Auld Reekie - it Stinks! (Edinburgh in General)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Edinburgh in General
Date:	20/08/09 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful architecture, sense of history

Disadvantages: Restless binmen, roadworks, tartan tat

I have been living in Edinburgh now for five years, and in that time I have gone from loving the place to desperately wanting to leave. I am, however, marooned here for the foreseeable future, due to a combination of factors, the biggest one being sheer bad luck.

We moved to Edinburgh from London for several reasons, the main one being my husband was working in the city at the time. Our daughter was due to leave her special school and the mainstream options available to her in London weren't great. Actually, that's being generous - they were hopeless.

For several years Edinburgh had been portrayed as the best place to live for quality of life, and my husband, having worked in the city in the past, was ready for a change - so we made the decision to move 400 miles north.

~~So what's right with Edinburgh?~~

The thing that always impresses the visitor to Edinburgh is the architecture and the history. Taking a walk in the Old Town is fascinating as you imagine how things were hundreds of years ago, when the city got its nickname of "Auld Reekie" from the effluence thrown from windows onto the streets.

I frequently visit High Street in the City, which is part of the Royal Mile, and no matter what time of year I go the area is full of tourists, many of them taking part in walking tours with guides who manage to remain incredibly enthusiastic about their subject, no matter how many tours they carry out.

Sometimes I can find the tourists a little irritating, as they get in my way whilst I battle my way to the office I use to renew my parking permit, however I try to remind myself that I have no doubt been an irritating tourist myself in the past.

The New Town is just as interesting historically, but visually is very different. One goes from the claustrophobia of the Old Town - with buildings packed closely together, with the sixteenth century equivalent of high rise flats in the shadow of the castle, to the light and spacious grandeur of the New Town and its quite stunning Georgian architecture.

Edinburgh Castle is no doubt the city's most famous landmark and while there is no doubt it looks very imposing, it certainly isn't the most impressive castle I have ever seen. I don't mean to sound churlish - and I finally visited the castle not long after moving here - but compared to the sheer size of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland for instance, Edinburgh Castle looks a little bit wimpish.

Having said that, Bamburgh Castle doesn't house any Crown Jewels, and as far as I am aware doesn't have gunfire to tell you it's 1.00 pm every day. It's also trickier to get to - unlike Edinburgh Castle which is a shot walk from Princes Street, the city's main thoroughfare.

There is also the annual festival in August which leads to thousands of people of varying talents visiting the city to perform, many of them on the now fabled Fringe. You sometimes have to take a chance with what you are seeing - a couple of years ago I got tickets to see Simon Amstell for a fiver. Sadly he was very bad that day and had I paid much more I would have seriously considered requesting a refund. I have seen less professional performers in the past put on better shows and it really is pot luck sometimes what you might see depending upon ticket availability and how picky you are.

During August the strangest of places suddenly become "venues", including the street. You get used to seeing people walking down the street dressed in 18th century garb, or wearing body paint to become an animal. Given the weather, I have to say I sympathised with the girl I saw recently who had been painted to look like a tiger - the only "real" clothing she was wearing was a bikini - brr!

The city has some wonderful art galleries and museums. I am a huge fan of the National Gallery of Scotland and have also enjoyed the Dean Gallery which is very close to where I live. This gallery is sadly trickier to get to for the tourist with the lack of a decent bus service going past, which is a real shame. Museums include the Museum of Scotland, where a preserved Dolly the Sheep can be viewed, and the Money Museum. There is also the famous zoo, which I have reviewed here separately in the past.

There are lots of hotels in the city offering an abundance of places to stay ranging from hostel dorms to five star luxury. The city has seen several Travelodges open recently but be warned - everything is expensive in August and booking is essential before arriving during the festival as accommodation is at a premium then.

~~What's wrong with Edinburgh~~

At this point I must apologise, dear reader, for informing you why a visit to the city is really not a good idea until some time in 2011.

The biggest problem in the city right now is the roadworks. I actually have enormous sympathy for any tourist naïve enough (or should that be daft?) to take their car here. There are road closures aplenty as the city embarks on works for a tramline and the city centre is bearing the brunt of it.

