Grassmarket and Cowgate Areas

The next few black & white shots were taken in the '70s. This close has been rebuilt and looks nothing like this any more.

A similar view to the previous picture but with the camera moved to the right and turned vertical to show the structure supporting the seats for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the castle esplanade above.

The Art College can be seen in the distance.

The Castle Trades Hotel was a hostel for 'down-and-outs' in the Grassmarket.

Attractive stone lettering in an art-deco style reminiscent of canal bridge name signs in Amsterdam.

This steep street leads down from Hunter Square to the Cowgate. The lower levels of these buildings have vaults which may connect with Niddry Street at the east side of South Bridge.

This photo of the east side of Blair Street has a detailed view of the stone work.

The view east from the bottom of Blair Street (before the fire) underneath South Bridge.

After four and a half years this sad site is still vacant. The notices change periodically and the rubbish has been rearranged into a bonfire.

South Bridge as seen from the Cowgate in March 2003. Most of the fire wreckage has been cleared and there's new patches of brickwork in the ancient old underbelly of the South Side.

This is the west side of South Bridge as seen from the Cowgate. Little has changed since the buildings were demolished after the big fire in December 2002. Photographed July 2005.

On the newly-appeared notice board we read that an organisation whose innovative name implies New Energy (cold fusion perhaps?) is sponsored by Aisling Developments Ltd and Universal Fibreoptics UFO.

Suspend belief - rather than disbelief - for this one, or else take your belief somewhere else meantime.

A closer look at a couple of the entertainments available down here in the bowels of the city.

A wide angle shot looking under George IV Bridge towards the Grassmarket.

A man sits on the steps of the Cowgate Clinic. Across the road a placard rather bizarrely announces Summer of Love (I thought that was in 1967).

A few yards away is this Keep Left sign at a traffic island.

Solicitors Buildings states the nameplate at the corner. Whether or not any solicitors do any soliciting therein is unclear.

Directly under George IV Bridge are these green doors. Perhaps more bridge arches can be seen behind the doors...

Recently revealed is this brick building with narrow windows. The upper two storeys have white tiled bricks on the east facing wall.

Zoomed in on the central area showing the surviving remnants of walls and doorways.

June 2003 and the fire damaged buildings on the Cowgate have been demolished. Photograph taken from North Bridge.

The land remains vacant after the big fire but the mud gets rearranged occasionally and new graffiti appears from time to time.

Photo taken from the bottom of Niddry Street. Niddry Street South is the cul-de-sac on the left and a corner of South Bridge is on the right.

Cowgate Colonnade.

At the west end of the collonade is Dyer's Close leading to Merchant Street.

Still not much happening at the site of the big fire of December 2002. The ubiquitous image of Che Guevara has appeared under South Bridge.

The top of the steps leading up from Victoria Street. At the bottom of Upper Bow, a short cul-de-sac leading down from the junction of Lawnmarket and Castlehill.

Robert Cresser's famous brush shop. Many Edinburgh citizens have a fond regard for this anachronistic, unique establishment.

Another picture of that shop. These are your actual traditional working brushes on display outside - but they may get purchased as art objects in this street.

Two of the best shops in this splendid street, namely the Rolling Stone Gallery at 42 and The Brush Shop at 40. The former specialises in surreal art from Poland.

A couple of doors down at number 46 is the Pine & Old Lace shop. Pause and marvel at the craftsmanship of yesteryear.

I've photographed this street before but couldn't resist doing so again on this sunny morning. There were very few parked cars to spoil the view.

More detail. Hopefully this working shop will continue for years to come. (It didn't.)

This shot is primarily of Robert Cresser's Brush Shop, established 1873.

Much photographed, Another shot of this interesting street, showing Crocket's Land sandwiched between Historic Connections and Halibut and Herring.

A vertical shot of the tall stair door entrance to Crocket's Land in Victoria Street.

A worm's-eye view taken into the setting sun.

A shoe-high view looking into the morning sun. Edinburgh Castle looms high overhead.

Zoomed in to show more detail of the rooves. The railing at the right hand side is at the very end of Victoria Terrace.

Up above Victoria Street is Victoria Terrace which leads in turn to Upper Bow. This cobbled cul de sac leads up to the Lawnmarket.

Looking into Hunter's Close through the Pentax fisheye lens. Photograph taken in March 2006.

ECA must have needed the money because they've sold it off. It's currently one of the city's growing number of hostels.

