State of the Royal Mile

[NorCalPiper]

My mother returned from her trip to Scotland yesterday and told me that in her 7 year absense the Royal Mile has turned into a carnival of souvenier shops and has lost ALL of its charm......sad.

[Jimmy]

She is correct, its full of cheap souvenir shops, cheap kilt shops and public houses, but it is still full of character and rich in Scottish culture and heritage

[Father Bill]

Sadly, most of the Scottish souvenir shops aren't even owned by Scots or stocked by Scottish products - there's one family from away who have really moved in and bought up a lot of them. The product isn't bad, but it also isn't authentic. I like authentic.

[Tobus]

I think this phenomenon happens anywhere that tourism is popular. Whether it be the Royal Mile or the San Antonio Riverwalk (which used to be a sort of open market with a strong local Hispanic influence representing centuries-old culture, but has become a commercialized venue full of chain restaurants and knick-knack shops). It's just how the world works, I suppose. People flock there for the culture and spend lots of money to enjoy it, and over time the venue changes to a custom-tailored tourist area that no longer represents what it originally was. It's all about making money, not preserving any heritage. And there's no way to stop it, really. The almighty dollar (or pound or whatever) will win in the end.

The more we become a globalized culture, where travel is easy and fast, the more we will see unique cultural areas like this turned into little more than glorified theme parks.

[Chirs]

... It's just how the world works, I suppose. ... It's all about making money, not preserving any heritage. And there's no way to stop it, really. The almighty dollar (or pound or whatever) will win in the end.

The more we become a globalized culture, where travel is easy and fast, the more we will see unique cultural areas like this turned into little more than glorified theme parks.

It's all about how the market works these days. And as we become a globalised culture, where transporting goods is fast and easy and manufacturing is cheaper when done 'elsewhere', the more we will see unique cultural items disappearing to be replaced by mass-produced item that sell for less. "It's all about making money, not preserving any heritage. And there's no way to stop it, really. The almighty dollar (or pound or whatever) will win in the end."

I'm really upset to hear this. I was there is the mid 80s and, although I don't expect it to remain unchanged, I was hoping it would at least be similar to what it was, not some outdoor mall.

[MacRobert's Reply]

My mother returned from her trip to Scotland yesterday and told me that in her 7 year absense the Royal Mile has turned into a carnival of souvenier shops and has lost ALL of its charm......sad.

Commiserations to your mother. The Royal Mile does have an increasing number of souvenir shops selling tartan tat that has been made outside Scotland but there are still a few shops selling high-quality Scottish products on the Royal Mile - including tartans, tweeds, silver jewelry and whiskey - and the fine architecture remains.

[seanachie]

I stayed in the Ibis in Hunter Square, right off the mile a couple years ago.
It annoyed me as well that there were nearby shops selling tat that had music blaring constantly, it was a dreadful cacophony. Perhaps there are lawful ways to address this issue with planning laws or other city ordinances.