114-635: Bonaly ( / b ə ˈ n æ l i / ) is an area on the south-western outskirts of Edinburgh and the northern slopes of the Pentland Hills , lying within the Parish of Colinton . It is a mix of mainly post-war housing, woodland, pasture-land and heather moorland . Bonaly Burn has its sources in the hills above Bonaly and flows towards Oxgangs , where it becomes the Braid Burn . The Edinburgh City Bypass passes through Bonaly. The name Bonaly may be derived from
228-469: A port several miles away (respectively, Leith and Piraeus ). Intellectually, the Scottish Enlightenment , with its humanist and rationalist outlook, was influenced by Ancient Greek philosophy . In 1822, artist Hugh William Williams organized an exhibition that showed his paintings of Athens alongside views of Edinburgh, and the idea of a direct parallel between both cities quickly caught
342-543: A proper noun , the Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland , the country's national church and this term is frequently used in the media, in everyday speech and in the church's own literature. The Kirk of Scotland was in official use as the name of the Church of Scotland until the 17th century. Kirk Session is still the standard term in church law for the court of elders in
456-461: A royal charter , c. 1124–1127 , by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline . The shire of Edinburgh seems to have also been created in the reign of David I, possibly covering all of Lothian at first, but by 1305 the eastern and western parts of Lothian had become Haddingtonshire and Linlithgowshire , leaving Edinburgh as the county town of
570-414: A few square yards and a scarcely habitable farm-house but, realizing the profanations of Auburn, I have destroyed a village, and erected a tower, and reached the dignity of a twenty-acred laird. The buildings in the village were demolished and the inhabitants presumably evicted. It is probable that the community had been in decline for some time. Enclosure had lessened the demand for agricultural labour and
684-439: A legacy to fund the establishment of a charitable school, which was known as Gillespie's Hospital . The Bonaly Farm premises were part of the legacy bequeathed to this school. A southern portion, including the village of Bonaly, was leased by Lord Cockburn . He developed the 17th century farmhouse into a country house and, in doing so, ordered the destruction of the village. In his own words he: ...began by an annual lease of
798-564: A part of spoken Gaelic in the Highlands or Ireland. When the element appears in placenames of the former British empire, a distinction can be made between those where the element is productive ( named after a church) or transferred – from a place in Britain. Kirkland , a city in the United States, is an exception, being named after the surname of an English settler, Peter Kirk . The element kirk
912-523: A population in 2014 of 1,339,380. Like most of Scotland, Edinburgh has a cool temperate maritime climate ( Cfb ) which, despite its northerly latitude, is milder than places which lie at similar latitudes such as Moscow and Labrador . The city's proximity to the sea mitigates any large variations in temperature or extremes of climate. Winter daytime temperatures rarely fall below freezing while summer temperatures are moderate, rarely exceeding 22 °C (72 °F). The highest temperature recorded in
1026-458: A public park since the 1940s. It has not been grazed by livestock since the creation of the Country Park and woodland has started to strongly re-establish itself. The upper park occupies a much larger proportion of the Country Park and is mostly heather moorland or unimproved grassland, leased to a tenant farmer for hill grazing. The two sections are separated by woodland plantations, established in
1140-612: A series of small summits to the south of the city centre that command expansive views looking northwards over the urban area to the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is drained by the river named the Water of Leith , which rises at the Colzium Springs in the Pentland Hills and runs for 18 miles (29 km) through the south and west of the city, emptying into the Firth of Forth at Leith. The nearest
1254-576: A shire covering the central part of Lothian, which was called Edinburghshire or Midlothian (the latter name being an informal, but commonly used, alternative until the county's name was legally changed in 1947). Edinburgh was largely under English control from 1291 to 1314 and from 1333 to 1341, during the Wars of Scottish Independence . When the English invaded Scotland in 1298 , Edward I of England chose not to enter Edinburgh but passed by it with his army. In
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#17330850086411368-581: A skinnery, a distillery , a magnesia factory and a flax mill . These industries stood on the banks of the Bonaly Burn, which was used as a power-source, a supply of water and for carrying away waste. Prior to the damming of its tributaries, the Lady Burn and the Dean Burn, Bonaly Burn would have provided a more powerful flow of water for milling. The community never had its own kirk , and parishioners travelled to
1482-641: A small settlement close to the Pentland Hills, labelled Bonely , and also appears on the Map of the Three Lothians in 1773 as Bonilie . Harrison Gardens and Harrison Place, in the Edinburgh district of Merchiston , were originally named Bonaly Road and Bonaly Place. They were renamed in 1965 to avoid confusion with similar addresses in Colinton. Although now considered to be part of the Edinburgh suburb of Colinton, Bonaly
1596-637: A war band from across the Brittonic world who gathered in Eidyn before a fateful raid; this may describe a historical event around AD 600. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria , and around this time control of Lothian passed to the Angles . Their influence continued for the next three centuries until around 950, when, during the reign of Indulf , son of Constantine II ,
1710-439: Is affectionately nicknamed Auld Reekie , Scots for Old Smoky , for the views from the country of the smoke-covered Old Town. A note in a collection of the works of the poet, Allan Ramsay , explains, "Auld Reeky...A name the country people give Edinburgh, from the cloud of smoke or reek that is always impending over it." In Walter Scott 's 1820 novel The Abbot , a character observes that "yonder stands Auld Reekie—you may see
