Twenty seven Strollers met up at the side of the Guildford Arms to hear about the authors who frequented this area of the New Town.
We met on what at one time was the site of the Ambrose Tavern where
Christopher North (John Wilson) as well as James Hogg used to meet. We could
also look at the Balmoral Hotel where JK Rowling finished her Harry Potter books.
Moving on, we stopped to look at the Scott Monument and then into St Andrew
Square one time home of David Hume. We then went on into Multrees Walk, named
for the Mulberry trees that once grew there in an attempt to produce silk, and
from there to Picardy Place named for the families who came over from France to
weave the silk that had been produced.
Down into Albany Street with its many authors including Mary Brunton and
Susan Ferrier, as well as Catherine Hogarth who married Charles Dickens then onto
Heriot Row to look at the house where RL Stevenson was brought up. The family
who now own it are great fans and even have a model of a lighthouse in the
window in reference to the Stevenson family lighthouse designers and builders.
Next we went up to George Street where the publisher Blackwood was based as
well as bookshops such as Thins.
We finished up in Rose Street at Milnes Bar which once hosted Hugh MacDiarmid,
Sorley MacLean, and Norman MacCaig. Not forgetting the Abbotsford, named after
Sir Walter Scott’s home.
I’ve probably missed a lot of other names off like Ian Rankin etc. but
my head can only cope with so much information!
