98-580: Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. was a bus and coach operator based in Edinburgh , Scotland and a subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group (formerly SMT Group). Eastern Scottish was formed in June 1985 from the main part of Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. , which had itself traded as 'Eastern Scottish' since the 1960s. Following privatisation in 1990 the company traded as 'SMT' reviving the original name of
196-479: A port several miles away (respectively, Leith and Piraeus ). Intellectually, the Scottish Enlightenment , with its humanist and rationalist outlook, was influenced by Ancient Greek philosophy . In 1822, artist Hugh William Williams organized an exhibition that showed his paintings of Athens alongside views of Edinburgh, and the idea of a direct parallel between both cities quickly caught
294-465: A royal charter , c. 1124–1127 , by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline . The shire of Edinburgh seems to have also been created in the reign of David I, possibly covering all of Lothian at first, but by 1305 the eastern and western parts of Lothian had become Haddingtonshire and Linlithgowshire , leaving Edinburgh as the county town of
392-538: A centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scottish law , literature, philosophy, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh , founded in 1582 and now one of three in the city, is considered one of the best research institutions in the world. The financial centre of Scotland, Edinburgh is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, the fourth largest in Europe, and
490-643: A further five routes were taken over and a new Barking garage opened. By 1994, the portfolio had expanded to include routes 20 , 103 , 141 , 167 , 168 , 188 , 210 , 235, 275 , 473 and D9. The high-profile routes 24 and 188 brought non-red London buses directly into the city. Grey-Green also operated bus services in Kent , in Tunbridge Wells , Maidstone and Medway , commuter services from Essex and north Kent to London, and international services to Paris and Amsterdam . The company's basic livery
588-474: A highly urbanised operating area. Within Edinburgh, Eastern found itself sparring with the larger, dominant city operator, Lothian Regional Transport (LRT), for a larger share of the city traffic. In late 1986 Eastern introduced nine new routes within Edinburgh, some of which closely mirrored sections of existing LRT routes. These were numbered C1-C9, the minibuses carried the "City Sprinter" fleet branding. At
686-523: A population in 2014 of 1,339,380. Like most of Scotland, Edinburgh has a cool temperate maritime climate ( Cfb ) which, despite its northerly latitude, is milder than places which lie at similar latitudes such as Moscow and Labrador . The city's proximity to the sea mitigates any large variations in temperature or extremes of climate. Winter daytime temperatures rarely fall below freezing while summer temperatures are moderate, rarely exceeding 22 °C (72 °F). The highest temperature recorded in
784-789: A population of 912,490 in the same year. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is the seat of the Scottish Government , the Scottish Parliament , the highest courts in Scotland , and the Palace of Holyroodhouse , the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. It is also the annual venue of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . The city has long been
882-634: A series of small summits to the south of the city centre that command expansive views looking northwards over the urban area to the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is drained by the river named the Water of Leith , which rises at the Colzium Springs in the Pentland Hills and runs for 18 miles (29 km) through the south and west of the city, emptying into the Firth of Forth at Leith. The nearest
980-585: A shire covering the central part of Lothian, which was called Edinburghshire or Midlothian (the latter name being an informal, but commonly used, alternative until the county's name was legally changed in 1947). Edinburgh was largely under English control from 1291 to 1314 and from 1333 to 1341, during the Wars of Scottish Independence . When the English invaded Scotland in 1298 , Edward I of England chose not to enter Edinburgh but passed by it with his army. In
1078-934: A short period. LRT retaliated by extending services beyond the city boundary and deeper into Eastern's operating area. Together with the loyalty of the passengers to the familiar "madder" coloured fleet of the "corporation" (as LRT was still sometimes known), LRT's competitive tactics ensured that Eastern made no significant inroads to the city market. Despite competition between the two operators, bitter "bus wars" that broke out in other cities and towns across Scotland were largely avoided, and Eastern did not persevere with loss-making operations, but settled for economy by reducing use of St. Andrew's Bus Station by running through Edinburgh city centre to destinations such as Charlotte Square, Haymarket, Clermiston and Silverknowes, and connecting traditional routes such as ones to Balerno and Wallyford end-to-end to create new cross-city links which in some cases competed with those of LRT. Eastern Scottish
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#17327823139721176-571: A special blue and white livery with "SCOTTISH" branding; in the early 1980s most other express services were branded "Scottish Citylink" with a two-tone blue and yellow livery. Depot codes were introduced in the 1930s. At the time of nationalisation the principal depots were: In addition to these there were several sub-depots in the Borders area, including Biggar (North Back Street), Hawick (Dovecote Street), Jedburgh (Castle Gate), Melrose (Abbey Street) and Selkirk (Mill Street). Changes to depots over
