Calton Area

Taken using Infra Red film. Photographed from Regent Road near the top of the steps known as Jacob's Ladder.

It still looks pretty much the same now, except that there would be more people around.

An ultra-wide shot of Waterloo Place over Calton Road. (17mm lens)

In the '60s there was a city block here, demolished to create this grassed-over traffic roundabout.

As far as I can remember, this bus stop was in Leith Street near the top of Nottingham Place, and I took the picture from the footbridge from the St James Centre.

Between Calton Hill and Leith Street is this carpark which, in the 21st century, is finally going to have something built on top of it.

The new development as seen on 19 July '01. It's only a metal frame at this point in time. Part of the John Lewis store is visible on the left.

A head-on view of the structure as seen from the footbridge over Leith Street.

As seen on 4th October 2001 with plastic sheeting covering the entire structure.

Two more early pictures of Greenside and Calton Hill scanned from old negatives. This picture shows Leith Street in the foreground and the Firth of Forth in the distance.

Work continues on the new development. A group of men clad in fluorescent yellow jackets are conferring up on the roof.

The street called Calton HIll

A study of the cobbles or setts that surface this steep street, as well as the unusual metal kerbside gutter.

Interesting rooves.

Not many patrons of The Venue will have seen it by daylight. The building hugs the cliffs at the bottom of Calton Hill, between the old burial ground at Waterloo Place and Waverley Station.

The bottom of New Street where it joins Calton Road. The February sunshine shines under the bridge carrying the main railway lines south and east from Waverley.

This is the former entrance to the General Post Office's sorting office. Large red vans used to congregate here while sacks of parcels traveled overhead hanging from conveyors.

The bridge carries Waterloo Place over Calton Road. White and blue Portacabins are lurking below while work goes on stripping the inside of the former GPO a few yards to the south.

The driver of the DEM-MASTER is demolishing this remaining corner of the building's interior. The rear wall faces North Bridge and the Balmoral Hotel.

The green painted wrought iron of the walkway contrasts with the orange painted metalwork supporting the shell of the old GPO building.

New Street which leads up to the Canongate section of the Royal Mile.

The footbridge from Waverley Station emerges onto Calton Road near to the Venue. The orange metalwork props up the shell of the old GPO building.

Photographed from the top of the Nelson Monument. The green dome is at the north east corner of the City Observatory.

The main cross-shaped building of the City Observatory as seen from above

The new building down in Leith Street contrasts with the old building overlooking it. At the other side of the street is the ugly St James Shopping Centre.

A woman in a suit runs out of the main entrance to Old Saint Andrew's House, perhaps a civil servant late for a lunch appointment.

A familiar view to motorists avoiding North Bridge when travelling south from Leith Street towards the Royal Mile. The main rail line passes overhead.

Before the demolition got under way.

Council Office Building now occupies this space.

Facing west from the same place is this view of Waverley Station with the Balmoral Hotel visible behind the shell of the old GPO building.

This pedestrian bridge is still in use and provides access to Waverley Station from Calton Road.

It's now May 2004 and the footbridge is open to the public. It's still all shiny and new, and hopefully it'll stay that way.

The house across the way, where the previous bridge ended, will be more private now. The new bridge descends to the Greenside car park via steps or a lift.

The view from above.

Four years later in 2008 and there's still construction work going on behind the blue fence on Calton Hill.

Major redevelopment is under way at the site bounded by East Market Street, New Street, Waverley Station and the main railway line south.

Further down New Street is this view up a temporary access road leading to the car park at the east side of the train station.

A look back at New Street from the (presumed) temporary road. All of this is changing.

This whole area seems honeycombed with arched tunnels.

A look back down the car park access road towards New Street.

The same view from further up the hill. When I revisited in July '05 this road no longer existed.

The Edinburgh Dungeon's van stands out amongst the commuters' cars.

A closer look at the bizarre decoration on this van. East Market Street is behind, with Jeffrey Street beyond and higher up on the arches.

