South Bridge Vaults

A beautiful sunny and warm day in the city.  A lovely evening, but cooler breeze. 

Up early, breakfast in the hotel.  Headed into the city for the day.  Did the tourist sightseeing bits, and some shopping.  Back out this evening for a meal in Cosmo, followed by a few pints.  Not met anyone I know, yet.  

Thought we'd try the horrible histories vaults tour this morning.  Our guide took us along the Royal Mile, pointing out various gruesome sites and stories, then down into the old vaults underground city.  The South Bridge vaults were completed in 1788, meant to be storage space for merchants.  Due to it being built by limestone, it leaked and unusable.  Soon the poor and homeless moved into the dark vaults, where pubs, illegal distilleries and brothels soon popped up.  Crime spiralled out of control, leading to murders, deaths and short life expectancy.  One story was a fire breaking out, cooking the people inside like an oven.  By the late 19th century, the vaults got bricked up and sealed, until students discovered it again in the 1970s.  A fascinating and sad bit of Edinburgh's history in a nutshell.  I can't imagine what it must have been like to live in the dark and damp vaults, quite scary by what our guide said, especially for folk with young families.  Our guide in the South Bridge Vaults, Edinburgh.