Canongate

Full of history…
A long walk to parliament…
Less touristy side (of the Mile)…

I really hate The Royal Mile. You know, because of all the tourists and stuff. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really really brilliant, but it’s soooooo crowded all the time. Yet for some reason, the Canongate never seems to get like that. It winds down beautifully towards Holyrood Palace (well worth a visit), and it’s got this lovely, kind of medieval feel to the it.
There’s a plethora of shops, some good, some not so good. There’s all the touristy crap, but then there’s some really interesting stuff too. And best of all, the Scottish parliament is at the bottom, which you really really must visit. It sort of looks like something from Brave New World if it was designed by Fred Flintstone. Hilarious. But even if you don’t go in anywhere, the Canongate is just a pleasant place to be, and gives you a real feel for the city.

Canongate is the part of the Royal Mile (also known as High Street) that is below North Bridge. It’s the quainter half, as far as I’m concerned, and the one that’s least full of tourists, since the tourists are mostly concerned with seeing the Castle.
Somehow, there is a fudge phenomenon on this part of the Mile. There are about a million we shops that hand out free samples.
From the top of Canongate you can see the sea beyond Holyrood. Holyrood Palace is at the end of Canongate as is the Scottish Parliament.

My current place of work is on the Canongate, so it’s perhaps testament to the area that despite it’s association with the monotony of working life, it’s still my favourite part of the Royal Mile.
Feeling a bit like a village high street in parts, there’s a couple of charmingly old-​fashioned museums, a great Turkish café, a few (almost) tourist free pubs, and a surprisingly quiet Starbucks which never runs out of the Apple Fritter Donuts I crave.