Gilbert the Phone Box

Isaac Newton realised that what caused the apple to fall was the very same force moving the moon, planets and stars. James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was born in this house, before the family moved to Kirkcudbright. He was intensely curious about how nature worked and made a "great unification" of equal importance to Newton's: that magnetism, electricity, light and heat are all manifestations of the same electromagnetic spectrum. And this spectrum must contain other frequencies beyond human sensing: hence X-rays and radio waves, and the entire science of telecommunications. He made possible Einstein's 20th century unification of gravity, mass and energy, and contributed to many other fields of enquiry. The Foundation has preserved this townhouse with his memorabilia. His statue stands at the east end of George St and a laboratory block is named for him on the Edinburgh University science campus.

This townhouse was designed by Robert Adam, completed in 1796 and has been furnished in the style of its first owner John Lamont. Its last private owner the Marquess of Bute also acquired adjacent townhouses and along with the other owners got the entire north facade of the square restored to Adams' imposing original design. Visit by self-guided tour, and in mid-summer you need to book as it sells out.

The west portion fills the valley beyond the Mound, spanning the railway tracks to the foot of castle crag. The east portion is the terrace around the Scott Monument. They were laid out in the 1820s as private gardens for residents of the street: occupants of bath chairs required a medical certificate that their condition was not contagious. Their initial opening to the public was solely at Christmas and New Year, in the belief that this would distract people from the pubs and reduce drunkenness. In 1876 they became a public park and were re-landscaped and dotted with statues. By this time the gardens were already bisected by railway tracks, the price that had to be paid to finally link the east and west railway terminuses. The gardens are open 24 hours.

A branch of their main museum in Woodbridge Connecticut, this is mostly artwork with exhibitions on the Nakhba and other events.

is best seen from below in Dean Village as you follow the walkway along the stream - from the top it's just a busy thoroughfare. Crossing in four arches 107 ft / 32 m above the stream, it was Telford's last major project. As well as improving the route to Fife, it made the north bank into prime real estate, so elegant terraces were built there.

This holds much of Scotland's fine artwork from Renaissance to 20th century, with changing exhibitions. These rotate seasonally, so an exhibition put on for the Festival typically stays to the end of the year, allowing quieter times to view. Enter from the plaza between gallery and Royal Scottish Academy, and a basement passage connects the two exhibition spaces. The Scottish Galleries on the lowest floor reopened in 2023 after several years of redevelopment, and show a good collection of local work and views which may inspire trips.