1824-503: Is almost entirely within the City of Edinburgh Council boundary, merging with Musselburgh in East Lothian. Towns within easy reach of the city boundary include Inverkeithing , Haddington , Tranent , Prestonpans , Dalkeith , Bonnyrigg , Loanhead , Penicuik , Broxburn , Livingston and Dunfermline . Edinburgh lies at the heart of the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City region with
1938-548: Is also used in anglicisations of continental European place names, originally formed from one of the continental Germanic cognates. Dunkirk ( French Flanders ) is a rendering of Dutch West-Flemish dialect of Duunkerke or standard Dutch form of Duinkerke . Kirk is also in use as both a surname and a male forename. For lists of these, see Kirk (surname) and Kirk (given name) , and also Kirkby (disambiguation) . Parallels in other languages are far rarer than with placenames, but English Church and German Kirch can also be
2052-574: Is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth estuary and to the south by the Pentland Hills . Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in mid-2020, making it the second-most populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom . The wider metropolitan area had a population of 912,490 in the same year. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh
2166-476: Is cloudier and somewhat wetter, but differences are minor. Temperature and rainfall records have been kept at the Royal Observatory since 1764. The most recent official population estimates (2020) are 506,520 for the locality (includes Currie ), 530,990 for the Edinburgh settlement (includes Musselburgh ). Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term
2280-426: Is encircled by a green belt , designated in 1957, which stretches from Dalmeny in the west to Prestongrange in the east. With an average width of 3.2 km (2 mi) the principal objectives of the green belt were to contain the outward expansion of the city and to prevent the agglomeration of urban areas. Expansion affecting the green belt is strictly controlled but developments such as Edinburgh Airport and
2394-477: Is governed by the City of Edinburgh Council , a unitary authority. The City of Edinburgh council area had an estimated population of 514,990 in mid-2021, and includes outlying towns and villages which are not part of Edinburgh proper. The city is in the Lothian region and was historically part of the shire of Midlothian (also called Edinburghshire). "Edin", the root of the city's name, derives from Eidyn ,
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#17330850086412508-427: Is located on the site of the 17th century farmhouse that once stood at the centre of the village of Bonaly . On the directions of Lord Cockburn, the farmhouse was extended, and the village cleared to create his country residence. In 1839, the architect William Henry Playfair added an imitation peel tower to the building. It was further extended by David Bruce in 1870, who added a western wing. The original farmhouse
2622-458: Is one of the highest bodies of water in the Pentlands and has an unusually small natural water catchment area. The natural catchment has been augmented by catch-drains laid out across the hillside to the south-west, which act to divert spring and rain-water into the reservoir. The present Bonaly Reservoir was created on the site of an existing body of water – known as Bonaly Pools – by the damming of
2736-399: Is served by a corner shop, opened in 1985, and by Lothian Buses number 10. Edinburgh Edinburgh ( / ˈ ɛ d ɪ n b ər ə / ED -in-bər-ə , Scots: [ˈɛdɪnbʌrə] ; Scottish Gaelic : Dùn Èideann [t̪un ˈeːtʲən̪ˠ] ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas . The city is located in southeast Scotland and
2850-430: Is the main local provider of primary education, with a catchment taking in most of the Colinton area. It accommodates pupils from primaries one to seven and also has a nursery for children between three and five years of age. It is managed by the City of Edinburgh Council and is a feeder school for Firrhill High School Pupils wear a distinctive yellow and brown uniform, with a school badge depicting Bonaly Tower against
2964-627: Is the seat of the Scottish Government , the Scottish Parliament , the highest courts in Scotland , and the Palace of Holyroodhouse , the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. It is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . The city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scottish law , literature, philosophy,
3078-440: Is typical of the old quarters of many Northern European cities. The New Town was an 18th-century solution to the problem of an increasingly crowded city which had been confined to the ridge sloping down from the castle. In 1766 a competition to design a "New Town" was won by James Craig , a 27-year-old architect. The plan was a rigid, ordered grid, which fitted in well with Enlightenment ideas of rationality. The principal street
3192-575: Is used by parties of Scouts, Guides and other youth groups, both from the local area and further afield. It has hosted many visiting groups from overseas. The centre has a permanent manager, based on-site, who is supported by the Bonaly Service Team, a group of volunteers who assist in the running and maintenance of the centre. It is officially owned and operated by the South East Scotland Regional Scout Council. Within
3306-625: The Anglican Communion . The first court of Presbyterian polity where the Elders of a particular congregation gather as a Session or meeting to govern the spiritual and temporal affairs of the church. The verb to kirk , meaning 'to present in church', was probably first used for the annual church services of some Scottish town councils, known as the Kirking of the Council . Since the re-establishment of
3420-625: The Athens of the North since the early 19th century. References to Athens, such as Athens of Britain and Modern Athens , had been made as early as the 1760s. The similarities were seen to be topographical but also intellectual. Edinburgh's Castle Rock reminded returning grand tourists of the Athenian Acropolis , as did aspects of the neoclassical architecture and layout of New Town . Both cities had flatter, fertile agricultural land sloping down to
