Hetty's History Walks: Edinburgh Uncovered

03/11/2026

Edinburgh's Flotilla of Lights reaches it's 10th year!

“Flotilla of Lights” cake & info. stall – afternoon/evening of Saturday 7th November 2026.

We’ll be ‘live’ from 4pm; with the actual ‘Flotilla of Boats’ coming past Harrison Park around 6.30pm:
https://www.eucs.org.uk/2026/11/event-the-flotilla-of-lights-cake-and-information-stall-afternoon-evening-of-saturday-7th-november-2026/

Please do come along and join us for this ever popular event :-)

02/11/2026

A seasonal selection of skulls from Edinburgh's burial grounds plus a Medusa's head!

Our local sandstone is a very fine but also a very hard sandstone (at least in terms of sandstone). This makes it perfect for carving intricate details that can still be clearly seen despite being exposed to a couple of hundred years of weathering!

29/10/2026

🎧 New Calton Hill Podcast Episode 🎧

The latest Edinburgh Outdoors Podcast podcast features me chatting to Angela about Calton Hill, one of my favourite Edinburgh spaces.

Calton Hill has waaaay too much history to get into a single episode so this one largely focuses on the Observatories and the Time Ball plus a few other bits and pieces. I hope its as much fun to listen to as it was to record.

I really enjoy doing these so a huge thank you to Angela for asking me to join her on these podcasts and for doing all the hard work of editing my sometimes rather lengthy chat into coherent content - we do like to meander off topic! 😂

Links to the episode in my bio, in todays 'story', the Podcast 'highlights' on my profile page, and in the comments for those of you on Facebook 😊

26/10/2026

Not sure how many of these leaves are left after our windy weekend but this was Edinburgh looking all moody and autumnal on Friday morning. Literally 30 minutes after this the photo the heavens opened and it feels like its been non-stop rain ever since which has made for some very wet tours ☔️☔️☔️

Luckily, quite a few of my private bookings have been with locals and I offer a rescheduling service at no extra cost for exactly this kind of thing 😊

16/10/2026

Great to see the Old Edinburgh Club's first talk of the winter lecture series by John Lowrey being well attended earlier this week. John gave a fascinating talk about the development of Parliament Close/Square over the 17th-19th centuries - a complex and tightly packed space that mixes civic, political, legal and religious buildings.

He discussed the various buildings and how the fires of 1824 impacted the areas urban development as well as highlighting some plans for road developments that would have given us a very different Lawnmarket/George IV Bridge area had they gone ahead. Interesting to see that what we have now was never inevitable but the result of a myriad of disparate small and large events and decisions.

The evening was a lovely bit of deja-vu for me because I was lucky enough to have John as a lecturer and my dissertation supervisor during my degree. He was hugely encouraging during my studies and is one of the reasons that I'm doing what I am now.

The Old Edinburgh Club is the city's oldest history society. Anyone can become a member and they have a whole range of talks, walks, visits, etc and lots of Edinburgh history resources on their website. I've been a member for over a decade and currently volunteer as a trustee/council member.

13/10/2026

Despite the forecast, we got beautiful sunshine and blue skies for this morning's Edinburgh history tour which finished up on Calton Hill. I enjoyed the changing autumn colours on my walk home and was safely inside when the heavens opened 🌧

09/10/2026

We're so incredibly lucky to have the beautiful beaches of East Lothian within skipping distance of Edinburgh. I'm just back from a couple of days of off-grid living, taking time to switch off, enjoy the most perfect autumnal weather, and appreciate how very lucky I am. For me, life doesn't get much better than sitting under a starry sky with a bonfire, a full tummy, a bottle (or two) of fine w**e, and the good company of an old, old friend 🔥🌌🧡

05/10/2026

Boot scrapers, a common sight in Edinburgh from the days when the streets were covered in all sorts of muck and stoor 🐴😉

These examples can be found either side of the original entrance doors to the Assembly Rooms which were located in the side lanes, the George Street entrance portico was a slightly later addition.

This design is quite plain but has some lovely little details such as the neat finials and gently curved bar. Keep you eyes open around the New Town and you can spot far more elaborate examples.

28/09/2026

Whether you're a resident or a visitor, I highly recommend visiting John Knox House - one of the oldest domestic houses in Edinburgh. It's great value for money at only £7 and you get to discover the history of the Scottish Reformation and some of its key players, namely Mary, Queen of Scots and John Knox. You also learn about former resident, James Mossman, and his trade as a goldsmith.

However, for me, the best bit is being able to walk around inside a 400-500 year old house and feel what it was like. The twisting stone stairs, the thick walls, the small windows, the wood panelled rooms, the changing floor levels, the wooden beams and the low ceilings.

I always end up wandering about and wondering things like - What did people chat about when they sat at the fire on a miserable winters day? How did they feel about their neighbours? What scenes did they witness when they looked out of the window up the High Street? Whose feet sounded heavy on the stair? What scent wafted up as you opened a kist or cupboard door? Where was the cat's favourite spot?

This has got to be one of my favourite interior spaces in Edinburgh and it's often overlooked in favour of more popular attractions but it's a wee gem and if you're in the city centre with an hour to spare I encourage you to pay it a visit.

And, of course, afterwards you can visit the fabulous cafe and browse their lovely bookshop 🙂

- Always Written By A Human