kilts in Edinburgh

[ozone]

And futhermore.....

Phil you have GOT to get a picture of a Japanese tourist with kilt and jeans....it would be GREAT for the kilt do's and dont's section.

[Phil]

And futhermore.....

Phil you have GOT to get a picture of a Japanese tourist with kilt and jeans....it would be GREAT for the kilt do's and dont's section.

I will do my best - have only seen 2 so far this year and don't always have my camera with me.
I appreciate what you say about the place where you live and Edinburgh has many things you never hear about. I walked around the churchyard at the foot of the High St near Holyrood and their are some interesting gravestones there - one put up by Robert Burns to commemorate another poet, Fergusson. Edinburgh never did have a history concerning kilt wearing and the most they probably ever saw was when Bonnie Prince Charlie marched in so to have some kind of re-enactment would not be in any way authentic. There is a lot of history in Edinburgh but really none of it wearing kilts.

[Nervous Jock]

Edinburgh never did have a history concerning kilt wearing and the most they probably ever saw was when Bonnie Prince Charlie marched in so to have some kind of re-enactment would not be in any way authentic.

Particularly as he was a wee italian cross dresser

[Archangel]

Particularly as he was a wee italian cross dresser

Now, don't you start on about that then.


I'm going to side with those who thinks it's silly to expect Edinburgh to be full of kilts just to satisfy tourists. Be a good Scottish reason not to wear one.

Stereotypically, Scots are also dour, miserable, tight, and prone to violence. Do the tourists want those qualities as well.

The reverse logic would also prevent kilts being worn in locales outside of Scotland.

If you see them, great, if not, there's always the drunken walk (what is the right name for doing the pubs on the street behind Princes?)

[gilmore]

Now, don't you start on about that then.


I'm going to side with those who thinks it's silly to expect Edinburgh to be full of kilts just to satisfy tourists. Be a good Scottish reason not to wear one.

Stereotypically, Scots are also dour, miserable, tight, and prone to violence. Do the tourists want those qualities as well?

Perhaps, if they were caged.

[McClef]

I appreciate what you say about the place where you live and Edinburgh has many things you never hear about. I walked around the churchyard at the foot of the High St near Holyrood and their are some interesting gravestones there - one put up by Robert Burns to commemorate another poet, Fergusson. Edinburgh never did have a history concerning kilt wearing and the most they probably ever saw was when Bonnie Prince Charlie marched in so to have some kind of re-enactment would not be in any way authentic. There is a lot of history in Edinburgh but really none of it wearing kilts.

Photo of me in a kilt with Mr Fergusson!



At one time when the Castle was still a working barracks you could expect to see kilts at least there. Scottish Heritage issues kilts to its male employees but they are not forced to wear them when guiding tourists around the Castle (the same applies at Stirling). But braveheart tourists (I count myself as a visitor rather than a tourist lol) apart a lone piper at the Scott Monument or an employee in a kilt shop doesn't help to fill the void.

I bet you see more kilts at an International match at Murrayfield than you did with Prince Charlie's visit Kilts can come out in amazing numbers on occasions, but outside of those occasions is where we have the problem. Yes, historically kilts and Edinburgh didn't go together at least until the nineteenth century, but from that point the two did become merged in the popular imagination to a greater extent. Ozone has pointed out that Edinburgh has tried to capitalise on the highlander tradition and that is because that has now merged with that of Scotland a whole. You are no more likely to see kilts in Inverness now than in Edinburgh but Edinburgh gets far more tourists. When I visited Stirling Castle in February the numbers of people visiting the Castle were pretty few yet we managed three kilts. A couple of days later I stood on the Esplanade at Edinburgh and saw the huge crowds queueing for tickets there. Edinburgh wins hands down in the numbers game so it has more expectations to meet. Your average tourist isn't going to worry about its history of non-kilt wearing, they have seen all the brochures therefore it must be true.