We might as well start on a suitably depressing note. This is the Grassmarket, one of the locations where executions took place in the old days. I don't know if "The Maiden" was ever used here. All the references seem to be to hangings. There was another place of execution at Mercat Cross in Parliament Square where "The Maiden" certainly did take her deadly toll. She is now housed in the National Museum Scotland.

A closer look at one of the buildings in the previous picture, the pub The Last Drop. Its title neatly embraces the ambiguity of the gargle and the gibbet.

Nearby, another pub following the fortunes of the Irish rugby team and the approaching climax of this year's season.

The Royal Mile, running all the way from the Castle to Holyrood with many public buildings along the way.

David Hume (1711 - 1776) Scottish historian, philosopher, economist, diplomat and essayist known today especially for his radical philosophical empiricism and scepticism. Edinburgh is a university town with that insitution spread around many of the old buildings.

Adam Smith (1723 - 1790) Scottish moral philosopher, pioneer of political economy, and key Scottish Enlightenment figure. Studied him in first year economics but can't remember a thing.

Rabbie Burns (1759 - 1796) slept, or not as the case may be, here on his first visit to Edinburgh. I suppose that depended on whether he mounted the lady's stairs or not.

A family crest over the entrance to the Camera Obscura.