary figures. At the time he was probably the most widely read British author of the era. The Scott Monument is the largest monument to a writer in the world. some data says, its 2nd largest though. This is especially fitting, given that Edinburgh is a UNESCO City of Literature, having been home to many notable writers, such Scott, Burns, Stevenson, Conan Doyle and many more! There are 287 steps to the top of the Scott Monument, from where you can enjoy breathtaking views of Edinburgh and the surrounding countryside.

This gothic monument to the famous Scottish writer (Sir Walter Scott) is so dark and mysterious…read morelooking during the day. It's an even better view at night when it's all lit up. It kind of makes you wonder what it actually looked like before it soaked up "auld reekie's" pollution back in the 19th century. In a way, the black soot actually gives it more character. It's also a nice contrast with the white Carrara marble statue of the writer. Do you see his dog (named Maida) laying to the right of him? So cute! So, if you can actually see the outer architectural details then you're in for a treat. It stands at 200 feet tall and has about 64 statues that represent some of the most notable characters in his novels. To be honest, I was more impressed with the gargoyles. We didn't attempt to go inside to climb up to the top of it, but many pay to do that. I'm sure it's a nice view. The courtyard surrounding it was being decorated for Remembrance Day celebrations. I loved seeing all the crosses and red poppies around it. It's definitely a must see monument, and certainly one that you're going to eventually pass by at some point during your stay in Edinburgh.

Located right next to the equally famous Linlithgow Palace is St Michael's Church, one of the…read morelargest "burgh churches" in Scotland, and regarded as one of the finest. The Church that stands today was built in the 1100s but was greatly damaged in the 1424 fire that also destroyed the Palace. It also has some major 19th century renovations too. Like many places around Edinburgh, Cromwell stabled his horses inside and much damage was done to the interior. Despite all this, the Church is a great example of an early and late medieval burgh building. This is also where Mary Queen of Scots was christened and, I believe, where her father James V was crowned. The church has a very distinctive modern steeple, which resembles crisscrossing metal spikes. Reactions to this contemporary addition are mixed. Its actually supposed to resemble Christ's crown of thorns. No matter your feelings, its certainly interesting and a great talking point. The Church is certainly worth at least a quick look around, especially if you're on your way to the Palace. Its the sort of place that has so much concentrated history its quite hard to believe. It's also a popular venue for weddings and other services.

This monument was originally initiated as a memorial to those Scottish soldiers that died during…read morethe Napoleonic Wars in 1816. It was meant to be based on the Parthenon in Athens and the first stone was laid in 1822 but the funding didn't pull through and it was left unfinished in 1829. Only half completed due to lack of funds, it has stood as it is, with its 12 Doric columns rising up from its base, for almost 200 years. Ever since then and even today, proposals have been discussed for finishing the monument but they don't take off. It's still an iconic landmark on top of Calton Hill Edinburgh and people mostly just climb on top for a few photos. (I did not try thiugh) Some more notable monuments you can find around here are the Dugald Stewart Monument which is dedicated to the famous philosopher and was built by William Henry Playfair.

It was built as a Scottish memorial to those who died in the Napoleonic Wars. It may look familiar…read moreto you. That's because it was meant to look like the Parthenon in Athens. Apparently, Edinburgh was known as the "The Athens of the North" in the late 18th century. I didn't know that. My thought was that it had something to do with all the intellectual Scots that lived there during this period of time. The ones that are still famous today. Then again, it may be more about Charles Cockerell's design and William Playfair's construction of this monument that gave it the name. They were both heavily influenced by Greek architecture. You'll see some of that in other structures on Calton Hill. Unfortunately, it was never completed and maybe that's a good thing. It would have been a closed off building blocking the views of the trees and the sky. The unfinished monument allows you to see through it like a window. It sits on top of a high pillar. People do somehow climb up there, but I don't think that it's really encouraged. Otherwise, there would be steps leading up to it from the ground level. There's an even better view awaiting you from the Nelson Monument. Just something to consider when visiting Calton Hill.

It's probably the most picturesque close off of the Royal Mile. It looks like a group of…read morecountryside cottages centered around a stone bricked courtyard. The Flemish style of crow-stepped gabled roofs are very prominent here. A nice architectural feature! It truly is a hidden gem that is easy to miss when starting that walk up to the castle from the bottom of Canongate. The entrance is across the street from the Scottish Parliament Building. It's said to be named after the white horse that belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots. There was a stable here during that time period. But, there was also an inn named the White Horse that had a stable for the guests that stayed there as well. So, who really knows? All we know for sure is that it was named after a white horse. Don't go for the history because the close appears to have been reconstructed over the years. Go for the scenery. It's a nice little retreat from the busy roads around it. It will be one of many closes that you'll see along the way, but none will be as pretty as this one.