PRINCES Street, Edinburgh's main thoroughfare, has been described as one of the most beautiful streets in the world. Its fame springs, of course, not primarily from its architecture but from the street's incomparable setting. It is as fine a boulevard as will be encountered anywhere. Many of Edinburgh's best known shops have a Princes Street address, and the hotels can offer a magnificent prospect across the green valley of Princes Street Gardens to the high ridge of the Old Town, crowned by the castle.
For pedestrians who wish to escape the bustling traffic of Princes Street, it is literally only a few steps to the tranquillity of Princes Street Gardens. The gardens are in two parts, separated by the roadway of the Mound and the classical architecture of the art galleries.
In West Princes Street Gardens, look out for Edinburgh's famous floral clock situated beside the flight of steps at the Mound entrance, below the statue of the poet Allan Ramsay. The oldest floral clock in the world, it is planted anew each spring with thousands of tiny plants. A mechanical cuckoo calls the hour.
On the upper promenade of West Princes Street Gardens is the Scottish American War Memorial. Entitled 'the call', the memorial's central feature is the seated figure of a young man in uniform, leaning forward, gazing intently towards the castle. The sculptor, the late R. Tait Mackenzie of Philadelphia, always maintained that he had modelled the evocative figure on a number of different sitters. Be that as it may, after the unveiling in 1927 many a grieving mother saw in the honest features the likeness of a son lost in the war.
Nearby is a heather garden, established following the Falklands conflict, and below in the valley is a peace garden, which includes a number of commemorative trees.
In the middle of West Princes Street Gardens stands the Ross Theatre, where a varied programme of entertainment is presented in the season, normally beneath the protection of a large canopy.
The massive boulder situated a short distance west of the Ross Theatre is a gift from the Norwegian people. It commemorates friendships forged during the Second World War, when large numbers of Norwegians, having been driven from their own land, found refuge, freedom and renewed hope in Scotland.
At the eastern end of the gardens stands the memorial of the oldest regiment in the British Army, the Royal Scots, inscribed with its long roll of campaign honours. The handsome equestrian statue, opposite Frederick Street, is the regimental memorial of the Royal Scots Greys.
The glorious prospect from Princes Street did not come about by chance: it was achieved by design, by public-spirited agitation and in the face of passionate debate about aesthetics and commercial prosperity. Eventually, in 1816, the authority of Parliament was obtained to safeguard for all time the radical concept of no building on the south side of Princes Street. It is because of this Parliamentary statute, in force now for nearly two centuries, that the art galleries at the foot of the Mound stand in splendid isolation. The same statute ensured that the prize-winning Waverley Market shopping centre (1985), at the east end of Princes Street, lies below pavement level.
The railway was introduced through Princes Street Gardens in 1846, but tunnelling and embankments, together with the well-wooded valley floor, have safeguarded the environment of the gardens. Railway passengers arriving from the west and north find themselves approaching Waverley Station through wooded parkland. Here is a further example of the way in which Edinburgh accepted the modern world, subdued a brash newcomer, and enlisted nature and time the healer to fit the railway into a unique urban environment.
In East Princes Street Gardens soars the 200-ft spire of the Scott Monument, Edinburgh's tribute to one of her illustrious native sons, the novelist and patriot Sir Walter Scott. The marble likeness of Scott at the base is by Sir John Steell; Scott's favourite dog, Maida, lies at his feet. Many characters from Scott's novels, as well as figures from Scottish history, adorn the monument at various levels, and there is a small exhibition area halfway up. A circular stairway can be climbed to the top (287 steps in all) but those who lack the stamina can still enjoy a fine view by halting at intermediate stages.
The statue standing a few yards from the Scott Monument is that of David Livingstone, the Scots doctor/missionary/ explorer who worked tirelessly in the African interior and who was located there by the intrepid H.M. Stanley in a famous en-counter. Stanley, an American citizen, was made a freeman of Edinburgh on 11 June 1890.
The smallest memorial in East Princes Street Gardens, consisting of a bronze plaque embedded in stone near the north-west entrance, commemorates those volunteers who, as members of the International Brigades, fought on the Republican side during the bitter Spanish Civil War (1936-39).
The Waverley Market shopping centre, at the junction of Waverley Bridge with Princes Street, is admired for the interest of its interior design, which incorporates areas of water and much greenery.
On the roof of the shopping centre is theEdinburgh Information Centre - telephone no. (031) 557 1700. The centre provides information about Edinburgh exhibitions, special events, concerts and theatres, and sells tickets for some of the major entertainment venues, city bus tours, city walking tours, brewery tours, coach tours and Citylink bus travel. The centre has an accommodation booking service; a bureau de change is operated on the premises by the Clydesdale Bank; and a shop sells books and many other souvenirs. There is also an information desk at Edinburgh Airport for the assistance of visitors. There is a regular coach service between Edinburgh city centre (departing from Waverley Bridge) and the airport, journey time being approximately 25 minutes. Information about the timetable is available 24 hours a day by phoning (031) 220 4111. Adjacent to the Information Centre is Edinburgh's railway station, the Waverley, from which rail services are operated to all major centres throughout the United Kingdom.
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Halfway along Princes Street is the Mound, an important road artery because it provides a convenient link between the New Town and the Old Town on the ridge. The Mound is man made, having been created in the eighteenth century with soil excavated during the building of the Georgian New Town. It is said that the Mound consists of two million cartloads of earth. At the time there was a big row about the dumping, and it certainly must have been an eyesore as it gradually blocked the valley, but landscaping and the passage of time have mellowed the argument.
At the foot of the Mound is the Royal Scottish Academy. Designed by William Henry Playfair (1789-1857), whose work adorns many parts of the city, the RSA is one of Edinburgh's artistic focal points. Behind the RSA is the National Gallery of Scotland, also by Playfair. The greater part of the permanent collection here consists of works by Continental and English masters.
A convenient flight of steps east of the National Gallery, leading from the pedestrian area up to Market Street, is named after Playfair, whose classical designs were largely instrumental in Edinburgh being dubbed the 'Athens of the North'.
On the slope of the Mound is another Playfair creation, the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall, in which the General Assembly of the Kirk meets in May each year. In its courtyard is a powerful statue by John Hutchison of John Knox (1505-72), the thunderous father of the Reformation in Scotland. This whole area around the top of the Mound is typical of the Old Town, and its interesting lands and closes are worth exploring.
Also at the top of the Mound stand the offices of the Free Church of Scotland. Like the established Church of Scotland, the Free Church also meets in Edinburgh each May, its General Assembly being held in St Columba's on Johnston Terrace.
The handsome building on the slope above Market Street is the head office of the Bank of Scotland. As an institution, the bank began life (1695) elsewhere in the Old Town, moving to the present site in 1806. The present building (1870) by David Bryce is an enlarged and improved version of an earlier one by Robert Reid. A museum within the building contains an interesting selection of historic banknotes and coins, as well as a number of firearms which were in regular use at one time to protect the bank's valuable product as it travelled through the more lawless areas of Scotland.
At the summit of Market Street, the statue of a kilted soldier is the regimental memorial of the Black Watch. This was the regiment formed in the eighteenth century specifically to keep watch on the Highlands - their uniform was so dark as to appear almost black. The memorial was erected here following the South African War (1899-1902).
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