3534-543: The Canongate , and the extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th/19th centuries. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. The city's historical and cultural attractions have made it the UK's second-most visited tourist destination, attracting 4.9 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas in 2018. Edinburgh
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3648-638: The George Square and Potterrow areas proved highly controversial. Since the 1990s a new "financial district", including the Edinburgh International Conference Centre , has grown mainly on demolished railway property to the west of the castle, stretching into Fountainbridge , a run-down 19th-century industrial suburb which has undergone radical change since the 1980s with the demise of industrial and brewery premises. This ongoing development has enabled Edinburgh to maintain its place as
3762-509: The High Kirk of Glasgow , and St. Giles' Cathedral , as well as the High Kirk of Edinburgh . The term "High Kirk", however, should be used with some caution. Several towns have a congregation known as the High Kirk that were never pre-Reformation cathedrals. Examples include: There is no connection between the term 'High Kirk' and the term ' High Church ', which is a type of Churchmanship within
3876-582: The Koine Greek κυριακόν (δωμα) (kyriakon (dōma)) meaning Lord's (house) , which was borrowed into the Germanic languages in late antiquity, possibly in the course of the Gothic missions . (Only a connection with the idiosyncrasies of Gothic explains how a Greek neuter noun became a Germanic feminine). Whereas church displays Old English palatalisation , kirk is a loanword from Old Norse and thus retains
3990-770: The Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, they found a Brittonic Celtic tribe whose name they recorded as the Votadini . The Votadini transitioned into the Gododdin kingdom in the Early Middle Ages , with Eidyn serving as one of the kingdom's districts. During this period, the Castle Rock site, thought to have been the stronghold of Din Eidyn, emerged as the kingdom's major centre. The medieval poem Y Gododdin describes
4104-657: The Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston lie within the zone. Similarly, suburbs such as Juniper Green and Balerno are situated on green belt land. One feature of the Edinburgh green belt is the inclusion of parcels of land within the city which are designated green belt, even though they do not connect with the peripheral ring. Examples of these independent wedges of green belt include Holyrood Park and Corstorphine Hill. Edinburgh includes former towns and villages that retain much of their original character as settlements in existence before they were absorbed into
4218-721: The Scotland Act , which came into force the following year, established a devolved Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive (renamed the Scottish Government since September 2007 ). Both based in Edinburgh, they are responsible for governing Scotland while reserved matters such as defence, foreign affairs and some elements of income tax remain the responsibility of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London. In 2022, Edinburgh
4332-701: The Scottish Gaelic Bonn àth Linne (meaning “the pool at the bottom ford”) or from Bàn àth Linne (meaning “the pool at the white ford”). An alternative suggestion is that the derivation is from the Gaelic Bonn-aill (meaning "the foot of the rocks or cliff"). The placename has appeared in many different forms and spellings. Early variations include Banale in 1438, Bonala in 1538 and Bonally in 1531. Other variations include Bonala , Bonalay , Boneyley , Bonnalay , Bonailie and Bonaley . In Timothy Pont 's detailed 1654 map of Scotland, it appears as
4446-1018: The Scottish Parliament in 1999, the Kirking of the Parliament has become a fixed ceremony at the beginning of a session. Historically a newly married couple would attend public worship as husband and wife for the first time at their kirking. In Nova Scotia, Kirking of the Tartan ceremonies have become an integral part of most Scottish Festivals and Highland Games. Kirk is found mainly as an element in many placenames of Scotland , England and countries of large British expatriate communities. Scottish examples include Falkirk , Kirkwall and numerous Kirkhills and Kirktons . Examples in England are Ormskirk and Kirkby in Lancashire, and Kirkstall , Kirklees and Kirklevington in Yorkshire. Newkirk, Oklahoma state of
4560-722: The South Bridge in the 1780s. The Southside is particularly popular with families (many state and private schools are here), young professionals and students (the central University of Edinburgh campus is based around George Square just north of Marchmont and the Meadows ), and Napier University (with major campuses around Merchiston and Morningside). The area is also well provided with hotel and "bed and breakfast" accommodation for visiting festival-goers. These districts often feature in works of fiction. For example, Church Hill in Morningside,
4674-541: The kirk in Colinton to attend services. After several changes of ownership in the 17th century, Bonaly was eventually bought in 1700 by Sir John Foulis of Woodhall. Sir John's Account Book (1671–1707) contains frequent mentions of Bonaly, of the business he did there and of the rents he received from his tenants in the village. The 17th and 18th centuries were a time of radical change in the Scottish agricultural landscape, Bonaly included. The process of enclosure resulted in
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4788-495: The "burh" (fortress), named in the 10th-century Pictish Chronicle as oppidum Eden , was abandoned to the Scots. It thenceforth remained, for the most part, under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, though the date of its charter is unknown. The first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is
4902-458: The 12th century, Norman barons began to arrive in Scotland and establish feudal estates. The lands of Bonaly formed part of the Barony of Redhall which also included Redhall itself, Oxgangs, Comiston , Swanston , Dreghorn , Pilmuir, Woodhall and Colinton. The earliest mention of Bonaly may be from 1280, when it appears in an account of legal proceedings concerning straying livestock. In 1400,
