The Grassmarket

There’s something slightly continental about the Grassmarket – this wide open square was once used as a public marketplace, under the eaves of Castlehill. Now populated with numerous restaurants, cafes and pubs, there is a bite or a beer to suit every taste and every budget. Somehow, the Grassmarket has also developed as the joke and costume capital of Edinburgh: You can buy everything from crazy afro wigs and false moustaches in the joke shop to genuine vintage clothing at Armstrongs, and items for airborne display at the juggling and kite shop at the cowgate end.

The stone block at the fooot of Victoria Street is the Bow Well, which once supplied the Grassmarket with water from the reservoir by the Castle, which is now the Tartan Weaving Mill

The Martyr’s Cross, featured on the card, marks the site of the Gallows where more than 100 covenanters were hanged in public for their opposition to the Book of Common Prayer introduced by King Charles I at the request of his father, James VI of Scotland (who was also James I of England). They preferred the National Covenant, issued byt he Church of Scotland in 1638 as a reactiopn to the Book of Common Prayer. Much the best way to anger the King… This occurred toward the end of the 17th Century, and the monument stands within its walled enclosure at the Cowgate end of the Grassmarket.

The Lot

Located at the end of the Grassmarket away from the Cowgate on the right hand side, the Lot is an up-and-coming dedicated Jazz Venue that doubles as a Bistro serving a simple menu very well – from a snack to a full à la carte menu backed up with a well-stocked bar.Gigs take place almost every night in the intimate space of this renovated and converted church with its fabulous acoustics and acts are plucked from the finest Jazz musicians and ensembles from Scotland and the rest of the world. Log on to www.jazzcentre.co.uk for full details or what’s coming up.