- published: 31 Jul 2010
- views: 99
Coordinates: 55°57′02″N 3°11′08″W / 55.95056°N 3.18556°W / 55.95056; -3.18556
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.
As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle Rock down to Holyrood Abbey. The streets which make up the Royal Mile are (west to east) Castle Esplanade, Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate and Abbey Strand. The Royal Mile is Edinburgh Old Town's busiest tourist street, rivalled only by Princes Street in the New Town.
Retreating ice sheets, many millennia ago, deposited their glacial debris behind the hard volcanic plug that is Castle Rock (which Edinburgh Castle sits upon), resulting in a distinctive crag and tail feature. Extending in an eastwards direction, the Royal Mile sits upon the spine of this crag and tail trailing gently down from the Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Steep closes (or alleyways) run between the many tall lands (or tenement buildings) off the main thoroughfare.