This three-storey stone building is somewhat dwarfed by the monstrosity of Argyle House.

A sunnier picture of the previous scene, taken a couple of years later.

Looking down the stairs leading from the King's Bridge to King's Stables Road. The bridge connects Spittal Street to Johnston Terrace.

Three years later in 2006 the nightclub features such attractions as Lovegroove and Shagtag - and sports a chromium-plated front door and matching windows.

Geo IV Bridge

The archway overhead is the pedestrian footbridge at the library's main entrance from George IV Bridge

Zooming in the art college reveals more of the hotch-potch of rooves and buildings in front.

This image shown here mainly because this site at the corner of Lady Lawson Street and West Port has now been built on. Photographed on 28th May 2001.

Unusual spiral decoration on an old wrought iron gate in the Grassmarket.

The attractive red sandstone building is part of the National Library of Scotland.

Connecting the Cowgate with Chambers Street is this short street with two right-angle bends. The steps provide a shortcut.

Through the tunnel formed by this arch of George IV Bridge. The street above bears the name of the bridge which supports it. At the far end of the tunnel is Greyfriars.

A faded sign says 'General Textile Merchants' - which may have a connection with the street name. A scene from yesteryear, apart from the plastic bread trays and wheelie bins.

Merchant Street taken from George IV Bridge. The shop above the bistro used to be Brown's, a supplier of electronic components long before there was Tandy / Radio Shack or Maplin.

The same view with more normal perspective, taken later.

The Wee Hostel sign replaces the red SAUNA sign. Infrared photo.

The Liquid Room. This sturdy-looking metal door is the entrance to a small but popular concert venue. We went there to see the legendary Nils Lofgren.

Byzantium is the name of this building which houses several shops selling unusual artifacts, antiques, clothes and collectors' items.

A red double decker tour bus passes by on Lauriston Place at the end of this lane on the western boundary of George Heriot's school. The yellow line is redundant now because both ends of the lane are blocked for cars.

A little further north in the same street is this old doorway in the Telfer Wall.

This was probably taken in 1977.

Little has changed here since I first photographed The Vennel in 1977, 28 years previously. If you compare the two photos you'll see that the shop on the left of the steps has a different style of lettering but the same name

More people are evident in this second picture.

The Underbelly was the name of an entertainment venue which lurked here under one of George IV Bridge's numerous (mostly-hidden) arches during the 2006 Edinburgh Festival.

From the corner of Gullan's Close is this view across Holyrood Road (continuation of The Cowgate) towards the foot of The Pleasance.

A closer look at the tall building in the previous picture.

The Grassmarket, like much of Edinburgh this year, is undergoing drastic change.

At the east end of the Grassmarket the Cowgate continues under George IV Bridge, and Candlemaker Row leads up to the right to Greyfriars Kirkyard.

The junction of the Grassmarket and King's Stables Road, featuring some Scottish Baronial style architecture. The premises below have been occupied by Sound Control.

Some detail of the above building.

A curious ornamental chimney near the bottom of Lady Lawson Street.

Two photos taken from King's Bridge at the foot of Johnston Terrace.

The second picture shows a slightly bigger area including part of Johnston Terrace.

A saxaphone playing busker enjoys the accoustics of the bridge connecting Castle Terrace to Johnston Terrace. There's a very short video on YouTube too.

Looking up at the castle from Kings Stables Lane.

Beside the bottom of Granny's Green Steps are New Greyfriars Mission Buildings whose current proprietors are 'the LOT'.

After much digging up, the Grassmarket is looking nicer with a nice new surface of old setts, not the miniature ones imported from China for the Tron junction.

At the east end of the Grassmarket the entrance to Victoria Street is looking more attractive thanks to the upgraded surface.

An attractive spot for a bite to eat near the Scottish Parliament and Dynamic Earth.

Previously featured as a scanned print, but the scanned negative is higher quality. These enamelled signs have long since disappeared.

Waverley Cameron and their enamelled signs advertising pens. There was also a metal merchant nearby who sold nuts, bolts, screws and sheet metal. Photo updated - negative rescanned 2005.

The Vennel steps are looking rather smart since they were recently refurbished. Part of Edinburgh Art College is visible through the arched entrance.

The view up The Vennel from near the bottom, close to the Grassmarket.

Much more recently built are these steps at the opposite side of the Grassmarket which lead up to Johnston Terrace and Edinburgh Castle.

