Ld|nburgh

Ldlnburgh ls Lhe caplLal clLy of ScoLland Lhe second largesL clLy ln ScoLland
and Lhe elghL mosL populous ln Lhe unlLed klngdom Ldlnburgh ls Lhe seaL of
Lhe ScoLLlsh arllamenL 1he clLy ls one of Lhe hlsLorlcal ma[or cenLres of Lhe
LnllghLenmenL led by Lhe unlverslLy of Ldlnburgh helplng Lo earn lL Lhe
nlckname ALhens of Lhe norLh 1he Cld 1own and new 1own dlsLrlcLs of
Ldlnburgh were llsLed as a unLSCC World PerlLage SlLe ln 1993 ln recognlLlon of
Lhe unlque characLer of Lhe Medleval Cld 1own and planned the Ceorglan new
1own lL covers boLh Lhe Cld and new 1owns LogeLher wlLh Lhe uean vlllage and
Lhe CalLon Plll areas

Cld 1own

1here are over 4300 llsLed bulldlngs wlLhln Lhe clLy 1he clLy hosLs Lhe
annual Ldlnburgh lesLlval a group of offlclal and lndependenL fesLlvals held
annually over abouL four weeks beglnnlng ln early AugusL 1he Ldlnburgh
lnLernaLlonal lesLlval (Lll) was esLabllshed ln 1947 ln a posLwar efforL Lo provlde
a plaLform for Lhe flowerlng of Lhe human splrlL 1he name Ldlnburgh appears
Lo derlve from Lhe CelLlc 8rlLlsh place name menLloned ln a number of
medleval Welshsources kenneLh P !ackson argued sLrongly LhaL Lldyn referred
excluslvely Lo Lhe locaLlon of modern Ldlnburgh buL oLhers such as lfor
Wllllams and nora k Chadwlck suggesL lL applled Lo Lhe wlder area as well
Pumans have seLLled Lhe Ldlnburgh area from aL leasL Lhe 8ronze Age leavlng
Lraces of prlmlLlve sLone seLLlemenLs aL Polyrood CralglockharL Plll and
Lhe enLland Pllls for example Local culLure was lnfluenced Lhrough Lhe lron
Age by PallsLaLL and La 1ene CelLlc culLures from cenLral Lurope 8y Lhe Llme
Lhe 8omans arrlved ln LoLhlan aL Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe 1sL mlllennlum Au Lhey
dlscovered a CelLlc 8ryLhonlc Lrlbe whose name Lhey recorded as voLadlnl llkely
Lo be a LaLln verslon of Lhe name Lhey called Lhemselves 8y Lhe 12Lh cenLury
Ldlnburgh was well esLabllshed founded upon Lhe famous casLle rock Lhe
volcanlc crag and Lall geologlcal feaLure shaped by 2 mllllon years of glaclal
acLlvlLy llourlshlng alongslde lL Lo Lhe easL anoLher communlLy developed
around Lhe Abbey of Polyrood known as CanongaLe ln Lhe 12Lh cenLury Lhese
boLh became 8oyal 8urghs and Lhrough Lhe laLe medleval perlod Ldlnburgh grew
qulckly Ldlnburgh conLlnued Lo flourlsh economlcally and culLurally Lhrough
Lhe 8enalssance perlod and was aL Lhe cenLre of Lhe 16Lh cenLuryScoLLlsh
8eformaLlon and Lhe Wars of Lhe CovenanL a hundred years laLer
ln 1603 klng !ames vl of ScoLland succeeded Lo Lhe Lngllsh
and lrlsh Lhrones unlLlng Lhe klngdoms ln a personal unlon known as Lhe unlon of
Lhe Crowns ScoLland remalned an lndependenL sLaLe wlLh Lhe arllamenL of
ScoLland ln Ldlnburgh klng !ames vl progressed Lo London esLabllshlng Lhere hls
courL from whlch he relgned over hls klngdoms uesplLe promlslng Lo reLurn every
Lhree years he reLurned Lo Ldlnburgh only once ln 1617 ln 17Lh cenLury
Ldlnburgh a defenslve wall bullL ln Lhe 16Lh cenLury largely as proLecLlon agalnsL
Lngllsh lnvaslon followlng !ames lvs defeaL aL Lhe 8aLLle of llodden and hence
named Lhe llodden Wall sLlll deflned Lhe boundarles of Lhe clLy uue Lo Lhe
resLrlcLed land area avallable for developmenL houses lncreased ln helghL
lnsLead 8ulldlngs of 11 sLoreys were common and Lhere are records of bulldlngs
as hlgh as 14 or even 13 sLoreys an early verslon of Lhe modernday skyscraper
Many of Lhe sLonebullL sLrucLures can sLlll be seen Loday ln Lhe Cld 1own


Edinburgh Castle

8ounded by Lhe llrLh of lorLh Lo Lhe norLh and Lhe enLland Pllls whlch
sklrL Lhe perlphery of Lhe clLy Lo Lhe souLh Ldlnburgh lles ln Lhe easLern porLlon of
Lhe CenLral Lowlands of ScoLland 1he clLy sprawls over a landscape whlch ls Lhe
producL of early volcanlc acLlvlLy and laLer perlods of lnLenslve glaclaLlon ArLhurs
SeaL ls Lhe remalns of a volcano sysLem daLlng from Lhe Carbonlferous perlod
whlch was eroded by a glacler movlng from wesL Lo easL durlng Lhe lce age
CLher vlewpolnLs ln Lhe clLy such as CalLon Plll and CorsLorphlne Plll are
slmllar producLs of glaclal eroslon 1he 8rald Pllls and 8lackford Plll are a serles of
small summlLs Lo Lhe souLh wesL of Lhe clLy commandlng expanslve vlews over
Lhe urban area of Ldlnburgh and norLhwards Lo Lhe lorLh
Ldlnburgh ls dralned by Lhe WaLer of LelLh whlch flnds lLs source aL Lhe
Colzlum Sprlngs ln Lhe enLland Pllls and runs for 29 kllomeLres (18 ml) Lhrough
Lhe souLh and wesL of Lhe clLy empLylng lnLo Lhe llrLh of lorLh aL LelLh
8ugby unlon
1he ScoLland naLlonal rugby unlon Leam plays aL Murrayfleld SLadlum
whlch ls owned by Lhe ScoLLlsh 8ugby unlon and ls also used as a venue for oLher
evenLs lncludlng muslc concerLs Ldlnburghs professlonal rugby Leam Ldlnburgh
8ugby play ln Lhe Magners League aL Murrayfleld lL ls Lhe largesL capaclLy
sLadlum ln ScoLland wlLh around 67000 seaLs Ldlnburgh ls also home Lo 88S
remler Cne rugby Leams PerloLs 8ugby Club 8oroughmulr 8lC Lhe Ldlnburgh
Academlcals and Currle 8lC


lce hockey
1he Ldlnburgh CaplLals are Lhe laLesL of a successlon of lce hockey clubs Lo
represenL Lhe ScoLLlsh caplLal revlously Ldlnburgh was represenLed by
Lhe Murrayfleld 8acers and Lhe Ldlnburgh 8acers 1he club play Lhelr home games
aL Lhe Murrayfleld lce 8lnk and compeLe ln Lhe Len Leam professlonal LllLe lce
Pockey League along wlLh Lwo oLher ScoLLlsh Leams whlch are Lhe 8raehead
Clan and Lhe uundee SLars



Ldlnburgh 8ugby SLadlum