Tenements of Old Edinburgh

Apart from the very grand municipal, bank and business buildings, Old Edinburgh is dominated by impressive towering, tall windowed tenements, particularly in the old city and along the Royal Mile, that mainly cobbled street in the heart of Edinburgh that connects Edinburgh Castle high on Castle Rock with the splendid Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom of the hill. Between the tenements are umpteen closes and stairways leading to hidden courtyards and an almost secret world. The picture shows one such courtyard, with its autumnal tree - unfortunately in the rain. This particular courtyard is situated off the Royal Mile in Lady Stair’s Close and the sign which I’ve tried to highlight marks the building on the left as the Edinburgh Writers' Museum. Originally build in 1622 as a private home for one of the city’s wealthiest families, the building now belongs to the city of Edinburgh, and houses pictures, etchings, busts and memorabilia, including bibles, pipes and walking sticks that once belonged to three very famous (Scottish) writers, all of whom lived at one time in Edinburgh – Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Burns. Looks like Muriel Spark and J.K. didn’t quite make it!