1274-528: A subsidiary of the main company until wound up in December 1975. Orange Luxury Coaches vehicles carried the Queen's arms, being suppliers of coaches to the royal household. The large-but-ageing United Service Transport fleet was taken over in 1965. Several of the companies taken over retained their separate identities and distinctive liveries in order to maintain goodwill, but in 1966 it was decided to concentrate
1372-655: A war band from across the Brittonic world who gathered in Eidyn before a fateful raid; this may describe a historical event around AD 600. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria , and around this time control of Lothian passed to the Angles . Their influence continued for the next three centuries until around 950, when, during the reign of Indulf , son of Constantine II ,
1470-439: Is affectionately nicknamed Auld Reekie , Scots for Old Smoky , for the views from the country of the smoke-covered Old Town. A note in a collection of the works of the poet, Allan Ramsay , explains, "Auld Reeky...A name the country people give Edinburgh, from the cloud of smoke or reek that is always impending over it." In Walter Scott 's 1820 novel The Abbot , a character observes that "yonder stands Auld Reekie—you may see
1568-513: Is almost entirely within the City of Edinburgh Council boundary, merging with Musselburgh in East Lothian. Towns within easy reach of the city boundary include Inverkeithing , Haddington , Tranent , Prestonpans , Dalkeith , Bonnyrigg , Loanhead , Penicuik , Broxburn , Livingston and Dunfermline . Edinburgh lies at the heart of the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City region with
1666-522: Is cloudier and somewhat wetter, but differences are minor. Temperature and rainfall records have been kept at the Royal Observatory since 1764. The most recent official population estimates (2020) are 506,520 for the locality (includes Currie ), 530,990 for the Edinburgh settlement (includes Musselburgh ). Grey-Green Grey-Green was a bus and coach operator in England. It
1764-426: Is encircled by a green belt , designated in 1957, which stretches from Dalmeny in the west to Prestongrange in the east. With an average width of 3.2 km (2 mi) the principal objectives of the green belt were to contain the outward expansion of the city and to prevent the agglomeration of urban areas. Expansion affecting the green belt is strictly controlled but developments such as Edinburgh Airport and
1862-482: Is governed by the City of Edinburgh Council , a unitary authority. The City of Edinburgh council area had an estimated population of 514,990 in mid-2021, and includes outlying towns and villages which are not part of Edinburgh proper. The city is in the Lothian region and was historically part of the shire of Midlothian (also called Edinburghshire). "Edin", the root of the city's name, derives from Eidyn ,
1960-588: Is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas . The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth estuary and to the south by the Pentland Hills . Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in mid-2020, making it the second-most populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom . The wider metropolitan area had
2058-440: Is typical of the old quarters of many Northern European cities. The New Town was an 18th-century solution to the problem of an increasingly crowded city which had been confined to the ridge sloping down from the castle. In 1766 a competition to design a "New Town" was won by James Craig , a 27-year-old architect. The plan was a rigid, ordered grid, which fitted in well with Enlightenment ideas of rationality. The principal street
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#17327823139722156-641: The Athens of the North since the early 19th century. References to Athens, such as Athens of Britain and Modern Athens , had been made as early as the 1760s. The similarities were seen to be topographical but also intellectual. Edinburgh's Castle Rock reminded returning grand tourists of the Athenian Acropolis , as did aspects of the neoclassical architecture and layout of New Town . Both cities had flatter, fertile agricultural land sloping down to
2254-745: The GRT Group , which later became FirstBus (April 1995) then FirstGroup in December 1997, bought the company for £10.3m. In 1996, the company, now trading as First SMT, was broken up and merged into neighbouring FirstGroup subsidiaries Midland Bluebird Ltd (formerly Midland Scottish ) and Lowland Omnibuses (formerly Lowland Scottish) which later merged to form First Edinburgh , trading simply as First. Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd ceased trading as an independent concern. Edinburgh Edinburgh ( / ˈ ɛ d ɪ n b ər ə / ED -in-bər-ə , Scots: [ˈɛdɪnbʌrə] ; Scottish Gaelic : Dùn Èideann [t̪un ˈeːtʲən̪ˠ] )
2352-661: The George Square and Potterrow areas proved highly controversial. Since the 1990s a new "financial district", including the Edinburgh International Conference Centre , has grown mainly on demolished railway property to the west of the castle, stretching into Fountainbridge , a run-down 19th-century industrial suburb which has undergone radical change since the 1980s with the demise of industrial and brewery premises. This ongoing development has enabled Edinburgh to maintain its place as
