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Tale of Two Towns - The Old and The New
Did you know Edinburgh actually consists of “two
towns”? It’s true. They’re called the Old Town, and the New
Town.
Firstly, the Old Town is the area south of Princes
Street. In fact, the Old Town was
Edinburgh until around the 1750s. It’s
the medieval part, very ancient, and still looks the part today.
The Old Town is the heart of tourist Edinburgh. You’ll find most of the main attractions up
here, which I’ll cover in the next chapter.
During medieval times, when Edinburgh was an extremely
dangerous place to live due to the constant attacking marauding groups, a
defensive wall was built around the city.
The Old Town was inside that wall, and the area of grass (which is now
Princes Street gardens) was just a lake (Or “loch” as it’s known in Scotland).
When things calmed down a bit around the 1700’s, it was safe
to go outside the wall. Which was just
as well, because the city had become so crowded by this time there was an
urgent need to re-house the swelling population. And so work began on building…
… The New Town.
Located to the north of Princes Street, The New Town area is
easily recognisable from its plush Georgian townhouses built from beautiful
grey stone, and a walk around here is a “must” for any Edinburgh visit.
The Old and the New Town are very different in character,
and it was probably this aspect of Edinburgh architecture that inspired local
writer Robert Louis Stevenson to dream up his monumental story “The Strange
Case of Dr Jekyll and
Mr Hyde”.
So there you have it.
If you’ve ever wondered why the “New Town” was so named, despite being
older than America, then now you know.
Visit Edinburgh and see two cities for the price of
one. Receive
your free copy of the Edinburgh Travel Guide
mini-course. New technology from an ancient capital!
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