In the concrete canyon to the south of Regent Bridge is The Venue and this large advert for Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas.

Currently closed to traffic. Little has changed since I first photographed Regent Bridge. The pedestrian bridge across Leith Street can just be seen in the distance.

A couple more pictures of this site, taken a few weeks later. North Bridge, the Scott Monument and the Balmoral Hotel are in the background.

Edinburgh is known to have hidden layers. What have they found at the bottom of this pit..?

This long shot was taken from the steps leading up to Regent Road from the bottom of New Street. The steep path is called Jacob's Ladder.

This former bus garage is now a carpark - but not for much longer. The sloping rooves cover the main parking area. The three-storey brick part was once offices, later night-clubs.

The main railway line south from Edinburgh passes below and disappears into a tunnel hidden from view in the bottom left hand corner of this picture.

Up on Regent Road - the part of the A1 which connects Waterloo Place at the east end of Princes Street to London Road at Abbeyhill.

This picture from the Nelson Monument shows, behind Old St Andrew House, how the Waverley valley used to look before the flurry of building work in 2005. The flat carpark pictured here conceals tunnels galore.

Salisbury Crags, former New Street bus garage / carpark, and part of the old Calton Jail on top of the cliff.

A closer look at the demolition site featured in the previous picture.

Soon to be demolished, this is the entrance to the old bus garage / carpark.

Demolition continues. Brick dust coats New Street and for the first time for many years it's possible to see the train tunnels from here.

Zooming in for a closer look at the tunnels passing under Regent Road. From this viewpoint it's not obvious that Calton Road separates this former bus garage from the tunnels.

A more permanent building lies beyond, the old Royal High School building on Regent Road.

For those drivers who must bring their cars into the centre of town, there is still parking available off New Street.

Further down the hill towards Calton Road these wooden panels are adorned with cow designs, described here in the accompanying 3D text.

In this view looking back up the hill towards the Canongate, the cow designs in front of the brick wall can be seen.

These girders support the floor above. The vertical ones don't look strong enough to support the additional weight of vehicles.

Comparison with Calton Road 33 taken on 5th May reveals the pace of demolition. This picture taken on 24th July '06.

A long lens shot from the top of Jacob's Ladder looking back towards the corner of New Street and East Market Street.

Zooming in reveals two workmen standing beside some grafitti, the digger machine surrounded by rubble.

The next 6 photos were taken a couple of weeks later. This wide view was taken from Regent Road.

5 archaeologists study the long-buried remains of previous lives and times. If there's anything worth preserving, hopefully it could be incorporated into a feature of the forthcoming project, e.g. a sunken courtyard with seats.

Zooming in reveals more detail of the archaelogical find, and the care being taken in uncovering the past.

The diggers are still moving the big rubble and a workman is spraying water to damp down the dust and keep it from being blown onto nearby homes.

From New Street is this closer view of the workman with the hosepipe.

A monochrome study of the granite setts which still surface many of Edinburgh's remaining cobbled streets.

Lorries have been removing material from this site for a few weeks now but this one seems to be bringing supplies associated with the preservation of the archaeologists' discoveries.

Zoomed in for a closer look at one of the archaeologists and his equipment.

Builder's rubble, scrap metal etc have been neatly sorted for recycling.

I first took similar photos from here in May 2003. The green dome is at the north east corner of the City Observatory.

October sunshine on the observatory building on top of Calton Hill.

Contrasting architecture. Not much has changed in 3½ years apart from the vegetation.

The four square holes in the surface at the bottom of the picture allow some sunlight to filter in as seen in the next photo.

Sunlight filters through the square holes visible in the previous photo. Behind the concrete wall on the left is Calton Road.

The archaeological dig is shown in more detail here. The two men give an indication of scale.

Zoomed in a bit further in this third shot in the sequence.