2450-803: The Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, they found a Brittonic Celtic tribe whose name they recorded as the Votadini . The Votadini transitioned into the Gododdin kingdom in the Early Middle Ages , with Eidyn serving as one of the kingdom's districts. During this period, the Castle Rock site, thought to have been the stronghold of Din Eidyn, emerged as the kingdom's major centre. The medieval poem Y Gododdin describes
2548-668: The Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston lie within the zone. Similarly, suburbs such as Juniper Green and Balerno are situated on green belt land. One feature of the Edinburgh green belt is the inclusion of parcels of land within the city which are designated green belt, even though they do not connect with the peripheral ring. Examples of these independent wedges of green belt include Holyrood Park and Corstorphine Hill. Edinburgh includes former towns and villages that retain much of their original character as settlements in existence before they were absorbed into
2646-689: The Scotland Act , which came into force the following year, established a devolved Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive (renamed the Scottish Government since September 2007 ). Both based in Edinburgh, they are responsible for governing Scotland while reserved matters such as defence, foreign affairs and some elements of income tax remain the responsibility of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London. In 2022, Edinburgh
2744-739: The South Bridge in the 1780s. The Southside is particularly popular with families (many state and private schools are here), young professionals and students (the central University of Edinburgh campus is based around George Square just north of Marchmont and the Meadows ), and Napier University (with major campuses around Merchiston and Morningside). The area is also well provided with hotel and "bed and breakfast" accommodation for visiting festival-goers. These districts often feature in works of fiction. For example, Church Hill in Morningside,
2842-503: The "burh" (fortress), named in the 10th-century Pictish Chronicle as oppidum Eden , was abandoned to the Scots. It thenceforth remained, for the most part, under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, though the date of its charter is unknown. The first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is
2940-499: The 1860s began the transformation of the area into the predominantly Victorian Old Town seen today. More improvements followed in the early 20th century as a result of the work of Patrick Geddes , but relative economic stagnation during the two world wars and beyond saw the Old Town deteriorate further before major slum clearance in the 1960s and 1970s began to reverse the process. University building developments which transformed
3038-465: The 18th-century novel The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett one character describes Edinburgh as a "hotbed of genius". Edinburgh was also a major centre for the Scottish book trade. The highly successful London bookseller Andrew Millar was apprenticed there to James McEuen. From the 1770s onwards, the professional and business classes gradually deserted the Old Town in favour of
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3136-415: The 1970s. Western SMT , with fleetname Western Scottish, paralleled this service from Glasgow, using identical vehicles in a black/white livery. From the mid-1970s Scottish Bus Group policy increasingly saw such services operated with a corporate SBG identity rather than the individual names and liveries of the subsidiary operating companies. Initially, SBG coaches used on express services to London received
3234-520: The 19th century and joined by new industries such as rubber works , engineering works and others. By 1821, Edinburgh had been overtaken by Glasgow as Scotland's largest city. The city centre between Princes Street and George Street became a major commercial and shopping district, a development partly stimulated by the arrival of railways in the 1840s. The Old Town became an increasingly dilapidated, overcrowded slum with high mortality rates. Improvements carried out under Lord Provost William Chambers in
3332-411: The Castle Rock, giving rise to allusions to the seven hills of Rome . Occupying a narrow gap between the Firth of Forth to the north and the Pentland Hills and their outrunners to the south, the city sprawls over a landscape which is the product of early volcanic activity and later periods of intensive glaciation. Igneous activity between 350 and 400 million years ago, coupled with faulting , led to
3430-572: The Dundee area did not pass to Scottish Omnibuses, but instead passed to sister company W. Alexander & Sons Ltd. In the Edinburgh area this history resulted in SMT/Eastern Scottish retaining the right to carry passengers within the city boundary (contrast Glasgow where only pickup outward and set-down inward were permitted). The cessation of tramway operation in Edinburgh (which at one time extended through Musselburgh to Port Seton)
3528-599: The Eastern Scottish fleetname and green/cream livery. Dual-purpose coaches were prefixed Z and carried a 50/50 green/cream livery, and tour coaches were prefixed Y and carried a majority cream livery. A marketing feature was the operation of 2 and 3 day tours between London and Edinburgh, available as single or return journeys. This business was supported by a permanent sales office in London, operated by Eastern Scottish-uniformed staff. A unique black/yellow livery on Bristol REMH vehicles serving Edinburgh-London in