5016-494: The 1860s began the transformation of the area into the predominantly Victorian Old Town seen today. More improvements followed in the early 20th century as a result of the work of Patrick Geddes , but relative economic stagnation during the two world wars and beyond saw the Old Town deteriorate further before major slum clearance in the 1960s and 1970s began to reverse the process. University building developments which transformed
5130-409: The 18th-century novel The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett one character describes Edinburgh as a "hotbed of genius". Edinburgh was also a major centre for the Scottish book trade. The highly successful London bookseller Andrew Millar was apprenticed there to James McEuen. From the 1770s onwards, the professional and business classes gradually deserted the Old Town in favour of
5244-515: The 1920s. During the 19th century, the Edinburgh Water Company created several reservoirs in the Pentland Hills. Bonaly Reservoir was one of the first to be constructed, and had two purposes – to supply fresh drinking water to the city and to ensure a constant flow of water in lower watercourses by acting as a compensation reservoir . The reservoir is situated in a shelf on the north-west slope of Capelaw Hill. At 340m above sea level, it
5358-520: The 19th century and joined by new industries such as rubber works , engineering works and others. By 1821, Edinburgh had been overtaken by Glasgow as Scotland's largest city. The city centre between Princes Street and George Street became a major commercial and shopping district, a development partly stimulated by the arrival of railways in the 1840s. The Old Town became an increasingly dilapidated, overcrowded slum with high mortality rates. Improvements carried out under Lord Provost William Chambers in
5472-458: The 19th century, few people were living in Bonaly at the close of the 19th century. The house created by Lord Cockburn was named Bonaly Tower and still exists. This began to change during the early 20th century, due to the rapid expansion of Colinton as an Edinburgh commuter suburb. Several large villas were individually constructed on Bonaly Road in the 1920s and 1930s. Expansion accelerated after
5586-520: The Barony – and the ownership of Bonaly – was granted to Sir William Cunningham of Kilmaurs , by Robert III . Some time after 1538, ownership passed to James Foulis, who became Baron Colinton. The Foulis family were supporters of the Royalist cause during the Civil War . Their fortunes suffered badly after Cromwell's victorious campaign in Scotland and they were forced to sell off much of their lands. In
5700-411: The Castle Rock, giving rise to allusions to the seven hills of Rome . Occupying a narrow gap between the Firth of Forth to the north and the Pentland Hills and their outrunners to the south, the city sprawls over a landscape which is the product of early volcanic activity and later periods of intensive glaciation. Igneous activity between 350 and 400 million years ago, coupled with faulting , led to
5814-457: The Dean Burn with a stone-faced earthwork in 1853. It has a capacity of 218 million litres and is 7.5m deep when full. The remains of an earlier earthwork dam are located to the north of the current dam. This site of the present reservoir has been a source of fresh water for Edinburgh since 1761. A wooden pipeline was constructed from Bonaly Pools to Swanston, from where it was piped into the city. The wooden pipes were replaced by iron pipes towards
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#17330850086415928-562: The Disruption in 1843, when about a third of the Auld Kirk of Scotland left to form the Free Kirk. The Free Kirkers, who had sometimes given up homes as well as church buildings and started financially from scratch, were taunted with the rhyme: “ The Free Kirk, the wee Kirk, the Kirk without the steeple ”. This rhyme linking the Free Kirk with the derogatory diminutive "wee" was offensive, and a reply
6042-707: The English in 1544, Edinburgh continued to develop and grow, and was at the centre of events in the 16th-century Scottish Reformation and 17th-century Wars of the Covenant . In 1582, Edinburgh's town council was given a royal charter by King James VI permitting the establishment of a university; founded as Tounis College (Town's College), the institution developed into the University of Edinburgh , which contributed to Edinburgh's central intellectual role in subsequent centuries. In 1603, King James VI of Scotland succeeded to
6156-605: The English throne, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England in a personal union known as the Union of the Crowns , though Scotland remained, in all other respects, a separate kingdom. In 1638, King Charles I's attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . Subsequent Scottish support for Charles Stuart 's restoration to
6270-652: The Jacobite "Highland Army" before its march into England. After its eventual defeat at Culloden , there followed a period of reprisals and pacification, largely directed at the rebellious clans . In Edinburgh, the Town Council, keen to emulate London by initiating city improvements and expansion to the north of the castle, reaffirmed its belief in the Union and loyalty to the Hanoverian monarch George III by its choice of names for
6384-506: The Kirk is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland , the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation . Many place names and personal names are derived from kirk . As a common noun , kirk (meaning 'church') is found in Scots , Scottish English , Ulster-Scots and some English dialects , attested as a noun from the 14th century onwards, but as an element in placenames much earlier. Both words, kirk and church , derive from
6498-424: The North". Robert Louis Stevenson, also a son of the city, wrote that Edinburgh "is what Paris ought to be". The earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond , where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c. 8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have been found on Castle Rock, Arthur's Seat , Craiglockhart Hill and the Pentland Hills . When
