EDINBURGH

Hokitika Guardian, 4 July 1931, Page 6

EDINBURGH

A ROMANTIC CITY.

(By J. W. Herries.)

Edinburgh is one of the three most beautiful cities in the world. For the visitor it has a, many-sided appeal. To the attractions of its aspect, the beauty of which depends partly on its architecture and partly on the ness of its site and setting, is added an indefinable glamour of romance. As the Capital of Scotland, it is: intimately associated with the history of the country. Its closes and wynds, its famous personages, the straggles and the feuds of which it has been the scene in successive ages, have been made familiar to the world ip the imaginative writings of Scottish poets and romancers. At the same time, it is a modern, thoroughly up-to-date city. No finer shops are to be seen anywhere than those on its principal thoroughfares. It is notable for the purity of its air and its bracing climate. It has, under municipal control, one of the finest tramway and motor-bus systems in the country. Its variety is extraordinary. From the street claimed by its citizens as the finest in the world — offering a prominade close on a. mile long—the visitor is confronted on the one hand I>v handsome modern business premises; turning his gaze southwards, he is at once linked up with the romanti6 past.

The Castle, on its majestic rock, is the same fortress which lias seen some of the most stirring events in Scottish ristory. The ridge which, slopes down from the Castle Esplanade carries the high tenements which once were one of the wonders of the world in city architecture, within whose very walls some centuries ago the Scottish nobility bad their homes. There is no sense of incongruity in the mingling in Edinburgh of the modern and ancient. The city has evolved by a gradual process, and has never lost its character. There is subtle harmony in the form and colouring of its architecture, blending new and old.

Historically a city of culture and education, of art and letters, of law and finance, Edinburgh keeps its footing in the modern world of industry. But its industries form part of a wellbalanced unity. On its northern boundaries, where it touches the Firth of Forth, the old-world fishing harbour of Newhaven separates the busy ports of Granton and Leith. The Port of Leith carries on a vast trade with Europe. Great cargo steamships may be seen in the same harbour with picturesque schooners, brigs, and full-rig-ged ships, trading across the North Sea or from southern ports. Farther to the east we have the Portobello suburb, with its long promenade, its sands, and .its invigorating sea breezes, which justify the claim of this portion: of the city to be recognised as the “Brighton of Scotland.”

A GARDEN CITY ASPECT. To the south, a wide area of attractive residences, spaciously set ann'd gardens and wooded policies, gives a garden-city aspect to Edinburgh. The extension of the boundaries of the city in 1920 has brought within, its area outlying districts to the south and west, with their numerous industrial and residential villages. These are linked up by efficient transport services, and, .with the steady growth of building out from the city, are rapidly being absorbed.

There is ample room for further expansion. It may be sand that Edinburgh furnishes a notable example of the dovetailing of city and country. The suburbs, in the last few- years, have been steadily reaching out into the country along the principal thoroughfares, leaving ample areas of green fields, woodlands, and hills partly enclosed between the advancing lines of town architecture. The modern city, on the other hand, has presented in a striking and refreshjng manner a. realisation of the phrase “rus in urbe.” Edinburgh’s artists have painted impressions of the heart of the city which show green slopes and shady trees. The enlightened policy of the Town Council for a generation, or two has provided the city with numerous parks, whose green spaces, the invigorating city “lungs” of modem public health policy, add immensely to the healthfulness of the citizens, and offer a great variety of pleasant places of resort and recreation.

The park area of the city extends to 1,300 acres, or over two square miles. Of the parks, the first to claim the adPrinees Street Gardens, which, occupy Princess Street Gardens, which occupy the site of the ohl Nor’ Loch, and- fill the valley between the Rock and Princess street. These are an almost unique feature. There are few .cities in the world in which a. pvomenader in the principal street can leave it by a little iron gate, and find himself immediately in an inviting garden valley, with restful green lawns spreading before him, with shady seats, and with a general air of seclusion, the proximity of the city’s traffic effectively banished from the consciousness. A short tram-car run will take one from Princes street to the seaside, or put one down at the foot of the Pentland Hills.

A GATEWAY TO CALEDONIA. Princes Street Gardens suggest another unique feature of Edinburgh. An often insuperable problem of the modern city is to arrange its railway accesses so as not to destroy the harmony and attractiveness of its aspect. In most cities the attempt is scarcely made. One of the main connecting railway links between Edinburgh and the West passes through the gardens; but the line, sunk out of sight, and disguised by trees, has not the slightest disturb-

ing effect. The only noticeable indication of the existence of the railway is an occasional glimpse of white steam arising at the foot of the Castle Rock. It does no more than add another element of interest and variety to the alluring spectacle presented to the visitor’s eye. The great central Waver ley Station of the L. and N.E. Railway, occupying a large area at the east end of Princes Street, is itself almost concealed from notice, while in a most accessible position; and the same may be said of the L.M. and S. Station better known as the Caledonian Station — which enters from the other end of Princes street. Both of these stations are important gateways to central and northern Scotland, the L. and N.7C. Station being on the East Coast mute, which leads across the Firth of Forth, by the famous Forth Bridge, to the Scottish Highlands. Edinburgh is the starting point of railway tours into picturesque regions of a number and variety that few cities in Europe can equal.

'Hie population of Edinburgh at the Census of 1921 was 420,264. The estimated population for 1930 was 427,954. The valuation of the city is over five and a half millions sterling. Its public streets are 324 miles in length. The city occupies 32,4.02 acres. It is 111 miles long, and its extreme breadth is 8 miles. It returns six ‘representatives to Parliament. The city is administered from the City Chambers in the old High street. These have a. remarkably individual architectural as. pect, surrounding an arcaded square on the High street front, and presenting a cliff-Mke mass of masonry on the front that faeces Cock-burn street and the north.

PUBLIC SEP,TIDES

Edinburgh is second only to London in the number of persons carried on its tramway system per 1000 of the population, and is abend of Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and even some of the American cities. The main Portobello station of the- city’s extensive and up-to-date electricity plant is designed to form a central unit for an. area far beyond,the city’s boundaries. The gas supply has been brought up to the latest practice; and the cheap rate at winch the Town Council are able to supply plentiful current and gas for power and beating is an important factor in the growth of industrial activity wicli has marked Edinburgh in recent years. The total, rates for the year 1930-31 are 8s fid per £ (occupiers 5s -51,d, owners 3s Old).

Edinburgh has an enviable health record. For 1930, the general deathrate per 1000 of the estimated population was 14.1. The pulmonary tuberculosis rate was 0.8. The infantile mortality figure was 82 vcr 1000 of the estimated births; in 1029 it was 80.