3626-723: The English in 1544, Edinburgh continued to develop and grow, and was at the centre of events in the 16th-century Scottish Reformation and 17th-century Wars of the Covenant . In 1582, Edinburgh's town council was given a royal charter by King James VI permitting the establishment of a university; founded as Tounis College (Town's College), the institution developed into the University of Edinburgh , which contributed to Edinburgh's central intellectual role in subsequent centuries. In 1603, King James VI of Scotland succeeded to
3724-620: The English throne, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England in a personal union known as the Union of the Crowns , though Scotland remained, in all other respects, a separate kingdom. In 1638, King Charles I's attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . Subsequent Scottish support for Charles Stuart 's restoration to
3822-673: The Jacobite "Highland Army" before its march into England. After its eventual defeat at Culloden , there followed a period of reprisals and pacification, largely directed at the rebellious clans . In Edinburgh, the Town Council, keen to emulate London by initiating city improvements and expansion to the north of the castle, reaffirmed its belief in the Union and loyalty to the Hanoverian monarch George III by its choice of names for
3920-424: The North". Robert Louis Stevenson, also a son of the city, wrote that Edinburgh "is what Paris ought to be". The earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond , where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c. 8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have been found on Castle Rock, Arthur's Seat , Craiglockhart Hill and the Pentland Hills . When
4018-679: The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the churches of St. Giles , Greyfriars and the Canongate , and the extensive Georgian New Town built in the 18th/19th centuries. Edinburgh's Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site , which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. The city's historical and cultural attractions have made it the UK's second-most visited tourist destination, attracting 4.9 million visits, including 2.4 million from overseas in 2018. Edinburgh
Eastern Scottish - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-548: The Provost for the time as Sheriff, and by the Bailies for the time as Sheriffsdepute conjunctly and severally; with full power to hold Courts, to punish transgressors not only by banishment but by death, to appoint officers of Court, and to do everything else appertaining to the office of Sheriff; as also to apply to their own proper use the fines and escheats arising out of the exercise of the said office." Despite being burnt by
4214-735: The SMT name remained in use until the early 1960s in the east, and was retained even longer in the Western SMT and Central SMT operating units of the Scottish Bus Group. Subsequently, "Scottish Omnibuses", "Scottish", and then "Eastern Scottish" fleetnames were used. The SMT name remained in Edinburgh parlance long after the change of fleet name, and survived on an unrelated car dealership showroom on Lothian Road, Edinburgh. With nationalisation some rationalisation of SMT Group operations took place. The SMT Company's isolated operations in
4312-505: The United Kingdom's second largest financial and administrative centre after London. Financial services now account for a third of all commercial office space in the city. The development of Edinburgh Park , a new business and technology park covering 38 acres (15 ha), 4 mi (6 km) west of the city centre, has also contributed to the District Council's strategy for the city's major economic regeneration. In 1998,
4410-544: The adjectival forms Edinburgensis and Edinensis are used in educational and scientific contexts. Edina is a late 18th-century poetical form used by the Scots poets Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns . "Embra" or "Embro" are colloquialisms from the same time, as in Robert Garioch 's Embro to the Ploy . Ben Jonson described it as "Britaine's other eye", and Sir Walter Scott referred to it as "yon Empress of
4508-628: The architectural style of the New Town into the early 19th century. Bute House , the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland , is on the north side of Charlotte Square. The hollow between the Old and New Towns was formerly the Nor Loch , which was created for the town's defence but came to be used by the inhabitants for dumping their sewage . It was drained by the 1820s as part of
4606-543: The area. With the redevelopment, Edinburgh has gained the business of cruise liner companies which now provide cruises to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. The coastal suburb of Portobello is characterised by Georgian villas, Victorian tenements, a beach and promenade and cafés, bars, restaurants and independent shops. There are rowing and sailing clubs, a restored Victorian swimming pool, and Victorian Turkish baths . The urban area of Edinburgh
4704-543: The beginning of three centuries of Germanic influence in south east Scotland that laid the foundations for the development of Scots , before the town was ultimately subsumed in 954 by the kingdom known to the English as Scotland. As the language shifted from Cumbric to Northumbrian Old English and then Scots , the Brittonic din in Din Eidyn was replaced by burh , producing Edinburgh . In Scottish Gaelic din becomes dùn , producing modern Dùn Èideann . The city
