New Town

Edinburgh's New Town is a unique architectural experiment. The basic design for this stage-managed extension to the city was decided by competition which was won by an unknown 22 year old called James Craig. The area to the north of the Waverley Valley which was part of this initial scheme is defined by three parallel streets running roughly east west. The most southerly of these streets is Princes Street, which looks up at the splendid elevations of the Royal Mile and the Old Town across Princes Street Gardens.

The most northerly is Queen Street, looking out across the Forth past leafy private gardens, while in between these two magnificent thoroughfares, George Street rides the crown of the hill, decorated along its length with fine statues, and terminated at each end with a large open square. Until the redevelopment of parts of the South side and Lothian Road, and ongoing investment in out of town business centres, the New Town provided the most prestigious addresses in the city, and the buildings here are inhabited by some of the most important names in Scottish trade and industry.

North Bridge and Leith Street

The construction of the New Town began at North Bridge, which was conceived to make it easier to travel to the nearby Port of Leith, without descending into the Waverley Valley or taking the long detour around by Abbeyhill. North Bridge joins Princes Street at right angles at its eastern end, and the junction is dominated by Register House and the equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington.

Immediately behind Register House, the St James Shopping Centre attracts criticism for its bland architecture, an effect which is minimised by the subtle design of the John Lewis building as you travel down Leith Street. On the right as you look down Leith Street, Calton Road snakes off beneath you, leading to Holyrood and the Palace, while in front the modern materials of Calton Square can be seen behind Broadway Malyan's Leith Street footbridge. At the foot of Leith Street, the Picardy Place roundabout feeds traffic past St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral to the left to join Queen Street.

Princes Street

Turning left instead of right from North Bridge takes you onto Princes Street, one of the world's most famous streets. The original buildings which once trimmed the northern side of the street have largely been demolished, but the (recently fire damaged) premises of Romanes and Paterson provide a glimpse of Princes Street as it once was. Nowadays, Princes Street is famous for its high street shopping, and many of the big names in British high street retail can be found here.

On the corner of North Bridge and Princes Street, the Balmoral Hotel presents its grandiose frontage, and on the other side of Princes Street a narrow lane beside Register House takes the adventurous into one of the best remaining areas of the original New Town architecture. Beside the Balmoral Hotel, a flat roofed shopping complex goes by the uneasy name of Princes Mall, and a tourist information centre can be found within, along with various shops.

Waverley Bridge now sweeps across to the Old Town, providing access to Waverley Station, and from this point the Waverley Valley becomes Princes Street Gardens and the street takes on its characteristic single sided form. Jenner's Department store is finely decorated on the right, and on the left, the Scott Monument was once Edinburgh's tallest building, and still dominates the skyline with its eerie blackened Gothic decoration.

Ahead, two classical buildings, the National Gallery and the Royal Scottish Academy, sprawl at the base of the Mound, a rise which leads up to the magnificent headquarters of the Bank of Scotland on Bank Street, and the Old Town beyond. The Mound was created using the rubble and detritus from the New Town building projects, and small piles of stone and hardcore eventually levelled out and provided a smooth curving ascent to Bank Street and the Royal Mile.

The floral clock at the entrance to the gardens at the base of the Mound is loved by locals, and those needing a respite from the hustle and bustle of the shopping street can enter West Princes Street Gardens halfway up the Mound through an unmarked gate, and stroll behind the railway line as far as Lothian Road and the Castle without meeting a single person, taking in the sheer rockface on which Edinburgh Castle is built and passing the ruins of St Margaret's Well.

The more stout of heart may continue their walk down Princes Street, admiring the numerous statues and monuments on the southern side on the street and the fantastic views of the Old Town beyond. Thomas Guthrie, James Young Simpson and Dean Ramsay all have memorials or statues here, as well as a large equestrian war memorial to the Scots Grays. Looking up the avenues leading to the north, you can catch glimpses of the fine statues and buildings of George Street.

Princes Street draws to a close with the bandstand and the Ross Fountain on the left, followed by the churches of St John's Princes Street at the roadside and St Cuthbert's set beside it, a little further back in a large graveyard. On the right, South Charlotte Street leads north to Charlotte Square, and ahead, Frasers Department store marks the end of the shopping district, while Queensferry Street, Shandwick Place and Lothian Road take the buses and taxis of Princes Street north, east and south respectively.

 

George Street

Charlotte Square is a pleasant, pretty square at the western end of George Street, and it marks the western extent of Edinburgh's original New Town scheme, although extensions would soon be added to north and west. The square fringes a private park, at the centre of which is a statue of Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria.

On the eastern side of the square, St George's Church is now known as West Register House, and is notable for its large cupola, which was not the original structure. Glenfinlas Street joins the north west corner and North Charlotte Street joins the north east corner with St Colme Street, which will later become Queen Street.

Directly to the east of Charlotte Square, George Street stretches to St Andrew Square, and is lined with expensive boutiques, style bars and offices, many of the buildings with amazing interiors. The view along George Street is dotted with statues, Thomas Chalmers, William Pitt and George IV are found here in bronze, the last resplendent outside the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

St Andrew and St George is the distinctive oval church on the left as you walk towards St Andrew Square. Originally planned to mirror the position of St George's Charlotte Square, St Andrew's Church was re-sited to allow Lawrence Dundas to build his house there. Following the union with St George's Church, the congregation was renamed.

The walk down George Street is concluded with St Andrew Square. The former house of Lawrence Dundas is on the opposite side, and is now the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland, while the park at the centre of the square has recently been redesigned and opened to the public. To the south, South St Andrew Street takes traffic to Princes Street, while South St David Street is blocked to traffic providing a pick up point for taxis in the area. South (and North) St David Street are actually 'joke' names - 'David' refers to the noted philosopher David Hume who lived here. On the other side of the square, North St David Street takes the buses and taxis away to Queen Street, while incoming traffic from Queen Street turns up North St David Street past the National Portrait Gallery to join St Andrew Square at its north east corner. Between the Royal Bank of Scotland and the corner with North St David Street, Multrees Walk provides a bit of designer class, while next door the coach station services national and international coach traffic.