Princes Street is a deeply unpleasant place at the moment - the road is closed to all traffic and you cannot even enjoy the view over to Princes Street Gardens due to the fencing put up to keep people away from the diggers and other heavy machinery. The noise is also appalling - my daughter who is particularly noise sensitive actually cries if I suggest going there.

Haymarket is equally awful - this is a major public transport interchange with buses and coaches stopping outside the railway station however you are met with noise, fencing, diversions and temporary traffic lights as you run the gauntlet of crossing the road.

Buses have been diverted via George Street and bus stops have been removed in the West End, leading to confusion. Some buses, for instance, call at the stop I use near Haymarket, while others do not. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to which ones you can catch.

In addition to the tramworks, new gas mains are being laid throughout the city, causing further disruption in other parts of the city so don't kid yourself it's only the city centre affected unfortunately.

Another thing I absolutely hate about the place are the so-called "tartan" shops. The vast majority of these shops sell kilts made in Asia and other stuff that can only be described as tat, whilst having speakers located outside with a myriad of bagpipe music with fake percussion blaring out into the street. Quite why the council cannot do something to outlaw this blatant noise pollution I do not know.

My husband used to always say his favourite sound was the sound of bagpipes fading into the distance and while I am not that offended by the sound of a genuine piper playing in Princes Street Gardens, I am mortally offended by the cacophony one has to endure just to walk down the street from these shops.

Most of these stores seem to be in units which have been let to the owners on a purely short-term basis, giving the shops a particularly awful appearance as they make do with whatever fittings were in place from the previous let.

Princes Street is truly a disgrace at the moment and while I hope it will improve in the future with a flagship New Look store and a new Primark pencilled in to open next year, right now it is quite simply hell on earth.

The council are also involved in a bitter dispute with the binmen, meaning they are currently working to rule with a very strong possibility of all-out strike soon. Some people are not having their rubbish collected for weeks while others, myself included, have barely been affected thus far. I really sympathise with those residents who are having to put up with what is quite clearly a major health hazard and wish the council would do something to bring this dispute to a close. They have brought in private contractors to deal with rubbish in the city centre during the Festival, but I cannot see the unions tolerating this once August is out.

Then there is the weather. Do not come to Edinburgh expecting balmy summer days - you are far more likely to get cold rain. Winter can be quite simply horrific for bitterly cold winds coming in off the North Sea. If you like the cold and the rain of course, this it the place for you.

Lastly, there are the locals - who range from quite friendly to downright hostile. Edinburgh folk are renowned for not being particularly warm and I have struggled in the five years I have been here to make any friends. My husband managed to pick up a few from work, but interestingly only one was actually from the city.

I would also warn against engaging in conversation with some of the locals in less salubrious parts of town. Whilst Edinburgh is the most expensive place to buy a property in Scotland, there are some areas that are, quite frankly, dumps. Whilst parts of Leith have been gentrified, one only has to take a wrong turn to end up at the infamous "Bananae Flats", immortalised in "Trainspotting" for instance.

Likewise, choose your pub carefully - Rose Street in the City Centre is fine but if you choose to do a pub crawl down at the Shore in Leith, stick to the classier joints. A good rule of thumb in that area is to avoid any pub that is advertising karaoke on a weekend night, or in the case of one Leith pub, a weekend afternoon. If you aren't bothered by restless natives then I do recommend a visit to the Port O Leith pub, which is great for people watching and is very well run.

~~However~~

There is a lot to love about Edinburgh - honestly! However I would urge anyone considering a break to the city to wait until the tramworks are completed sometime in 2011. They are blighting the whole city and making it a pretty unpleasant place to live in. If you can put up with the noise and the hassle then good for you - but I would heartily recommend you hang fire and instead visit Glasgow if you want a city break in Scotland some time between now and the official tram opening date.

So do come - but not for a couple of years!

***Previously published by me on Ciao under the same user name***

Summary: Scotland's capital city really is currently "auld reekie" :-(