4802-565: The city between October and April. Located slightly north of the city centre, the weather station at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has been an official weather station for the Met Office since 1956. The Met Office operates its own weather station at Gogarbank on the city's western outskirts, near Edinburgh Airport . This slightly inland station has a slightly wider temperature span between seasons,
4900-404: The city of Edinburgh . Depots were also located in these towns. Eastern was also active in the coaching business, operating day tours and private hires, as well as providing coaches for Scottish Citylink express from Edinburgh to Glasgow , Aberdeen , Inverness , London and many other locations throughout Scotland and England . The Scottish Motor Traction Company Ltd. (trading as "SMT")
4998-423: The city was 31.6 °C (88.9 °F) on 25 July 2019 at Gogarbank, beating the previous record of 31 °C (88 °F) on 4 August 1975 at Edinburgh Airport. The lowest temperature recorded in recent years was −14.6 °C (5.7 °F) during December 2010 at Gogarbank. Given Edinburgh's position between the coast and hills, it is renowned as "the windy city", with the prevailing wind direction coming from
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#17327823139725096-539: The city's northward expansion. Craig's original plan included an ornamental canal on the site of the loch, but this idea was abandoned. Soil excavated while laying the foundations of buildings in the New Town was dumped on the site of the loch to create the slope connecting the Old and New Towns known as The Mound . In the middle of the 19th century the National Gallery of Scotland and Royal Scottish Academy Building were built on The Mound, and tunnels for
5194-578: The company ( Scottish Motor Traction ). It operated until 1994, when it became part of GRT Bus Group plc . From its head office on New Street, Edinburgh , Eastern Scottish had an operating area throughout the Lothians , in the east of Scotland , bounded by the Firth of Forth to the north and east, Fauldhouse in the west, and Gorebridge (Birkenside) in the south. Eastern operated urban, interurban and rural services in and around Bathgate , Livingston , Dalkeith and Musselburgh , and services within
5292-466: The core of the former company's territory in the Lothians area, with the depots at Bathgate, Dalkeith, Edinburgh, Livingston, Musselburgh and the sub-depot at Biggar (which closed in 1986), was renamed Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. Eastern Scottish retained the traditional green and cream livery for its fleet. Upon deregulation, Eastern Scottish faced little to no competition outside Edinburgh, despite
5390-415: The creation of tough basalt volcanic plugs , which predominate over much of the area. One such example is the Castle Rock which forced the advancing ice sheet to divide, sheltering the softer rock and forming a 1 mi-long (1.6 km) tail of material to the east, thus creating a distinctive crag and tail formation. Glacial erosion on the north side of the crag gouged a deep valley later filled by
5488-567: The crest of a ridge from it terminating at Holyrood Palace. Minor streets (called closes or wynds ) lie on either side of the main spine forming a herringbone pattern. Due to space restrictions imposed by the narrowness of this landform, the Old Town became home to some of the earliest "high rise" residential buildings. Multi-storey dwellings known as lands were the norm from the 16th century onwards with ten and eleven storeys being typical and one even reaching fourteen or fifteen storeys. Numerous vaults below street level were inhabited to accommodate
5586-434: The expanding city of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many areas, such as Dalry , contain residences that are multi-occupancy buildings known as tenements , although the more southern and western parts of the city have traditionally been less built-up with a greater number of detached and semi-detached villas. The historic centre of Edinburgh is divided in two by the broad green swathe of Princes Street Gardens . To
5684-477: The fact that the social classes shared the same urban space, even inhabiting the same tenement buildings; although here a form of social segregation did prevail, whereby shopkeepers and tradesmen tended to occupy the cheaper-to-rent cellars and garrets, while the more well-to-do professional classes occupied the more expensive middle storeys. During the Jacobite rising of 1745 , Edinburgh was briefly occupied by
5782-568: The group's operations on two trading names: Grey-Green and Orange. By 1972 it operated out of garages in Stamford Hill , Edmonton , Lea Bridge , Mile End and Brixton in London, and Walton-on-the-Naze , Ipswich , Felixstowe and Great Yarmouth in East Anglia. Subsequent acquisitions included the London coaching business of Birch Brothers in 1971, Mitcham Belle Coaches in 1974, and Dix Coaches in 1976. In 1980 Grey-Green
5880-620: The influx of incomers, particularly Irish immigrants , during the Industrial Revolution . The street has several fine public buildings such as St Giles' Cathedral, the City Chambers and the Law Courts . Other places of historical interest nearby are Greyfriars Kirkyard and Mary King's Close . The Grassmarket , running deep below the castle is connected by the steep double terraced Victoria Street. The street layout
5978-430: The middle of the 14th century, the French chronicler Jean Froissart described it as the capital of Scotland (c. 1365), and James III (1451–88) referred to it in the 15th century as "the principal burgh of our kingdom". In 1482 James III "granted and perpetually confirmed to the said Provost, Bailies, Clerk, Council, and Community, and their successors, the office of Sheriff within the Burgh for ever, to be exercised by