On the other (west) side of New Street the bags of topsoil have gone from the new council building's roof to be replaced by green turf.

Panning the camera to the right reveals the arches of East Market Street with Jeffrey Street on top.

The old Royal High School looks vaguely look a DJ's twin turntables in this view. Regent Road passes below.

A closer look at one of the round rooves and its neatly assembled slate circles.

Looking up from the pathway towards St Andrew's House and the remains of the Calton Jail. More information and old photographs are available from the EdinPhoto site.

The last picture in this sequence photographed on 9th October 2006.

Another view from the top of Jacob's Ladder. This sequence of photos taken in February 2007 shows the latest changes at the Calton Road / New Street site.

Virtually all of the site can be seen in this shot. Previous photos showed the changes over the last two years.

The first floor is being stripped away to reveal the ground floor. At bottom-right the railway bridge conceals Calton Road which it crosses diagonally at the bottom of New Street.

More early construction work is revealed by the archaeologists. Numerous brick arches have been uncovered amidst the rubble.

More detail of the brickwork can be seen in this zoomed-in shot.

A wider view showing the white and blue painted boundary wall at the south side of the site. The sloping entrance from New Street can be seen at the top right of the picture.

A different view of the old brick arches in New Street 77 above, as seen from lower down Jacob's Ladder.

A ground level view from Calton Road. In the distance, behind the piles of rubble, can be seen the rear of the buildings at the Canongate (part of the Royal Mile).

White tiled bricks form the walls under the railway bridge in Calton Road. A black cab turns left into New Street at the other end.

Under the railway bridge where it crosses the bottom of New Street. The front of a disused tunnel has been preserved but has been closed up with this untidy mess of blocks.

Looking east into what remains of the ground floor. Remarkably thin girders support the heavy girders supporting the floor above - but not for much longer.

The last picture in this sequence shows the T-junction of New Street and Calton Road.

Three tiers here looking across the Waverley valley towards East Market Street and Jeffrey Street.

This is how it used to look before the shiny new glass building appeared opposite the Sherlock Holmes statue.

Sherlock Holmes would have observed that the grafitti FYM was done from the roof of an adjacent building, since demolished.

It's the end of September in 2007. A look across towards New Street.

A Virgin train passes over Calton Road before entering the tunnel under Jacob's Ladder.

A modern grass-topped building, the diminishing arches along the south side of East Market Street, and the stone-built tenements and '60s concrete office block on Jeffrey Street.

Some wag has drawn a TV set around this hole in the fence. I positioned the camera to snap the old Royal High School up on Regent Road.

A curious passer-by leans over the fence to get a better look through the metal grille covering the building's basement.

The arches below Jeffrey Street are adorned with this graffiti which seems to be depicting a prostitute with a ball and chain. The clue is in the word 'pimp' in 6 feet high letters.

Same subject but viewing more than six arches instead of three. The ball and chain makes me hear Janis Joplin in my head...

Another view of the arches, four years later. Time and peeling paint have faded the graffiti.

A monochrome study of the arches. The perspective effect is diminished by the arches become larger as they recede.

Further west, up the slope, the arches have diminished greatly in height.

On a different day facing the opposite direction. The southern end of North Bridge is visible in the distance.

Jeffrey Street is up above the East Market Street arches. It curves to the left to adjoin the High Street / Canongate at the top of St Mary's Street.

Three more shots of the arches supporting Jeffrey Street on the south side of East Market Street.

Two traffic wardens pause for a chat up on the Jeffrey Street pavement.

The grey painted doors recede into the distance.

These attractive old houses on top of Calton Hill seem to have been built with locally found stones, as well as blocks - possibly from Craigleith Quarry.

The new council offices in the valley have grass rooves and fibreglass cows.

Waverley Valley panoramic view in 2009

Caltongate at a standstill in November 2009.

Not what we really want in Edinburgh city centre, another hole in the ground. There's been a few over the years but this one's bigger.

