Edinburgh Tramworks, Roadworks and Piece of Works

I feel I can write with the viewpoint of a tourist visiting Edinburgh.

Edinburgh streets are a mess, yes. There are roadworks everywhere one looks, road closures, bus diversions, JCB's, orange cones, cracks (I pointed one out to L.Muck while walking on George Street the other day but by the time she realised what I was talking about the roadworker had stood back up), construction noise, ugly fencing.

However..

Actually travelling around Edinburgh still isn't bad at all. My Lothian bus journeys from one of the worst affected areas, travelling into town from the West (Murrayfield area), to Princes Street, really didn't take too much longer. If you were in a hurry, yes, 10 extra minutes would be annoying, but really, the delays were nothing.. for a tourist.

Lets face it, people dont visit Edinburgh for Princes Street High Street Shopping, well they shouldn't anyway. The main attractions such as the Castle, Royal Mile, Calton Hill, are enough to distract visitors away from what locals despise, construction chaos. Visitors may have to edit their photos, St Andrews square being surrounded by road works, views of the victorian gothic Sir Walter Scott Monument from St David Street spoilt by fencing and construction. But, with the right photo editing programme and skills, one can leave Edinburgh with some very, very, fine views, fine indeed, yes indeedy. As an example here's one I carefully edited. Frame worthy, that's a Levis 501 advert if ever I saw one, although they aren't Levis, I zoomed in just to check.

Where was I? Oh yes, well, this photo, very fine photo... was actually taken while I was on Calton Hill, a wonderful city centre viewpoint located at the East end of Princes Street. Here you'll find monuments and fantastic panoramic views of Edinburgh city centre, the Firth of Forth, and construction workers.

Princes Street from Calton Hill. The 180 foot Balmoral Hotel Clock Tower runs purposely 2 minutes fast to ensure Waverley Train station travellers arrive on time.

Views to the Firth of Forth (or Fifth of Sixth, Fourth of Fifth if you are easily confused, not that L.Muck and I have ever called the Forth these names..)

The Admiral Horatio Nelson Monument built atop Calton Hill just after defeating the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalger, 1805.

Fine photos indeed.