Edinburgh teen Eve Williamson has been visiting our venues and latest exhibitions. In her new blog, she shares her experience of a visit to the Scott and Nelson Monuments.
During my free week in June, I decided to take a trip to some of the museums and attractions around the Edinburgh city centre. After heading to loads of museums and exhibits earlier in the week, on Thursday I travelled to Princes Street to check out the Scott Monument and then on to the Nelson Monument. I pass the Scott Monument pretty much every day but until now, I had never walked up it. I’ve also not been up Calton Hill, let alone the Nelson Monument (an entirely underrated attraction, by the way). Though the grey skies and Edinburgh weather threatened the perfect views, I was prepared to trudge up MANY steps to see more of the city. With that in mind, I began my tour of the Scott Monument.
The Scott Monument
The Scott Monument is, as my tour guide told me, a 61 metre high monument built to commemorate famous Scottish author Sir Walter Scott (as seen in the Writers’ Museum). After his death in 1836, a competition was opened up for architects to design a monument as iconic as the man himself and by 1840, the construction of George Meikle Kemp’s vision had begun. And what a vision it was. As I walked around the monument, I was struck by the number of tiny details. The sandstone, although darkened by soot, had intricate carvings on it no matter where you looked. Inside, there were stunning stained glass windows and panels detailing the various works of Scott. It was amazing.
Scott was a prolific writer who was best known for creating some of the first historical fiction novels, which were entertaining and educational and occasionally fabricated. Among the names of his books lining the walls were Waverley, the namesake of the nearby train station, and Rob Roy, a tale of a dashing man stealing from the rich and giving to the poor who was portrayed in a 1995 adaptation by Liam Neeson (though, as the guide helpfully told me, it must be noted the real man stole from the rich and gave to…himself).
My tour took me up three levels, also known as 221 steps, also known as approximately 48metres. It was quite a walk, however the city views from the top were even more breathtaking than hiking up the dizzying spiral staircases. Seriously, they were amazing. Despite the skies being less blue than I’d have hoped, the cityscapes more than made up for it. I got to see iconic sites I see regularly like Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh Castle, St Giles and more from quite literally a new perspective. As well as this, when we got to the top, the tour guide was super helpful and more than happy to answer questions and I learnt more about some of the stuff I mentioned earlier. I could’ve stayed up there forever though sadly I had to return to the ground, with my next destination in mind.
The Nelson Monument
The Nelson Monument was built in the early 19th century to honour the life and death of the famous navy officer, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. Later, in 1853, a time ball was installed which is lined up with the One O’Clock Gun from the castle to send signals to the port at Leith and it is operated manually to this day. The monument sits at the top of Calton Hill, where I headed after my trip to the Scott Monument. I, despite my free bus pass, decided to walk there (which was perhaps a mistake after having just walked up and down 442 steps in total). When I arrived at the monument, I skipped the downstairs exhibit at first and climbed up the 143 steps towards the viewing gallery. The walls occasionally had messages telling me that I was nearly at the platform which served as much appreciated motivation to keep going. And I’m glad I did! I’m legitimately very surprised that the monument isn’t more famous for its views; they were absolutely stunning.
After spending a good 20 minutes or so just staring out at the city, I headed downstairs to check out the exhibit on Charles Piazzi Smyth, a 19th century astronomer and author. Remember the time ball I mentioned earlier? That was him. The One O’Clock Gun was his as well. Considering those contributions to Edinburgh, I was surprised I hadn’t heard of him and it was really interesting reading about his life, especially as a bit of a space nerd myself. My favourite part was learning about his photography and stereography as I was able to see what Smyth’s nearly 200 year old photographs looked like.
Overall Experience
Overall, my time seeing the monuments was fantastic. The Scott Monument is so iconic for a reason; the statues and architecture are stunning and intricate, the tour guide was lovely and the views were amazing. The Nelson Monument is so underrated, it’s such a pretty spot, a good walk and I loved seeing the city from above. Whilst I walked so much that my legs were quite literally shaking as I waited for my bus home, I would recommend visiting these monuments to anyone who wants to find out more about Edinburgh.