6612-438: The Provost for the time as Sheriff, and by the Bailies for the time as Sheriffsdepute conjunctly and severally; with full power to hold Courts, to punish transgressors not only by banishment but by death, to appoint officers of Court, and to do everything else appertaining to the office of Sheriff; as also to apply to their own proper use the fines and escheats arising out of the exercise of the said office." Despite being burnt by
6726-441: The Second World War. In 1959, house-builders Mactaggart and Mickel commenced large-scale housing development on the land adjacent to Bonaly Farm – formerly known as the East Field. Over the following 40 years over 500 houses were constructed and, by 2000, virtually all the land between Bonaly Farm and the Edinburgh City Bypass had been developed for housing. The Bonaly Farm buildings fell into disuse during this period. Bonaly Farmhouse
6840-403: The Thorburn Road premises were re-opened as an annex for use by nursery and infant classes. Additional pre-fab classrooms were also used at the main school site. In 2007, the school buildings were demolished and replaced with a larger building, opened in October 2008. All pupils are now accommodated on this site with the former premises in Thorburn Road later becoming a care home. Bonaly Tower
6954-438: The United Kingdom's second largest financial and administrative centre after London. Financial services now account for a third of all commercial office space in the city. The development of Edinburgh Park , a new business and technology park covering 38 acres (15 ha), 4 mi (6 km) west of the city centre, has also contributed to the District Council's strategy for the city's major economic regeneration. In 1998,
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#17330850086417068-442: The United States, is another example. The element only found in place names of Anglo-Saxon origin but also in Anglo-Gaelic Southern Scottish names such as Kirkcudbright , a place around a Cudbright church. Here, the Gaelic element cil- (coming from a monk's cell) might have been expected to go with the Gaelic form of Cuthbert . The reason appears to be that kirk was borrowed into local Galwegian , it does not seem to have been
7182-430: The adjectival forms Edinburgensis and Edinensis are used in educational and scientific contexts. Edina is a late 18th-century poetical form used by the Scots poets Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns . "Embra" or "Embro" are colloquialisms from the same time, as in Robert Garioch 's Embro to the Ploy . Ben Jonson described it as "Britaine's other eye", and Sir Walter Scott referred to it as "yon Empress of
7296-417: The aftermath of Cromwell's campaign, English troops were billeted at Bonaly. The village of Bonaly is likely to have been home to a modest population of tenant farmers, living in cot-houses , raising livestock and practising the open field system of rig and furrow agriculture. They may have supplemented their income with weaving . It is difficult to estimate the size of the settlement at this time but
7410-405: The architectural style of the New Town into the early 19th century. Bute House , the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland , is on the north side of Charlotte Square. The hollow between the Old and New Towns was formerly the Nor Loch , which was created for the town's defence but came to be used by the inhabitants for dumping their sewage . It was drained by the 1820s as part of
7524-416: The area under cultivation was extensive. Traces of rig and furrow cultivation strips can be seen in the hills high above Bonaly, on land that has now reverted to rough-grazing. By the 17th century, Bonaly appears to have been thriving and is mentioned frequently in the Kirk Session records. In addition to the dwellings of the tenant farmers, there was a substantial farmhouse (c. 1650), several waulk mills ,
7638-483: The area. With the redevelopment, Edinburgh has gained the business of cruise liner companies which now provide cruises to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. The coastal suburb of Portobello is characterised by Georgian villas, Victorian tenements, a beach and promenade and cafés, bars, restaurants and independent shops. There are rowing and sailing clubs, a restored Victorian swimming pool, and Victorian Turkish baths . The urban area of Edinburgh
7752-407: The backdrop of the Pentland Hills. The badge was designed by a pupil, Sheron Watts when the school first opened in 1976. The school opened on a greenfield site in 1976 and was intended to replace older school premises at Thorburn Road in Colinton, which had been unable to cope with the demand for school places. The new school at Bonaly was, however, never large enough to accommodate all the pupils and
7866-486: The beginning of three centuries of Germanic influence in south east Scotland that laid the foundations for the development of Scots , before the town was ultimately subsumed in 954 by the kingdom known to the English as Scotland. As the language shifted from Cumbric to Northumbrian Old English and then Scots , the Brittonic din in Din Eidyn was replaced by burh , producing Edinburgh . In Scottish Gaelic din becomes dùn , producing modern Dùn Èideann . The city
7980-423: The city between October and April. Located slightly north of the city centre, the weather station at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has been an official weather station for the Met Office since 1956. The Met Office operates its own weather station at Gogarbank on the city's western outskirts, near Edinburgh Airport . This slightly inland station has a slightly wider temperature span between seasons,
8094-423: The city was 31.6 °C (88.9 °F) on 25 July 2019 at Gogarbank, beating the previous record of 31 °C (88 °F) on 4 August 1975 at Edinburgh Airport. The lowest temperature recorded in recent years was −14.6 °C (5.7 °F) during December 2010 at Gogarbank. Given Edinburgh's position between the coast and hills, it is renowned as "the windy city", with the prevailing wind direction coming from
8208-628: The city's northward expansion. Craig's original plan included an ornamental canal on the site of the loch, but this idea was abandoned. Soil excavated while laying the foundations of buildings in the New Town was dumped on the site of the loch to create the slope connecting the Old and New Towns known as The Mound . In the middle of the 19th century the National Gallery of Scotland and Royal Scottish Academy Building were built on The Mound, and tunnels for