Sounds grand - King's Stables Lane - and isn't that a thatched roof..? No, it's grass that's taken root in the dirt in the gutter. Nevertheless the grass and natural stone soften the harsh appearance of the rear of Argyle House.

So good they named it twice, or even thrice. Edinburgh Castle towers overhead. Coaches are parked on Johnston Terrace.

Biodegradable corrugated plastic tubes protect sapling trees from being eaten by wildlife.

Looking down on King's Stables Road and King's Stables Lane from Johnston Terrace. The disappearance of Argyle House would be regretted by few.

This close connects the Cowgate to Guthrie Street and is on the edge of the empty space where buildings burned a few years ago.

A few metres west along the Cowgate is Guthrie Street leading up to Chambers Street. These steps provide a shortcut.

Victoria Street is looking rather fine in early May, 2010. The granite setts are looking quite smart.

Further up the road workmen are preparing this building for reoccupation after the fire. July 2010.

The same shot as above but cropped to show the men at work (and rest).

The black shutters and plain paintwork emphasize the arches under Victoria Terrace at the corner of Victoria Street and George IV Bridge.

The West Bow leads up from the Grassmarket into Victoria Street.

Still in plain view from South Bridge is this white-tiled brick building, concealed for many years until the big fire opposite the bottom of Blair Street. June 2009.

A view from down below near the bottom of Blair Street a few days later shows that the fencing has been removed but there's still so sign of any construction.

Ultra wide fisheye view. A taxi emerges from Niddry Street.

A vintage bus takes visitors towards Holyrood.

The site has lain empty for years since the big fire but something is being built. It looks like a temporary structure for an Edinburgh Fringe event. July 2010.

August 2010 and the area has indeed been put to good use for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

A dazzling paint job in the close opposite the bottom of Blair Street, next to the vacant fire-damaged site beside South Bridge.

The left wall.

Looking across the empty site towards the rear of Chambers Street's north side.

Unusually anatomically correct rendering of a heart.

It looks like some of the stone blocks were replaced above Bannerman's Bar. The interesting old hand-painted lettering still remains after countless decades, advertising flats for sale.

July 2012. After a few years it would appear that this site might actually be rebuilt.

Under South Bridge is this black and white photo, something to do with insideoutproject.net an internet art project. Non-internet 'artists' have added a moustache and other scribbles.

Another look at the scene in Cowgate 92sb from underneath South Bridge.

A closer look at the new construction from the bottom of Blair Street.

A wider view of the scene. Turning left under South Bridge leads to Holyrood; turning right leads to the Grassmarket.

The Patrick Geddes Steps lead down from Johnston Terrace to the Grassmarket.

Joe Caslin shows Edinburgh College of Art's students can capture the likeness of a person, rather than smashing windows or rearranging stolen doormats in the name of 'art'.

There may be more information about the artist and his work at Edinburgh Spotlight.

There's always some low-life adolescent male whose clumsy scrawls spoils real art. I removed it from this close-up picture.

The last of the 4 is a wide angle view.

Before reaching St Mary's Street I noticed this street art at Robertson's Close.

Near the top of The Vennel with Edinburgh Castle in the background.

Another view of Edinburgh Castle with Portsburgh Square in the foreground.

At the west end of the Cowgate. Candlemaker Row and the Grassmarket are nearby, beyond the car park fence.

A closer look at the street art. In 2016 there's controversial plans for a hotel here.

The same view but from George IV Bridge on New Year's Day 2013.

Kings Stables Road connects Lothian Road to the Grassmarket. People are walking over the bridge above from Spittal Street to Johnson Terrace. Photographed in infrared.

Same viewpoint as the previous picture but looking up the steps to Castle Terrace.

The pipe is reminiscent of a boat or ship and is presumably to remove some bad air from the vaults underneath South Bridge.

The view down Blair Street at the start of 2013. Finally, years after the big fire, they're filling the void with a new building.

There's some quaint, interesting architecture in Blair Street spoiled by lack of care. A broken window has allowed pigeons to make a home here. Their excrement has accumulated on the window ledge. I dread to think what the interior must look and smell like...

Zoomed in on that disgusting window!

July 2013. This part of Blair Street is looking rather smart. Even the rubbish bags in the basement are colourful and tidy.

Above Poundstretcher's Goods In entrance the pigeon excrement continues to accumulate.

New buildings have finally sprouted up at the site of the big fire where South Bridge crosses over The Cowgate.

