Last afternoon in Edinburgh

On our last afternoon in Edinburgh I got dropped into the city as I had booked a tour at ‘The Real Mary King’s Close’. I really had no idea what it was but it had been recommended by a Scottish friend. One of our tour buddies joined me which was good because it was kind of creepy. 

I couldn’t get photos as they are not allowed, but have a couple that I have borrowed.

‘The Real Mary King’s Close‘ is located at the higher end of the Royal Mile where tiny lanes are called ‘close’ and named after important people of the time. It was unusual for anything to be named for a woman who was not of royal descent however, Mary King was the widow of a prominent man and continued to run the merchant business. 

Close is the Scottish name for ancient alleyway and they run a labyrinth through this part of Edinburgh. 

The narrow streets appeared to be underground, but back in the 1600s were at ground level. Over time the city buildings were built above ground however, they would have still been a grim place to live and work. 

This was a time before the toilet was available and the slop buckets were thrown out into the close, and the barn like rooms that held the animals also flowed down into the cobbles. The cry of “Gardyloo” was the warning that the slop was about to be flung.  I guess that is where the word loo must have come from for toilet.

Our guide shared terrible tales of the plague and the suffering. Dr George Rae was Edinburgh’s official plague doctor and had an an unusual take of managing to stay safe from infection. He wore clothes and a coat made of leather and a beak like mask that had the beak filled with herbs to mask the terrible stench. The leather suit was impenetrable and the plague germs could not reach him. Remember that this was a couple of hundred years before the germ theory was discovered, so he was way before his time in his thinking. He would not touch his patients, but prod them with his walking cane.

I do recommend a visit to The Real Mary King’s Close if you are in Edinburgh.

Wandering down the Royal Mile I spotted a woman who I thought was wearing a face mask with tiny ornaments hanging off it, but when I got closer I saw that they were piercings. I recall that I have used a photo of this woman from Google as a creative writing prompt for my students. Apparently she is the most pierced woman, and has over 15,000 piercings! This is a photo of her that I have borrowed from Google as I was too shy to ask her and also she looks a bit scary.

That evening we arranged to meet with some of our tour friends. As the tour had finished most had departed for far off places. So the remaining six joined us at a local pub Torfin for dinner. The food was really great and the service exceptional. 

After a couple of drinks back at the hotel we all retired for the evening and Lance and I were to be boarding a train to London the following morning.