8322-415: The creation of tough basalt volcanic plugs , which predominate over much of the area. One such example is the Castle Rock which forced the advancing ice sheet to divide, sheltering the softer rock and forming a 1 mi-long (1.6 km) tail of material to the east, thus creating a distinctive crag and tail formation. Glacial erosion on the north side of the crag gouged a deep valley later filled by
8436-567: The crest of a ridge from it terminating at Holyrood Palace. Minor streets (called closes or wynds ) lie on either side of the main spine forming a herringbone pattern. Due to space restrictions imposed by the narrowness of this landform, the Old Town became home to some of the earliest "high rise" residential buildings. Multi-storey dwellings known as lands were the norm from the 16th century onwards with ten and eleven storeys being typical and one even reaching fourteen or fifteen storeys. Numerous vaults below street level were inhabited to accommodate
8550-428: The disappearance of the small strips of land cultivated by tenant farmers as these were re-arranged into larger and more productive fields, surrounded by newly planted hedgerows . Bonaly Road – linking the village of Bonaly with Woodhall Road and Colinton – is likely to have been formed on its current line during this period and the hedgerows along the road may be the remnants of those planted at this time. Sir John Foulis
8664-560: The end of the 18th century. This pipeline was re-discovered during a RCAHMS survey of adjacent military training areas in 2005. Unlike most of the Pentland reservoirs, Bonaly is not managed by Scottish Water and no longer forms part of the water supply chain. It is owned and managed by the City of Edinburgh Council. Proposals exist to manage the water levels in the reservoir so that feeding and breeding opportunities for wildlife are maximised. Bonaly
8778-583: The exception of Clubbiedean and Torduff Reservoirs which are owned by Scottish Water . The park is managed as part of the Pentland Hills Regional Park . There are excellent views of Edinburgh, the Lothians , Fife and the Firth of Forth from the park. The main access is via Bonaly Road, at the top of which a small car park is located. The Country Park is divided into lower and upper sections. The lower park has been in public ownership and managed as
8892-434: The expanding city of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many areas, such as Dalry , contain residences that are multi-occupancy buildings known as tenements , although the more southern and western parts of the city have traditionally been less built-up with a greater number of detached and semi-detached villas. The historic centre of Edinburgh is divided in two by the broad green swathe of Princes Street Gardens . To
9006-472: The fact that the social classes shared the same urban space, even inhabiting the same tenement buildings; although here a form of social segregation did prevail, whereby shopkeepers and tradesmen tended to occupy the cheaper-to-rent cellars and garrets, while the more well-to-do professional classes occupied the more expensive middle storeys. During the Jacobite rising of 1745 , Edinburgh was briefly occupied by
9120-466: The grounds of the Outdoor Centre is a stone-built bathing pool, naturally fed by the waters of the Dean Burn. Known locally as the 'Roman Bath' or 'Lord Cockburn's Bath', it is believed to have been constructed in the 19th century. Bonaly Country Park was designated in 1984, and is a 290-hectare area of woodland, open moorland and reservoirs. It is entirely owned by the City of Edinburgh Council, with
9234-783: The home of institutions including the National Museum of Scotland , the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery . The city is also known for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe , the latter being the world's largest annual international arts festival. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle , the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the churches of St. Giles , Greyfriars and
9348-598: The influx of incomers, particularly Irish immigrants , during the Industrial Revolution . The street has several fine public buildings such as St Giles' Cathedral, the City Chambers and the Law Courts . Other places of historical interest nearby are Greyfriars Kirkyard and Mary King's Close . The Grassmarket , running deep below the castle is connected by the steep double terraced Victoria Street. The street layout
9462-466: The local congregation, both in the Church of Scotland and in any of the other Scottish Presbyterian denominations. Even more commonly, The Free Kirk is heard as an informal name for the Free Church of Scotland , the remnant of an evangelical presbyterian church formed in 1843 when its founders withdrew from the Church of Scotland. See: A pair of rhyming jibes remain from the time of the heated split of
9576-527: The middle of the 14th century, the French chronicler Jean Froissart described it as the capital of Scotland (c. 1365), and James III (1451–88) referred to it in the 15th century as "the principal burgh of our kingdom". In 1482 James III "granted and perpetually confirmed to the said Provost, Bailies, Clerk, Council, and Community, and their successors, the office of Sheriff within the Burgh for ever, to be exercised by
9690-606: The modern-day skyscraper. Most of these old structures were replaced by the predominantly Victorian buildings seen in today's Old Town. In 1611 an act of parliament created the High Constables of Edinburgh to keep order in the city, thought to be the oldest statutory police force in the world. Following the Treaty of Union in 1706, the Parliaments of England and Scotland passed Acts of Union in 1706 and 1707 respectively, uniting
9804-482: The more elegant "one-family" residences of the New Town, a migration that changed the city's social character. According to the foremost historian of this development, "Unity of social feeling was one of the most valuable heritages of old Edinburgh, and its disappearance was widely and properly lamented." Despite an enduring myth to the contrary, Edinburgh became an industrial centre with its traditional industries of printing, brewing and distilling continuing to grow in