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#17327823139726076-447: The modern-day skyscraper. Most of these old structures were replaced by the predominantly Victorian buildings seen in today's Old Town. In 1611 an act of parliament created the High Constables of Edinburgh to keep order in the city, thought to be the oldest statutory police force in the world. Following the Treaty of Union in 1706, the Parliaments of England and Scotland passed Acts of Union in 1706 and 1707 respectively, uniting
6174-482: The more elegant "one-family" residences of the New Town, a migration that changed the city's social character. According to the foremost historian of this development, "Unity of social feeling was one of the most valuable heritages of old Edinburgh, and its disappearance was widely and properly lamented." Despite an enduring myth to the contrary, Edinburgh became an industrial centre with its traditional industries of printing, brewing and distilling continuing to grow in
6272-417: The name for the region in Cumbric , the Brittonic Celtic language formerly spoken there. The name's meaning is unknown. The district of Eidyn was centred on the stronghold of Din Eidyn, the dun or hillfort of Eidyn. This stronghold is believed to have been located at Castle Rock , now the site of Edinburgh Castle . A siege of Din Eidyn by Oswald , king of the Angles of Northumbria in 638 marked
6370-413: The now drained Nor Loch . These features, along with another hollow on the rock's south side, formed an ideal natural strongpoint upon which Edinburgh Castle was built. Similarly, Arthur's Seat is the remains of a volcano dating from the Carboniferous period , which was eroded by a glacier moving west to east during the ice age. Erosive action such as plucking and abrasion exposed the rocky crags to
6468-448: The popular imagination. When plans were drawn up in the early 19th century to architecturally develop Calton Hill , the design of the National Monument directly copied Athens' Parthenon . Tom Stoppard 's character Archie of Jumpers said, perhaps playing on Reykjavík meaning "smoky bay", that the "Reykjavík of the South" would be more appropriate. The city has also been known by several Latin names , such as Edinburgum , while
6566-411: The railway line between Haymarket and Waverley stations were driven through it. The Southside is a residential part of the city, which includes the districts of St Leonards , Marchmont , Morningside , Newington , Sciennes , the Grange and Blackford . The Southside is broadly analogous to the area covered formerly by the Burgh Muir , and was developed as a residential area after the opening of
6664-413: The river gets to the city centre is at Dean Village on the north-western edge of the New Town, where a deep gorge is spanned by Thomas Telford 's Dean Bridge , built in 1832 for the road to Queensferry . The Water of Leith Walkway is a mixed-use trail that follows the course of the river for 19.6 km (12.2 mi) from Balerno to Leith. Excepting the shoreline of the Firth of Forth, Edinburgh
6762-403: The second half of the century, the city was at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment , when thinkers like David Hume, Adam Smith, James Hutton and Joseph Black were familiar figures in its streets. Edinburgh became a major intellectual centre, earning it the nickname "Athens of the North" because of its many neo-classical buildings and reputation for learning, recalling ancient Athens. In
6860-465: The sell-off. The company began trading as SMT once again, with a modern, stylised take on the traditional diamond logo. Some investment in new vehicles and the introduction of "quality corridors", branded as 'Diamond Service', followed. Competitive attack on city routes using double-deckers was unsuccessful against the economy of scale available to LRT, lack of route coverage to make season ticket purchases attractive, and customer loyalty. In October 1994
6958-431: The smoke hover over her at twenty miles' distance". In 1898, Thomas Carlyle comments on the phenomenon: "Smoke cloud hangs over old Edinburgh, for, ever since Aeneas Silvius 's time and earlier, the people have the art, very strange to Aeneas, of burning a certain sort of black stones, and Edinburgh with its chimneys is called 'Auld Reekie' by the country people". The 19th-century historian Robert Chambers asserted that
7056-427: The sobriquet could not be traced before the reign of Charles II in the late 17th century. He attributed the name to a Fife laird, Durham of Largo, who regulated the bedtime of his children by the smoke rising above Edinburgh from the fires of the tenements. "It's time now bairns, to tak' the beuks, and gang to our beds, for yonder's Auld Reekie, I see, putting on her nicht -cap!". Edinburgh has been popularly called
7154-548: The south, the view is dominated by Edinburgh Castle, built high on Castle Rock, and the long sweep of the Old Town descending towards Holyrood Palace. To the north lie Princes Street and the New Town. The West End includes the financial district, with insurance and banking offices as well as the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. Edinburgh's Old and New Towns were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of
