I have lived in this city for a couple of months now and have never known it to be quiet. Of course, we do live on the most haunted streets in Edinburgh above one of the most haunted pubs in the city and one of the most popular music and comedy venues. Our apartment window overlooks an absolute hubbub of nightly activity. But for the last week it has been as silent as the caverns.
So, after a couple of days of isolation and cabin fever, my girlfriend and I took a walk through our neighbourhood. It was middle afternoon and what is usually a bustling tourist and business hive felt abandoned and empty. While following the mandate of distancing and only going out only for the purpose of exercise and work (which this counts as both for us) we went for a wander to see what we could find.
The Royal Mile
One of the main locations for the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival, lined with churches, statues and businesses that thrive on the constant and reliable flow of people traffic, the Royal Mile is probably one of the most famous streets in this fine Scottish city. When we visited, aside from the odd business van and lone wandering the place was as vacant as a forgotten town at midnight. It was 3pm in the afternoon on a Tuesday.
THE CLOSES
Closes in Edinburgh are everywhere. Narrow alleyways between buildings that hold as much history and legend as anywhere else. Often associated with stories of murder, treachery and intrigue these are made all the more curious when there is nobody around at all. We returned the same night to take some pictures of them in what we thought would be more appropriate lighting (last pictures.)
THE STYLE OF ROYAL MILE
In normal times, when this portion of the city is wallowing in an ocean of touristic heads and shoulder, you can miss the beautiful style of this place. It has grown with the city and holds a thousand bookmarks of a long history filled with stories.
ABANDONED SILENCE
THE ARCHITECTURE
Edinburgh is an old city with a great deal of history and this history can be read in the architecture of the place. These buildings that house shops, businesses, homes and religions are more reliable tellers of tales and stories than any history book. Keen eyes can see the whole history of the city just with a wander through the streets. What a wonderful location to get locked down in!
CLOSES AT NIGHT
We returned to a couple of places later in the evening to grab a more atmospheric picture of the close. Simply put, it proves why Edinburgh has such a long history of ghost stories… it is very easy to get a spooky pic at night.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Cristina is as likely to climb onto the roof of a car as hang out a window to get the right picture. Truly inspirational. Check out her Instagram: criss.tiiina
