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Dave Henniker Grassmarket area page 12
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Where the Royal Mail HQ once stood bordering Main Point, Lauriston Street and Lady Lawson Street, a new building is being erected. The West Port area has a wide range of establishments from seedy pubs to antique shops and the Edinburgh College of Art. | |
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A different perspective on the same theme. | |
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After much digging up, the Grassmarket is looking nicer with a nice new surface of old setts, not the miniature ones imported from China for the Tron junction (picture here). | |
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Photograph taken at 9 o'clock in the morning when the Caffé Bar is cleared of chairs. | |
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At the east end of the Grassmarket the entrance to Victoria Street is looking more attractive thanks to the upgraded surface. | |
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From the bottom of Candlemaker Row is this view into the Grassmarket from the east. The next picture has been copied from page 11 for comparison. | |
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Looking back towards a misty Grassmarket. (copied from previous page) | |
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A favourite subject of mine. This particular arch of George IV bridge epitomises the multi-layer aspect of the city. | |
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Central Library towers overhead. The dark lane beside the bridge houses the appropriately named The Underbelly, a popular venue in the Edinburgh Fringe. | |
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This picture taken from the little stone bridge shown in the previous photo, i.e. the entrance to the library from George IV bridge. Down below and across the road is the vantage point for a few of my photos on these pages. | |
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Taken from the footpath on George IV bridge. The doorway is the same one in Cowgate 69, 2 pictures up. | |
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Just east of George IV Bridge is this comparatively recent building. Its structure and design does somehow fit in with its surroundings. A steel and glass effort wouldn't have been right. This is the first of 3 views. Looking east. Thanks to Jackson Browne. |
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Cowgate Colonnade. | |
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At the west end of the collonade is Dyer's Close leading to Merchant Street and certain services of which the needful might avail themselves. | |
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When it's busy with clubbers and late night drinkers, the Cowgate is closed to motor traffic because there have been car accidents and casualties. | |
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Rainbow colours brighten up the pillars. | |
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Still not much happening at the site of the big fire of December 2002. The ubiquitous image of Che Guevara has appeared under South Bridge. | |
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An attractive spot for a bite to eat near the Scottish Parliament and Dynamic Earth. | |
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Tucked away between Holyrood Road and the Canongate is this building of unusual appearance for the city centre. This area formerly housed breweries; this may account for the atypical appearance. | |
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The steps are looking rather smart since they were recently refurbished. Part of Edinburgh Art College is visible through the arched entrance. | |
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The view up from near the bottom, close to the Grassmarket. | |
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Much more recently built are these steps at the opposite side of the Grassmarket which lead up to Johnston Terrace and Edinburgh Castle. | |
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Still in plain view from South Bridge is this white-tiled brick building, concealed for many years until the big fire opposite the bottom of Blair Street. June 2009. | |
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Ultra wide fisheye view. A taxi emerges from Niddry Street. | |
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A vertical shot of the same scene. | |
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The purpose of the fencing on the cleared site eludes me. It's been vacant for so long that everyone's got used to it with no replacement building. | |
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A less wide view shows the effort that must have gone into painting the walls. A vintage bus takes visitors towards Holyrood. | |
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A view from down below near the bottom of Blair Street a few days later shows that the fencing has been removed but there's still so sign of any construction. | |
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Looking up Blair Street early November 2009. At the top of the hill the sun is shining on the corner of the High Street and Cockburn Street. | |
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In the Cowgate, not far from the junction with St Mary's Street and the Pleasance is this stairway leading up to High School Yards and Infirmary Street. It's been closed for quite a long time now. | |
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Sadly, this continuing neglect contributes to the lacklustre image of the Cowgate. More information about High School Yards from the University of Edinburgh. Instead of an attractive stone stairway we have an electronic sign telling car drivers where they can park. | |
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Ten years ago in 2000 this was a working set of steps. This is the view towards the foot of St Mary's Street. | |
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It's doubtful that even a charity shop would want the Concrete Wardrobe's empty premises when they have their pick of busier streets. | |
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George IV Bridge crosses over the canyon of the Cowgate. In Ian Rankin's book The Complaints he describes the scene after dark here. The street is closed to traffic late at night and early morning because the footpaths are narrow and clubbers stray into the path of cars. | |
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Sounds grand - King's Stables Lane - and isn't that a thatched roof..? No, it's grass that's taken root in the dirt in the gutter. Nevertheless the grass and natural stone soften the harsh appearance of the rear of Argyle House. | |
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So good they named it twice, or even thrice. Edinburgh Castle towers overhead. Coaches are parked on Johnston Terrace. | |
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Biodegradable corrugated plastic tubes protect sapling trees from being eaten by wildlife. | |
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Looking down on King's Stables Road and King's Stables Lane from Johnston Terrace. The disappearance of Argyle House would be regretted by few, as long as the space was occupied by something better. | |
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The pipe is reminiscent of a boat or ship and is presumably to remove some bad air from the vaults underneath South Bridge. | |
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This close connects the Cowgate to Guthrie Street and is on the edge of the empty space where buildings burned a few years ago. | |
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A few metres west along the Cowgate is Guthrie Street leading up to Chambers Street. These steps provide a shortcut. If you cross Chambers Street and continue up West College Street there's a footpath leading under Lothian Street to Potterrow and Bristo Square. | |
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Victoria Street is looking rather fine in early May, 2010. The granite setts are looking quite smart. | |
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Further up the road workmen are preparing this building for reoccupation after the fire. July 2010. | |
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The same shot as above but cropped to show the men at work (and rest). | |
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The black shutters and plain paintwork emphasize the arches under Victoria Terrace at the corner of Victoria Street and George IV Bridge. | |
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The West Bow leads up from the Grassmarket into Victoria Street. | |
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The site has lain empty for years since the big fire but something is being built. It looks like a temporary structure for an Edinburgh Fringe event. July 2010. | |
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There's a cluster of specialist shops selling books, maps, prints and handmade ceramics on the road from the Grassmarket up to Tollcross. |
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The plaque above the entrance to Cordiner's Land is dated 1696. Next door you can browse at Victorian Illustrated and secondhand books. | |
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Main Point is at the top of the West Port where it branches into Bread Street, East Fountainbridge and High Riggs. This bookshop is at the start of Lauriston Street at Main Point. |
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