WAVERLEY & TWO STREETS

 Right, let's have a pint before anything else. Connecting the Old Town with Waverley station is Cockburn Street, which houses the Malt Shovel.

From near here are views over the east end of the station.

In pregrouping days, Waverley was served by the North British Railway......

.....and the North Eastern.

At the western end of Waverley station, LNER (ex NBR) 9875 comes out of the tunnels.

In the station, around the late 1970s, a Cravens DMU, unusually in blue & grey livery.

27006 runs light here in 1983.

Here's the east end of Waverley station, before the wires came.

Electrification has arrived! 305 502 forms a North Berwick service.

08570 is the station pilot, in InterCity colours.

90018 awaits its next duty in 1998.

Scotrail 150 259 on a local in 2001.

Modern units at Waverley in 2007, 2014 and 2017.

Up on  Waverley Bridge is a Wetherspoon's, the Booking Office.

Now, a selection of Lothian Regional Transport buses on Waverley Bridge over the years.

To the west of Waverley station, the railway runs through Princes Street Gardens.

The Scott Monument overlooks it all.

Looking east from the Scott Monument.

Another crop of Lothian Buses, all on Princes Street.

East Coast Buses is the name given to LRT's country services.

Edinburgh's trams also run along Princes Street.

Princes Street is a good place to photograph other company's buses, such as Eastern Scottish.

Firstbus had a presence later.

Just off Princes Street (full of shops, not pubs) is West Register Street, where the Guildford Arms can be found.

Just around the corner is the Cafe Royal.

Runniing parallel with Princes Street is Rose Street, where there are plenty of pubs. This one used to brew its own beer.

One of the best of the Rose Street pubs is the Abbotsford Bar.

That's it for now. The next post will find us in the New Town.

AN OLD TOWN MEANDER

From Haymarket, we walk the short distance to Morrison Street and Thomson's Bar, a great place to start at. 

I have to admit that there is no real logic to the route we take in this post, suffice to say that everything is south of Waverley station. Our next stop is Sandy Bell's, on a street corner near the National Museum of Scotland.

Another decent bar is Cloisters, established in 1995 in an old parsonage.

Under the shadow of Edinburgh Castle is the monument to William Ewart Gladstone.

St Giles Cathedral is nearby.

And so to Edinburgh Castle.

St Margaret's Chapel and Mons Meg.

The view from the castle in 1976.

Looking north from the castle (Creative Commons License).

Edinburgh Castle from Grassmarket in days of yore.

On Grassmarket is a famous pub, the Beehive.

Also on the Grassmarket is the Last Drop.

The Necrobus takes tourists around the Old Town.

The Albanach is a Belhaven tied house on the High Street.

The Jolly Judge is hidden away in a courtyard.

Back to the High Street and No. 1.

The Inn on The Mile is next, sadly without cask beer these days.

The Holyrood Tavern was a good boozer. Now it's got a silly name and no real ale.

Staying on the Royal Mile, we come to a tourist attraction, the house of John Knox. Wikipedia will tell you all you need to know.

Still part of the Royal Mile, here's Canongate Tolbooth.

The Royal Mile from the Outlook Tower, circa 1965.

Looking out on Holyrood Hill is the Burns Monument.

Enough of this touristy stuff, let's visit two of my favourite Edinburgh pubs. First up, the Bow Bar, on West Bow, only becoming a pub in the 1960s.

Last, but not least, the Halfway House, on Fleshmarket Close.

Down the steps will take us directly to Waverley station, but you'll have to wait for the next post for that.

Please note, several of the photos on this page are scanned from very faded commercial slides in my collection. If there are any issues with copyright, please contact me and I'll remove them.