Looking uphill on the east side of the street.

The granite setts have been lifted on the west side of the street. Hopefully they'll be put back properly. This has not always been the case in other parts of the city.

The odd architecture in Blair Street continues to fascinate me.

Visit the vaults with Mercat Tours.

Bored people scribbling rubbish beside the bird droppings.

Taken near the bottom of Blair Street.

I took this in 2006 and only uploaded it 2013 when I decided I liked its quirkiness. Stevenlaw's Close parallel to Blair Street.

The new, rather uninspiring edifice beside North Bridge.

It took about a decade but the empty site caused by a big fire is now occupied where South Bridge crosses the Cowgate near the foot of Blair Street.

Another look from further along Cowgate towards Grassmarket.

Eyecatching artwork in the Cowgate.

The abode of fictional detective Jackson Brodie according to the TV series. Not to be confused with Jackson Browne.

Beside the Liquid Room in Victoria Street, a man enjoys some liquid refreshment.

Jackson Brodie might not get much sleep here, if he chose to crash out in his office.

Lately these '60s concrete monstrosities have been more kindly regarded. I think this one should be demolished - as long as it doesn't remain a hole-in-the-ground for too long.

Cafés and pubs line the street.

Crowds wander about enjoying the sights, or rest for a while having a beer or a coffee.

The Underbelly's gate looks substantial with Rotospikes on top. The quoted text is intriguing, conjuring up visions of someone in trouble in a forest.

An establishment called Base in the shadow of the bridge.

Base's text gives a few possible meanings of the word 'base'.

Push my button... and feel the HEAT! says the speech balloon.

A strange entrance to 'Edinburgh's newest bar restaurant and late night venue' OX184. The stack of wood is for their wood fired grill.

Dyer's Close leads off the Cowgate to Merchant Street, a short cul-de-sac under an arch of George IV Bridge which was used as a film location.

This is in Kings Stables Road. In the shade on the right is the Castle Terrace carpark. High up on the left is Edinburgh Castle. An entrance to Princes Street Gardens is nearby.

Previously photographed from Johnston Terrace. I noticed the jungle that sprouted up around the West Port side of the building and photographed it in infrared in June 2014.

A vertical view towards Edinburgh Castle from the same part of the West Port as above. Below the castle on Johnston Terrace two coaches are parked. Behind the white (in infrared) bush are stairs leading down to a small carpark next to Kings Stables Lane but there's no access from here. At the top of the almost hidden stairs there's a notice warning of a sheer drop.

I guess KICK ASS means very good, not that you're likely to get your arse kicked in here. (Also see W Port gallery)

The top 3 storeys are made of red sandstone. This is the west end of the West Port. On the left of the Vennel steps it's the Grassmarket.

Much photographed by residents and visitors is Victoria Street. I couldn't resist taking another picture or two.

Mellis the cheesemonger (formerly of Bruntsfield) has the tiny shop in the middle, as well as one in Morningside.

Zoomed in on Mellis the cheesemonger.

There's no text telling passers-by what the three dancing figures relate to. Festival Fringe events take place in The Underbelly.

The same rotaspiked gate but showing the green door to its left.

A wide 'letterbox' type shot of some of the pubs and restaurants in the Grassmarket.

The Grassmarket was very busy on the first of May. I'm not sure what these performers do but their period costumes caught the attention of a few photographers.

The lady tending the magnificent horse has her hair style repeated in the horse's tail.

Another sell-off by Edinburgh College of Art. This is where their architecture library used to be. It's now owned by George Heriot's School.

Edinburgh College of Art - old library, Grassmarket - August 2006.

The same part of the library but facing the other direction from the opposite end.

A few pictures of the Periodicals Room and its 'dome'.

The 'dome' as seen from the roof.

As seen from Greyfriars Kirkyard with Edinburgh Castle in the background.

Underneath, looking up.

A wider view still, through a fish-eye lens.

Another fish-eye lens view, this time from the corner of the room.

August 2016. A view of the West Port and Grassmarket corner from the bottom of the Vennel.

April 2017 cars on show

Graffiti at Kings Stables Road. (The chalked text says 'an act of random kindness').

A variation of the previous photo, taken with an action camera with a fisheye lens.

Edinburgh Castle towers overhead in this shot from Kings Stables Lane.

There are 3 shots of the library because it's vanishing behind a Virgin hotel.

This is a city centre view!