9918-524: The name for the region in Cumbric , the Brittonic Celtic language formerly spoken there. The name's meaning is unknown. The district of Eidyn was centred on the stronghold of Din Eidyn, the dun or hillfort of Eidyn. This stronghold is believed to have been located at Castle Rock , now the site of Edinburgh Castle . A siege of Din Eidyn by Oswald , king of the Angles of Northumbria in 638 marked
10032-468: The now drained Nor Loch . These features, along with another hollow on the rock's south side, formed an ideal natural strongpoint upon which Edinburgh Castle was built. Similarly, Arthur's Seat is the remains of a volcano dating from the Carboniferous period , which was eroded by a glacier moving west to east during the ice age. Erosive action such as plucking and abrasion exposed the rocky crags to
10146-474: The original mainland Germanic consonants. Compare cognates : Icelandic & Faroese kirkja ; Swedish kyrka (where the first ‘k’ was later palatalized as well); Norwegian ( Nynorsk ) kyrkje ; Danish and Norwegian ( Bokmål ) kirke ; Dutch and Afrikaans kerk ; German Kirche (reflecting palatalization before unstressed front vowel); West Frisian tsjerke ; and borrowed into non-Germanic languages Estonian kirik and Finnish kirkko . As
10260-555: The popular imagination. When plans were drawn up in the early 19th century to architecturally develop Calton Hill , the design of the National Monument directly copied Athens' Parthenon . Tom Stoppard 's character Archie of Jumpers said, perhaps playing on Reykjavík meaning "smoky bay", that the "Reykjavík of the South" would be more appropriate. The city has also been known by several Latin names , such as Edinburgum , while
10374-512: The railway line between Haymarket and Waverley stations were driven through it. The Southside is a residential part of the city, which includes the districts of St Leonards , Marchmont , Morningside , Newington , Sciennes , the Grange and Blackford . The Southside is broadly analogous to the area covered formerly by the Burgh Muir , and was developed as a residential area after the opening of
10488-413: The river gets to the city centre is at Dean Village on the north-western edge of the New Town, where a deep gorge is spanned by Thomas Telford 's Dean Bridge , built in 1832 for the road to Queensferry . The Water of Leith Walkway is a mixed-use trail that follows the course of the river for 19.6 km (12.2 mi) from Balerno to Leith. Excepting the shoreline of the Firth of Forth, Edinburgh
10602-448: The sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh , founded in 1582 and now one of three in the city, is considered one of the best research institutions in the world. The financial centre of Scotland, Edinburgh is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, the fourth largest in Europe, and the thirteenth largest internationally. The city is a cultural centre, and is
10716-403: The second half of the century, the city was at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment , when thinkers like David Hume, Adam Smith, James Hutton and Joseph Black were familiar figures in its streets. Edinburgh became a major intellectual centre, earning it the nickname "Athens of the North" because of its many neo-classical buildings and reputation for learning, recalling ancient Athens. In
10830-415: The small-scale industries on the Bonaly Burn would have been unable to compete with the larger and more efficient mills being established elsewhere, particularly on the Water of Leith . After the destruction of the village, the population of Bonaly fell to its lowest level for centuries. Although extensive farm buildings, a large farmhouse and a row of farm labourers cottages were built at Bonaly Farm during
10944-431: The smoke hover over her at twenty miles' distance". In 1898, Thomas Carlyle comments on the phenomenon: "Smoke cloud hangs over old Edinburgh, for, ever since Aeneas Silvius 's time and earlier, the people have the art, very strange to Aeneas, of burning a certain sort of black stones, and Edinburgh with its chimneys is called 'Auld Reekie' by the country people". The 19th-century historian Robert Chambers asserted that
11058-427: The sobriquet could not be traced before the reign of Charles II in the late 17th century. He attributed the name to a Fife laird, Durham of Largo, who regulated the bedtime of his children by the smoke rising above Edinburgh from the fires of the tenements. "It's time now bairns, to tak' the beuks, and gang to our beds, for yonder's Auld Reekie, I see, putting on her nicht -cap!". Edinburgh has been popularly called
11172-532: The south, the view is dominated by Edinburgh Castle, built high on Castle Rock, and the long sweep of the Old Town descending towards Holyrood Palace. To the north lie Princes Street and the New Town. The West End includes the financial district, with insurance and banking offices as well as the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Edinburgh's Old and New Towns were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of
11286-536: The south-west, which is often associated with warm, unstable air from the North Atlantic Current that can give rise to rainfall – although considerably less than cities to the west, such as Glasgow. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Winds from an easterly direction are usually drier but considerably colder, and may be accompanied by haar , a persistent coastal fog. Vigorous Atlantic depressions, known as European windstorms , can affect
11400-548: The southern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city centre is 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (4.0 km) southwest of the shoreline of Leith and 26 mi (42 km) inland, as the crow flies, from the east coast of Scotland and the North Sea at Dunbar . While the early burgh grew up near the prominent Castle Rock, the modern city is often said to be built on seven hills , namely Calton Hill , Corstorphine Hill , Craiglockhart Hill, Braid Hill , Blackford Hill , Arthur's Seat and
11514-451: The streets of the New Town: for example, Rose Street and Thistle Street; and for the royal family, George Street , Queen Street , Hanover Street, Frederick Street and Princes Street (in honour of George's two sons). The consistently geometric layout of the plan for the extension of Edinburgh was the result of a major competition in urban planning staged by the Town Council in 1766. In