This brick building at the top of New Street is all that remains on this site. Once upon a time, fellow TV Service Engineers from Grants in Blackfriars Street used to have breakfast here.

2010 November: An interesting mix of architectural styles photographed from Waterloo Place.

The view from the top of Jacob's Ladder. It's perhaps appropriate that the grass topped council offices look over a city centre site abandoned by all but Mother Nature.

A wide angle view of the scene.

Zooming in for a closer look at a mini (unplanned) nature reserve.

Closer still to see two pigeons enjoying the pool of water beside some wire cages containing bricks.

It's a steep, winding descent - not advised after dark - especially if alone.

The bottom is in sight. An archway leads under the railway lines to Calton Road.

Through the arch at the bottom of Jacob's Ladder can be seen a man in a suit waiting at the corner of New Street and Calton Road.

The man in the suit lingers briefly before wandering off.

Sunshine picks out autumn colours in East Market Street near Cranston Street.

Much photographed by me already - but the absence of cars (caused by the road being closed nearer Waverley Station) made the scene look quite different today.

If you approach Calton Hill by Blenheim Place, Royal Terrace and by turning right at Greenside Parish Church then you'll pass this way.

The magnificent entrance to Old St Andrew's House.

The large bronze doors were designed by Walter Gilbert. The right hand door is fractionally out of line with the left one but I've corrected this in the next image.

The central image close up.

April 1937 was when this foundation stone was laid. How many of today's buildings will look so splendid after three quarters of a century, I wonder...

A previous photo showed the right hand side of this building abutted against the rock face. Virgin money has evidently improved its appearance wtih some stone cladding and new windows.

INSERT ART HERE proclaims this message. Behind the fence buildings may one day be inserted.

Further up New Street, opposite the council offices, nature has populated the ground with bushes.

Jeffrey Street curves its way onto the Royal Mile.

The view from the bridge in Waterloo Place, looking over Calton Road and Waverley Station towards Jeffrey Street.

This graffiti may be illegible but it outclasses teenage boys' clumsy scribbles such as 'oe', 'yout' and 'nsa' and so on.

The irridescent, stylised text on the left of the previous picture seems to be emanating from this dude from Dusseldorf.

Quite what the American Shame refers to is rather vague. Certainly, poking two fingers into someone's intestines would be shameful, if that's what's depicted here.

Another shot of the view from the top of Jacob's Ladder, a great place to take photos of the effects of the passage of time in the Caltongate saga.

A magnificent octopus keeps watch on passers-by and people hoping to park their car.

The gate into the empty site has been breached. It's still chained on the left but the top hinge is broken.

This looks like one mean mouse. It's not Dangermouse though.

A wider view showing part of the train tracks that cross over Calton Road.

Travellin' Men have left their mark.

What's behind the fence in September 2013. The back of the Canongate's north side overlooks the troubled site.

From their roof garden and windows the council workers have an excellent view of another, unplanned garden populated with wild bushes and trees.

Another look at the octopus.

On the other side of Calton Hill the little road known as Greenside Row curves round the back of the Omni centre.

Calton road branches off Leith Street to the left and then continues under the bridge at Waterloo Place. I've photographed it before but the light was interesting so I did it again.

MP's BISTRO proclaim the signs. I rather doubt the presence of MSPs from Holyrood in this establishment because it's a long walk from there along Calton Road. Climbing Jacob's Ladder for a 'short cut' would likely induce heart attacks in some MSPs.

I paid my £4 to climb even higher up the Nelson Monument. This wider view of the scene looks over north east Edinburgh towards the Firth of Forth.

Zooming in a little reveals assorted visitors enjoying the April sunshine around Scotland's National Monument - which was never finished.

A view across Leith Walk towards Leith Docks. The blue clad scaffolding left of centre is new construction at Shrubhill. The church to its right is at Pilrig.

