Cities of the Underworld: Edinburgh

[Phil]

This is known as "Mary King's close" the remains of original buildings beneath the present-day City Chambers on the Royal Mile across from St. Giles' cathedral. Until recently it could only be seen if you got a party together and got permission from the City Council to access the site but it is now firmly part of the tourist trail and lots of suitably enticing myths have grown up as a result. It is, however, an interesting survival and is worth seeing for that alone. What they haven't mentioned is the rumoured tunnel supposed to run under the Royal Mile from Holyrood Palace to the Castle so the King (or Queen) could escape in time of danger. Whether it is true or not is another matter but these tales help to boost the tourist trade.
Here is a link if you want to find out a little more - http://www.edinburgh.org.uk/MaryKing/history.htm
What I do think is true is that the prople who live in a place take their surroundings for granted and don't bother finding out about them.
Here is a link about the tunnel - http://www.ghostclub.org.uk/edinburgh.htm