Friday 24 January 2014

Strollers Walk No. 177, Tuesday 21st January 2014, Historic Walk - Edinburgh's Southern Frontier



Forty six strollers met at the museum in Chambers Street on a fine, almost balmy day (for January), ready for a Historic Stroll round the Meadows area of Edinburgh. Forty five then set out, as the organiser was too busy counting money and then couldn't find the group as they had gone into hiding behind hotels and Greyfriars. Proof that a mobile phone does come in handy!

Up through Quartermile, discovering why it’s called that (because it is that long), about heads on pikes and about the ghostly headless lady, our blue badge guides took us on a meandering stroll providing lots of tit-bits of information along the way. Explaining that the Meadows was once a loch, the Borough Loch, that originally provided drinking water for Edinburgh, was used for washing clothes in and provided water to the breweries that used to circle it. Not sure of the quality of the water with all that going on. We visited the site where one of the breweries used to stand, followed by Archers Hall and onwards to the 'Dick Vet' at Summerhall.
Then it was on past Sciennes House to the Jewish cemetery, which came as a surprise even to people who stayed in that area. We continued through Sciennes, a corruption of Sienna, after the convent that used to be there and took time to look at the “holiday hut” or Sylvan house tucked in behind the terraces. It was back on to the Meadows to hear about the exhibitions that were held there and the differing plans that had all been rejected, long before the creation of the Meadows as a Millennium Park, Which protects it from any future schemes to build on it.
We finished at Bruntsfield Links, formerly the Borough Muir, after what was a slightly longer walk than normal as our guides got carried away. It was now time for a late lunch.

Many thanks to organiser Drew and guides Karen and Helen for an interesting walk.
Details of the next Historic Walk, to the Grassmarket, will be sent out at the start of February.