The balcony at the top of the Nelson Monument affords good views of Princes Street. Cars are banned from Princes Street and delivery vehicles have their time restricted. This means that most of the vehicles visible are buses and taxis.

The long lens appears to foreshorten the perspective, stacking the buses on top of one other.

The three arches of North Bridge slope upwards from Princes Street to the old town. The Governor's Mansion is at bottom left and to its right is the Calton Burial Ground.

Zoomed in on Waverley Gate's roof garden. The building at its rear is the part of the Balmoral Hotel which adjoins North Bridge.

Two double decker buses on North Bridge. Waverley Railway Station below has a new glass roof these days.

Below Edinburgh Castle trains go west vis the tunnel to Haymarket then onto the train lines left of Murrayfield Stadium. On the horizon at the right is the faint outline of the 5 Sisters bing near West Calder.

There seems to be some activity at 'Caltongate' on New Steet's east side.

Zoomed in on the grassy rooves. Jeffrey Street is the curved street at the back.

Zoomed in on 'Caltongate'. New Street is on the right but Calton Road is hidden from view below Regent Road.

At the bottom left corner Jeffrey Street connects to Market Street which passes below North Bridge. In the distance are glimpses of Craiglockhart Hill and the Pentland Hills.

Graffiti at the back of the empty site.

A long lens look at Royal Park Terrace at the north side of Holyrood Park.

Zoomed in on the brick building at the top of New Street. The Arc Café had its premises here.

When you're climbing the steps to the top of the Nelson Monument this neat lettering gives encouragement. I photographed it on the way down.

Also photographed on the way down is this 'Keep going' sign.

The remainder of the views were taken from Calton Hill itself, rather than from the tower. In this view Pilrig Church is on the left and the foot of Leith Walk on the right.

Western Harbour on the shore of the Firth of Forth.

The St James shopping centre is going to be revamped apparently. The trees in the distance are the woods on Corstorphine Hill.

Strange architecture at the start of London Road.

Another roof garden, this time on the Omni Centre at the Picardy Place roundabout. York Place is behind, connecting to Queen Street to the left.

The back of the Playhouse theatre is on the left. To its right is a site cleared for construction.

Terraced houses in Windsor Street.

The main path into the old burial ground.

A striking memorial erected in memory of Scottish-American soldiers.

The resting place for David Hume, an important figure in the Scottish Enlightenment.

The text on this tombstone is all but illegible. The female stone figures are not reminiscent of any Scottish church I know of but look more eastern, maybe Indian.

I don't know if this is a likeness of Alice Barclay, nor do I know if she's holding a bible or some other holy tome.

On the bridge at Waterloo Place, looking down on Calton Road.

Fiona Rutherford played a live accompaniment for the visual presentation at the SWT event.

A wider view of the scene on the roof of the Glasshhouse Hotel..

Outside there were interesting views of the sea at the Firth of Forth.

Twin aliens from another planet stood motionless next to a non-functioning gas-fired barbecue.

Large plastic sculptures of masks decorated the area. Calton Hill is in the background.

It looks like this mask has had its nose dragged through the gravel.

Some of the Scottish Wildlife Trust members outside the hall where the meeting took place.

A look up to the observatory dome on Calton Hill.

A scooter parked on Calton Hill.

The new Cube building beside the steep street Calton Hill.

A large HD view to the Firth of Forth

A large HD view to the Firth of Forth zoomed in a little more.

A long lens look at the foot of Leith Walk

Graffiti in New Street

East Market Street 8 June 2016

Photographed later in April 2016

Photographed later in April 2016

Just off Blenheim Place

Between Calton Hill and Leith Street

A long stairway between Calton Hill and Leith Street.

2nd shot of the long stairway between Calton Hill and Leith Street.

The Omni Centre address is Greenside Row but that really refers to the seldom visited lane at the back, at the foot of Calton Hill. This infrared photograph shows 2 rather long stairways.

A normal colour picture taken from the foot of the stairs pictured previously.

The other stairway.