7252-546: The south-west, which is often associated with warm, unstable air from the North Atlantic Current that can give rise to rainfall – although considerably less than cities to the west, such as Glasgow. Rainfall is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Winds from an easterly direction are usually drier but considerably colder, and may be accompanied by haar , a persistent coastal fog. Vigorous Atlantic depressions, known as European windstorms , can affect
7350-553: The southern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city centre is 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (4.0 km) southwest of the shoreline of Leith and 26 mi (42 km) inland, as the crow flies, from the east coast of Scotland and the North Sea at Dunbar . While the early burgh grew up near the prominent Castle Rock, the modern city is often said to be built on seven hills , namely Calton Hill , Corstorphine Hill , Craiglockhart Hill, Braid Hill , Blackford Hill , Arthur's Seat and
7448-495: The start of deregulation in October 1986, route C5 ran a 5 minute frequency between Clovenstone and Restalrig via the city centre, operating a hail and ride on some parts of the route. Some routes were operated by a fleet of 70 Dodge minibuses , whilst others used double deck buses, notably 25 secondhand ex- South Yorkshire Transport Volvo Ailsa B55s with Irish-built Van Hool -McArdle bodywork. Some of these routes only lasted for
7546-456: The streets of the New Town: for example, Rose Street and Thistle Street; and for the royal family, George Street , Queen Street , Hanover Street, Frederick Street and Princes Street (in honour of George's two sons). The consistently geometric layout of the plan for the extension of Edinburgh was the result of a major competition in urban planning staged by the Town Council in 1766. In
7644-783: The thirteenth largest internationally. The city is a cultural centre, and is the home of institutions including the National Museum of Scotland , the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery . The city is also known for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe , the latter being the world's largest annual international arts festival. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle ,
7742-501: The throne of England resulted in Edinburgh's occupation by Oliver Cromwell 's Commonwealth of England forces – the New Model Army – in 1650. In the 17th century, Edinburgh's boundaries were still defined by the city's defensive town walls . As a result, the city's growing population was accommodated by increasing the height of the houses. Buildings of 11 storeys or more were common, and have been described as forerunners of
7840-538: The two kingdoms in the Kingdom of Great Britain effective from 1 May 1707. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain , which sat at Westminster in London. The Union was opposed by many Scots, resulting in riots in the city. By the first half of the 18th century, Edinburgh was described as one of Europe's most densely populated, overcrowded and unsanitary towns. Visitors were struck by
7938-473: The unique character of the Old Town with its medieval street layout and the planned Georgian New Town, including the adjoining Dean Village and Calton Hill areas. There are over 4,500 listed buildings within the city, a higher proportion relative to area than any other city in the United Kingdom. The castle is perched on top of a rocky crag (the remnant of an extinct volcano) and the Royal Mile runs down
8036-551: The west before leaving a tail of deposited glacial material swept to the east. This process formed the distinctive Salisbury Crags , a series of teschenite cliffs between Arthur's Seat and the location of the early burgh. The residential areas of Marchmont and Bruntsfield are built along a series of drumlin ridges south of the city centre, which were deposited as the glacier receded. Other prominent landforms such as Calton Hill and Corstorphine Hill are also products of glacial erosion. The Braid Hills and Blackford Hill are
8134-520: The year was a London to Ipswich service that commenced in June 1928. The 1930s started with the introduction of a London to Harwich service, and operations continued to expand rapidly through East Anglia and to the coast, interrupted only by World War II. Routes run by the Prince Omnibus Company of Edmonton were added in the 1930s. Orange Luxury Coaches, Brixton was acquired in 1953, and this long-established company remained as
8232-493: The years comprised: In preparation for deregulation in 1986 , and eventual privatisation , the Scottish Bus Group was reorganised in 1985. The Scottish Omnibuses operations from Berwick, Dunbar, Galashiels, Hawick, Jedburgh, Kelso, North Berwick and Peebles depots passed to a new company, Lowland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. , whilst Airdrie (Clarkston) depot was passed to Central Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. , Linlithgow depot passed to Midland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., and Baillieston depot
8330-523: Was Baxter's Bus Service of Airdrie in 1962, with local services in the Airdrie and Coatbridge areas. These purchases significantly increased the company's presence in the Lanarkshire and Glasgow area. The final significant takeover was that of Stark's Motor Service of Dunbar in 1964. Stark's had operated some of its services jointly with Scottish Omnibuses for some years, and a proportion of its fleet
8428-686: Was a founding member of the British Coachways consortium which competed with National Express , but pulled out after a year. In 1980 Grey-Green was sold to the Cowie Group . It was one of the first private operators to operate London Regional Transport services under contract following the process started with the privatisation of London bus services , eventually operating nearly 20 in all. In 1987, Grey-Green successfully bid for routes 125 , 173 , 179 and 379 . In 1988, it began operating routes 24 , 298 and 313 . In 1991,
