In the Great Hall, the gallery hosts free events like concerts and talks, so check the programme to see what’s on next.
Tip: The Portrait Cafe serves fresh deli sandwiches, soups, mains, and the best buttery scones in town.
1 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH21JD.
Open daily 10am - 5pm (6pm in August only), Thursdays until 7pm.
Admission is free (special exhibitions subject to charge).
sir walter’s locks – the writers’ museum
text and photo andrea weil
You might know the three classic Scots novels Treasure Island, Ivanhoe and Scots Wha Hae. But did you know there’s a museum dedicated to their authors? Many discover it because the Lady Stair’s House, built in 1622, catches the eye with its stone tower and high windows. Half of the main room is occupied by the museum’s shop, which sells exquisite hardcover editions of a wide range of authors. If you just want to sit down for a good read beyond the glow of the shadow-casting chandeliers on the red walls, there’s a small library available in the gallery. In the exhibition, timelines trace the authors’ personal stories against the historical background of their time. How did farmer’s son Robert Burns become such an influential poet? Why did Walter Scott publish his first novel, Waverley, anonymously? Why did Robert Louis Stevenson spend his later years in Samoa, where the ink was, as he described it, “dreadful”? You might find, though, that the museum doesn’t reveal the same level of depth about each of the three. Some visitors may be thrilled to see a lock of Scott’s hair, but it hardly adds the kind of perspective on the author that the photos of Stevenson’s journeys do.
Tip: On most Thursday afternoons, a member of the venerable Robert Louis Stevenson Club Edinburgh is to be found downstairs chatting with visitors about his favourite writer.
Lady Stair’s House, Lady Stair’s Close, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2PA.
Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm, Sun 12pm - 5pm (in August only).
a study in crime novels – arthur conan doyle’s edinburgh
text and photo patricia kämpf
When you think of Sherlock Holmes, you probably think of the foggy Victorian streets of Old London, but the world’s greatest sleuth has a surprising connection to Edinburgh: his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was born here in 1859. And if you’re observant, you will find some clues to his story.
Conan Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School – a place you can still visit today. There he studied under Professor Joseph Bell, whose observant habits loosely inspired Conan Doyle’s most famous character. Sherlock Holmes’ fame grew to outshine that of his creator, so it’s not surprising that the statue you find in Picardy Place is of the fictional detective, and not of Arthur Conan Doyle himself.
Across from the statue is the Conan Doyle Pub, a nice and cosy place to have some fish and chips. And if you’re in the mood to travel back to Conan Doyle’s time, there are many secondhand bookshops here to help you do just that – perfect for a rainy afternoon. Or you can just stroll around town, imagining Sherlock Holmes stepping out of one of the many Victorian houses. In Tollcross, southwest of the city centre, you might even stumble across Holmes’ nemesis, Moriarty…
Sherlock Holmes Statue: Picardy Place.
The Conan Doyle Pub, 71-73 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3JD.
Sun - Thu 10am - 11pm, Fri - Sat 10am - midnight.
Fish and chips for £11.75.
www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk
University of Edinburgh Medical School
Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG.
Armchair Books, 72-74 West Port, Edinburgh EH1 2LE.
10.30am - 6.30pm (every day).
plunge into history – the people’s story
text and photo andrea weil
When a king builds a castle, his name is written into the history books. But who knows the names of the builders who worked for him, or the women who swept the floors? The People’s Story on the Royal Mile is a museum dedicated to the “ordinary” people of Edinburgh, their lives, hardships and struggles for human rights. The collection was built in 1989 out of the private donations of individuals sharing their personal memories, which the curators have displayed all over the exhibition. These words breathe new life into the history of the 18th and 19th century, as do the detailed, lifelike mannequins of the people of Edinburgh’s past, like poor widow Jessie Thompson, whose face speaks of exhaustion and defeat. Entering the Canongate Tolbooth the visitor is immediately captured by the atmosphere: sounds of horseshoes on cobblestones, acts of council pasted to the black stone walls, even the smell of smoking coals. The layout of the exhibition is perhaps not the clearest, but it’s fun poking around discovering the details. Please note that the mannequins are not to be touched and there is a lot of reading, so it might not be the best museum to keep children entertained.
Check out the video room on the top floor of the tower for 22 minutes of interviews.
Canongate Tolbooth, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH8 8BN.
Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm,
Sun 12pm - 5pm (during the Edinburgh Festival only).
stills – scotland’s centre for photography
text and photo werner gritzbach
In Edinburgh’s Cockburn Street you can find Stills, Scotland’s Centre for Photography.
Stills’ status as a foundation, with 80% of its funding from national grants and 20% from fundraising, allows it to host far more unconventional exhibitions than a commercial gallery.
Stills presents regular photo exhibitions of the highest international calibre, and offers extensive facilities for the production of photographic work.
