The City I Live In

The past week has been a busy one, hence the lack of posts on this blog. I shall attempt to make it up to you by talking today about the city I live in: Edinburgh, and how I relate to it.

Although I wasn't born here (I come from London and grew up there), I feel this city is my true home, and what a glorious home it is.

I moved here in 2005, at the age of 18, for university. I attended Heriot-Watt, which is on the outskirts of town, and stayed in the Halls of Residence there. During the first year, much of the city of Edinburgh was a mystery to me. I had almost everything I needed on the university campus so rarely ventured forth into the city, perhaps for trips to the cinema, shopping, stuff like that.

After first year, I moved with my boyfriend (who had come up with me from London), and with two friends, into a three-bedroom apartment in Leith, which is in the North-East corner of the city, right on the coast. Leith had a bit of a reputation for being somewhat 'soiled', and I discovered that a fair part of it is.

One night I was walking to get a take-away dinner with my friend Mike, I was discussing the reputation of Leith with him when a dirty, obviously drunk homeless man walking along just ahead of us started swearing and cursing, saying, "Leith, Leith, Leith.. sick a' hearin' folk ta'kin' crap 'bout Leith! It's nae tha' bad!" He proceeded to go on like this for some time in his state of drunken moral outrage, only getting louder and ruder, thereby possibly proving that Leith is, in fact, that bad, with drunken old homeless guys shouting swear words in the street.

Of course, it was quite some time before I found the prettiest parts of Leith. It is not such a bad place - down by the shore, it is rather lovely, with some great places to eat and explore.

After two years in that apartment, we moved out of the city again to share a house with our friends way out in East Calder, some considerable distance from the city. I do love how the countryside is so accessible there - it is a small town, barely more than a village, and nearby are fields, a country park and a river with some really stunning spots to relax in. In fact, on the walk home from the bus stop past the leisure centre, there was a field on the right hand side sometimes full of horses. One sunny day I stopped there a while and meditated, just standing looking at the horses and up at the green leaves of trees over the path, glowing from the sunshine, and had my first ever truly enlightened, peaceful moment... but that is another blog post.

After I graduated university, my boyfriend and I eventually moved into a two bedroom apartment in Dalry, near Haymarket station. This is about the point that my love affair with the city properly began.

I came to appreciate the subtle beauty of the buildings, the history of each road, the way the city had evolved and spread like an organism. Even on a rainy day, the place is still magical, with many fantastic areas to find.

Dean Village is one of my favourite spots. Set in a valley right in the heart of the city, it is a sparkling oasis of green just a short walk from the main city centre.

This is the view from the bridge leading into the village, looking down the river. The church you can see here is actually at normal street level in this area of the city.

This is the view from the bridge by the church in the picture above, looking down on the village. I feel this picture gives a good idea of the scale of the valley and the lushness of the flora within.

Here I am looking back along the river, towards the village and the church. A good chunk of the river here has a developed bank and path and is a great place to walk or cycle.

I feel so lucky to have come to such a beautiful, historic city.

This is the Scott monument on Princes Street, the main shopping street in Edinburgh. Just look at it. The detail is phenomenal. You can go up inside the columns and get a view from the top, which we haven't got round to yet, but plan on it soon. Fun fact: It is the largest monument to a single author anywhere on Earth.

Examples of architecture like this are common all over the city, with buildings here ranging from Gothic and Victorian to Georgian and more modern ones, every building has a story and a character all of it's own.

There are too many amazing parts of Edinburgh to list in just one post, I may describe some more another time. I have to admit, I feel a connection to this city, far deeper than anything I ever felt when growing up on the edge of London. Sure, the UK capital is a fabulous city, but I think it is just too big. Edinburgh is great: You can walk all around it in a couple of hours, it has everything you could possibly need here, the people are friendly (mostly), bars and clubs have great atmospheres, and most importantly for me, the city is in touch with nature - there are so many green leafy corners to enjoy, and they are so well maintained, you can almost forget that you're in a city of over 450,000 people.

I simply cannot imagine a more perfect place. It would take somewhere very, very special to convince me to move away from here.