Calton Hill, Princes St Gardens, and St Cuthbert's Church... AKA All of the Memorials, All of the Pretty

So today I walked up the Calton Hill, which is just past Princes Street, about a 45 min walk from my flat.

On Princes St.

I really enjoy the seagull on his head. 

Looking up Princes St. towards Calton Hill. 

I also called the National Insurance helpline, as I need to apply for a National Insurance Number before I can work in the UK. But that was much less interesting than Calton Hill.

The Nelson Monument

How awesome is that?

IDK what that obelisk is for, don't ask me. 

Looking back down towards Princes St. 

Have I mentioned how cool the trees are here?

Most of the facts included in my posts are shamelessly ripped off of Wikipedia. Just FYI.

Calton Hill is just east of Princes Street, and is included in Edinburgh's UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Dugald Stewart Monument

Calton Hill is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St Andrews House, on the southern slope of the hill, with the Scottish Parliament Building (the opposite side from which I was on, so no photos of those buildings).

The hill houses serval iconic monuments and buildings…

Edinburgh

I'm not sure what this one was, there was a plaque on the side of it, but it was weirdly high up and hard to read.

You can see North Bridge, which is just above Waverley train station.

Oh and look, actual pictures of me! I went up to some German tourists who were trying to take a selfie and offered to take their picture, and then after doing that, asked if they'd take my picture.

Seriously, the view up the hill was amazing... Edinburgh is *really* hilly. 

The nice thing about having a dslr camera is that I feel like less of an asshole tourist and more like a professional fancy photographer when I'm wandering around with it. The bad part is it is a bit more to ask of someone to take a photo of you, just because they are kind of intimidating.

The city observatory at the very top of the hill. 

But hey, at least I didn't look like one of the hundred tourists wandering around with their digital cameras held two feet in front of them as they took photos of absolutely everything.

TREES. For realz, yo. 

It was a £4 charge to go to the top of the Nelson monument, otherwise there would be pictures from the top of it as well as a hundred pictures of the monument...

The National Monument

Construction on the National Monument started in 1826 but, due to a lack of funds, was left unfinished in 1829. While it was intended to be "A Memorial of the Past and Incentive to the Future Heroism of the Men of Scotland"it is instead referred to by charming names such as "Edinburgh's Folly", "Scotland's Disgrace", "Edinburgh's Disgrace", "the Pride and Poverty of Scotland", and "Tait's Folly".

Y'know, I was expecting rain rain rain, but its actually been really nice since I've been here, if cold and windy.

LOOK AT THOSE BUILDINGS

*squeals*

Again, the North Bridge, and Edinburgh Castle in the distance. 

Awesome lions at the end of the banisters. 

Also went through the Princes Street Gardens on my way home.

Can we take a moment to talk about how Princes Street is the stupidest name ever? I thought it was Princess street for a really long time because really? Why the plural?

The Princes Street Gardens is a public park just below Edinburgh Castle, and were created in two phases in the 1770s and 1820s following the draining of Nor Loch.

It is exceptionally *green* here.

There are also a lot of monuments both along Princes St. proper and in the gardens themselves. 

Went through the graveyard of The Parish Church of St Cuthbert as well.

A Chapel dedicated to St. Cuthbert is first mentioned in the 8th century. It is believed that a church has stood on the same site since 850 AD, making it Edinburgh's oldest building. A mediaeval St. Cuthbert's church is mentioned in 1127. If you're interested, wikipedia has a lot more of its history.

And that is what I did today!