The Shore, Leith
I had to go down to Newhaven today to have my laptop repaired. It was such a lovely day I decided to go on the bike and take the camera with me. It was sunny and still (and very cold!) – the shore in Leith was looking particularly lovely .
Edinburgh reflections
Well, there’s been a bit of a theme going on with recent posts here and on my Facebook page, and today is no different. Although I decided to take today off, I couldn’t resist trying to capture a couple more early evening puddle refections. The first one is Portobello, and the second is the colonies at Haymarket.
St Kilda
One of the first striking things on St Kilda is the cleits. Constructed from stone, the St Kildan’s used them to store eggs, seabirds and turfs. There are cleits almost everywhere you look on Hirta, especially around Village Bay.
Looking towards The Gap on Hirta, St Kilda
Cleits on the hill behind Hirta’s village
Cleits on the hillside behind Village Bay on Hirta, St Kilda
Calton Hill, Edinburgh
My brother was in Edinburgh overnight this week, so we took a quick walk up Calton Hill in the evening. It was so grey when we left the house I didn’t bother taking my camera. Of course the sun came out when we were a short distance from home.
At some point I’m going to learn!
So here’s a few shots from my phone:
View over Edinburgh city from Calton Hill
Folly on Calton Hill, Edinburgh
Nelson’s monument on Calton Hill
Union canal, Lochrin Basin
This is the end of the green canal towpath line on Edinburgh’s newly launched Innertube Map
Lochrin Basin on the Union Canal in Edinburgh
The map has been created by the Edinburgh Bike Station, and has been launched as an interactive online map, which members of the public can contribute to. I’ve been volunteering on the project, and am looking forward to blogging from around the Innertube network over the coming months.
Scott Monument, Edinburgh
The Scott Monument, in the middle of Edinburgh’s Princes Street, stands just over 60m high, and is the largest monument to a writer in the world. It was built in honour of the novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott.
Its 287 steps take you to the top. There are several viewing decks reached by narrow spiral staircases, which give panoramic views across the centre of Edinburgh.
It seems that going way over budget is not a new phenomenon – according to the Edinburgh Museums website the original estimate for building the Monument was just over £10,000 but the project ended up costing a total of £16,154 7/11d . Apparently the shortfall was covered by donations and a door-to-door collection throughout the City of Edinburgh.
I wonder if the council have thought of that one for the trams?
Modern architecture, Leith, Edinburgh
Right opposite the rather uninspiring Ocean Terminal building, there’s an office block that caught my eye:
Leith window
I went on a wee jaunt across town earlier this week – the sun was out, so I took my bike and camera down to the shore. I found this window in Leith. The restaurant owner was somewhat bamboozled by my interest in it!
Dusk over the Union canal
Sunset over the Union canal, Edinburgh
One of my favourites from this week – a chance photo taken on my way to choir rehearsal last night. Now that the evenings are getting lighter, it’s that perfect time of night for catching the sun going down.
Edinburgh buildings
There’s a whole variety of buildings in Edinburgh – some lovely and some less so. Here’s just a couple of them:
Above: a tenement building reflected in the windows of a modern office block.
Below: the church tower at St George’s West Church in Shandwick Place:
Heavy
The last photo for this week’s gallery. I suspect it’s not immediately clear what this photo is…any guesses? It’s certainly something heavy…
From the backside
Edinburgh Castle
I’ve been getting a bit carried away recently taking snowy photos and night time photos of Edinburgh castle from various vantage points on Princes Street. There are times when her rear is pretty stunning too!
The rear of Edinburgh Castle in the sun