11628-494: The throne of England resulted in Edinburgh's occupation by Oliver Cromwell 's Commonwealth of England forces – the New Model Army – in 1650. In the 17th century, Edinburgh's boundaries were still defined by the city's defensive town walls . As a result, the city's growing population was accommodated by increasing the height of the houses. Buildings of 11 storeys or more were common, and have been described as forerunners of
11742-533: The two kingdoms in the Kingdom of Great Britain effective from 1 May 1707. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain , which sat at Westminster in London. The Union was opposed by many Scots, resulting in riots in the city. By the first half of the 18th century, Edinburgh was described as one of Europe's most densely populated, overcrowded and unsanitary towns. Visitors were struck by
11856-467: The unique character of the Old Town with its medieval street layout and the planned Georgian New Town, including the adjoining Dean Village and Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city, a higher proportion relative to area than any other city in the United Kingdom. The castle is perched on top of a rocky crag (the remnant of an extinct volcano) and the Royal Mile runs down
11970-551: The west before leaving a tail of deposited glacial material swept to the east. This process formed the distinctive Salisbury Crags , a series of teschenite cliffs between Arthur's Seat and the location of the early burgh. The residential areas of Marchmont and Bruntsfield are built along a series of drumlin ridges south of the city centre, which were deposited as the glacier receded. Other prominent landforms such as Calton Hill and Corstorphine Hill are also products of glacial erosion. The Braid Hills and Blackford Hill are
12084-463: Was a matter of great resentment when the two burghs merged in 1920 into the City of Edinburgh. Even today the parliamentary seat is known as "Edinburgh North and Leith". The loss of traditional industries and commerce (the last shipyard closed in 1983) resulted in economic decline. The Edinburgh Waterfront development has transformed old dockland areas from Leith to Granton into residential areas with shopping and leisure facilities and helped rejuvenate
12198-464: Was affected by the 2022 Scotland bin strikes . In 2023, Edinburgh became the first capital city in Europe to sign the global Plant Based Treaty , which was introduced at COP26 in 2021 in Glasgow. Green Party councillor Steve Burgess introduced the treaty. The Scottish Countryside Alliance and other farming groups called the treaty "anti-farming". Situated in Scotland's Central Belt , Edinburgh lies on
12312-501: Was detached from the farm and became a private residence. The farm buildings themselves were gutted by fire in 1981. Most of the buildings on the site were demolished when it was subsequently developed for housing, but some were retained and incorporated into the new homes. Bonaly Farm Dairy continued to supply dairy products from premises at nearby West Mill Road in Colinton and now operates from premises in Loanhead . Bonaly Primary School
12426-556: Was devised in: The Auld Kirk, the cauld Kirk. The Kirk wi’out the people . High Kirk is the term sometimes used to describe a congregation of the Church of Scotland that uses a building that had been a cathedral prior to the Reformation . As the Church of Scotland is not governed by bishops , it has no cathedrals in the episcopal sense of the word. In more recent times, the traditional names have been revived, so that in many cases both forms can be heard: Glasgow Cathedral , as well as
12540-464: Was keen to improve his lands and, as well as enclosing existing farmland, brought areas of moorland under cultivation. Whilst the new farming methods were more productive, they required less labour and the village of Bonaly is likely to have declined as farmers left to seek other employment. In the 18th century, the northern portion of Bonaly was acquired by James Gillespie , a Colinton merchant, mill-owner and philanthropist. In his will, Gillespie left
12654-400: Was originally a small settlement in its own right. This existed on the banks of the Bonaly Burn, close to the present-day site of Bonaly Tower , until its destruction after 1811. There is no evidence to indicate when Bonaly was first settled, but the area has a long history of human occupation and the remains of an Iron Age hillfort may be seen at Clubbiedean, 2 km to the south-west. In
12768-557: Was the home of Muriel Spark 's Miss Jean Brodie, and Ian Rankin 's Inspector Rebus lives in Marchmont and works in St Leonards. Leith was historically the port of Edinburgh, an arrangement of unknown date that was confirmed by the royal charter Robert the Bruce granted to the city in 1329. The port developed a separate identity from Edinburgh, which to some extent it still retains, and it
12882-576: Was to be George Street , running along the natural ridge to the north of what became known as the "Old Town". To either side of it are two other main streets: Princes Street and Queen Street. Princes Street has become Edinburgh's main shopping street and now has few of its Georgian buildings in their original state. The three main streets are connected by a series of streets running perpendicular to them. The east and west ends of George Street are terminated by St Andrew Square and Charlotte Square respectively. The latter, designed by Robert Adam , influenced
12996-704: Was visible until 1886, when the library wing was constructed in 1888, by architects Sydney, Mitchell and Wilson. Bonaly Tower was the venue for frequent meetings of the 'Friday Club', a group of leading Edinburgh literati, which were hosted by Lord Cockburn. In 1931 the Scout Association acquired an 11-hectare site, formerly part of the grounds of Bonaly Tower, for use as a permanent campsite. Bonaly Outdoor Centre has two large camping fields, with capacity for over two hundred campers, and two buildings providing indoor accommodation. One of these – Forth Lodge – has been purpose-built for groups with special needs. The centre
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