Graffiti in New Street

Graffiti in New Street

Graffiti in New Street

Graffiti in New Street

Graffiti in New Street

Graffiti in New Street

Graffiti in New Street

February 26 2016

February 26 2016

Corner of New Street and Canongate

Corner of New Street and Canongate

Corner of New Street and Canongate

Not a dedicated, elevated cycle track. Greenside Row passes below.

Picturesque houses at Calton Hill.

So much character.

'Beware of the dog' says the sign on the gate at number 20.

'Caltongate' at the start of August 2016.

3 shots of the graffiti down on the fence at Calton Road.

Zoomed in on the face done with runny paint.

If this doesn't say 'ouch' then I don't know what it says.

I expect the dark brown metal is reinforcement for concrete.

The old Royal High School on Regent Road needs some attention.

Looking down on the urban landscape beside Calton Road.

Also in Regent Road is this neatly written graffiti with its precise message.

In nearby Regent Terrace defensive bollards protect the American Embassy.

Rain was sweeping in from the west, obscuring Corstorphine Hill. Sunshine on Fettes school and the old Martello Court flats.

Rain hadn't yet reached the remnants of Granton gasworks. Botanic Gardens in the middle distance.

Rustic looking in the city centre

That strange architecture again

previously photographed but good light for another shot

The other steps facing the opposite direction

Long lens shot (600m equivalent) of the foot of Leith Walk from Calton Hill.

The first of two shots of the corner of New Street and Canongate. March 2017

The second of two shots of the corner of New Street and Canongate. March 2017

The view from the corner of the council building. The Canongate Venture is now Apple Apartments.

New in March 2017 is this area at New Waverley.

Looking through the new arch to an older one (St John's Street) at the othe side of Canongate.

The red car passing St John's Street is reflected making it seem like part of the white car.

The old Royal High School on Regent Road is high up at the back. In front is Terry Gilliam's Words on the Street.

A wider view of the scene at the top of New Street.

Another wide view of the scene at the top of New Street.

Cubes and cuboids at the east side of New Street.

Take-away food stalls

Council offices, St Andrew's House and the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill.

Doubtless these concrete cuboids will serve as tables and chairs for the take-away customers.

Looking back towards New Street. Part of North Bridge can be seen along East Market Street.

Peeking through the hole in the fence towards the railway tunnels at the back of Calton Road.

Sneak peek

Looking over the graffiti towards the railway tunnels leading to Abbeyhill and all points south.

Through the door lies a secret tunnel to the Nelson Monument. (or not)

Jeffrey Street with Market Street and The Arches in front.

The City of Edinburgh Council

Graffiti in New Street.

Graffiti in New Street.

Graffiti in New Street.

The Arches as seen from North Bridge

Edited version of a 360º Image - LED pavement lights

Edited version of a 360º Image - LED pavement lights

I read ( May 2017) that Studio 24 is to close.

Studio 24

Studio 24

Studio 24

Studio 24

Studio 24

Studio 24

This 'former school building next to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is to be converted into a spectacular boutique hotel and restaurant'.

A new fence in New Street may be a blank canvas for graffiti artists.

Grafitti in Jacob's Ladder, the stairway leading up from Calton Road to Regent Road.

Jacob's Ladder's bottom entrance is opposite the foot of New Street.

Higher up Jacob's Ladder

Those Hibs fans get everywhere.

The view from part way up Jacob's Ladder.

The view from the top of Jacob's Ladder at Regent Road.

Piledriver driving piles next to New Street.

Zoomed in closer on the piledriver.

Changes here have been a long time coming since I first photographed the area in 2003.

Odd architecture at Blenheim Place at the foot of Calton Hill

Descending Jacob's Ladder - a sequence of 8 photos

Jacob's Ladder is the stairway behind the wall.

Jacob's Ladder closed for repairs at Regent Road.

Jacob's Ladder entrance closed at Calton Road.