8526-514: Was a matter of great resentment when the two burghs merged in 1920 into the City of Edinburgh. Even today the parliamentary seat is known as "Edinburgh North and Leith". The loss of traditional industries and commerce (the last shipyard closed in 1983) resulted in economic decline. The Edinburgh Waterfront development has transformed old dockland areas from Leith to Granton into residential areas with shopping and leisure facilities and helped rejuvenate
8624-422: Was accompanied by service reallocations, making Musselburgh exclusive to SMT/Eastern Scottish, and takeover of Gilmerton services by the corporation buses, albeit with competition from Eastern Scottish's Birkenside and some Rosewell services. In 1958 Lowland Motorways of Glasgow was taken over, with various local services in the east side of the city. Another acquisition in the west of Scottish Omnibuses' territory
8722-469: Was affected by the 2022 Scotland bin strikes . In 2023, Edinburgh became the first capital city in Europe to sign the global Plant Based Treaty , which was introduced at COP26 in 2021 in Glasgow. Green Party councillor Steve Burgess introduced the treaty. The Scottish Countryside Alliance and other farming groups called the treaty "anti-farming". Situated in Scotland's Central Belt , Edinburgh lies on
8820-452: Was already painted in SMT livery. When the Baxter's business was acquired, adverse public reaction to the repainting of buses into Scottish Omnibuses livery led to a decision to retain the Baxter's identity and blue livery for buses based at Victoria depot and used on town services around Airdrie and Coatbridge. The Stark's livery, a lighter shade of green than that used by Scottish Omnibuses,
8918-453: Was based in Stamford Hill and operated in London and the East of England. Grey-Green can trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer's horse carriage business in 1885. The business prospered, and summer-only services were soon operating to many South Coast resorts. Before the end of the 1920s, East Anglia was well covered too. The first service to operate throughout
9016-532: Was closed (its vehicles and operations being transferred briefly to the Stepps depot of Midland Scottish, pending further reorganisation to create Kelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. ). The licences for express coach services passed to the new Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd. , and Marine Works passed to another new SBG subsidiary company, SBG Engineering Ltd. The remnant of Scottish Omnibuses, comprising
9114-471: Was formed in 1905, and expanded quickly through a series of takeovers to become the principal bus operator in south east Scotland. By the 1930s SMT was also the parent company of the SMT Group, whose other subsidiaries operated buses elsewhere in Scotland. In 1949 the SMT Group's bus operations were nationalised by transfer to a new British Transport Commission subsidiary, Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., although
9212-550: Was green and white (having evolved from the green and grey that gave Grey-Green its name), with an orange stripe at waist-level. The coaching fleets were painted in separate liveries. With the growth of the Cowie Group through acquisition of other bus operators, Grey Green co-existed for a time with other companies such as Kentish Bus . In 1998, the Cowie Group was rebranded as Arriva , and Grey-Green's Stamford Hill and Barking garages were absorbed into Arriva London , and
9310-483: Was one of the most financially successful subsidiaries of the Scottish Bus Group, with an operating profit of £ 1.07m in 1989. This was due in large part to initiatives such as the City Sprinter minibus scheme, which had quickly expanded into a considerable network of high-frequency routes. In September 1990 the company was sold to its management and employees for £9.5m, making it the most expensive subsidiary in
9408-450: Was retained for buses at Dunbar and North Berwick. Both local identities disappeared in the late 1970s when the SBG's new corporate fleetname style was introduced ("Eastern SCOTTISH", with a saltire logo). SMT and Scottish Omnibuses had long been a major operator of long-distance coach services, usually in cooperation with English operators such as Grey-Green , Midland Red and Ribble , using
9506-572: Was the home of Muriel Spark 's Miss Jean Brodie, and Ian Rankin 's Inspector Rebus lives in Marchmont and works in St Leonards. Leith was historically the port of Edinburgh, an arrangement of unknown date that was confirmed by the royal charter Robert the Bruce granted to the city in 1329. The port developed a separate identity from Edinburgh, which to some extent it still retains, and it
9604-576: Was to be George Street , running along the natural ridge to the north of what became known as the "Old Town". To either side of it are two other main streets: Princes Street and Queen Street. Princes Street has become Edinburgh's main shopping street and now has few of its Georgian buildings in their original state. The three main streets are connected by a series of streets running perpendicular to them. The east and west ends of George Street are terminated by St Andrew Square and Charlotte Square respectively. The latter, designed by Robert Adam , influenced
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