There are few places in the world I would rather call home after a trip than Edinburgh, so much so that I always sit on the left of the plane as it comes in to land so that I can gaze over Arthur’s Seat and the Royal Mile as the wheels come down over Inchkeith island in the Firth. Edinburgh feels like home to me, when you get off the plane into the airport some large posters greet you.. they are from RBS but the message rings true.

One major sight we’ve never visited in the 2 and a half years we’ve been here, is incredibly the  Walter Scott Monument on Princes Street, so on our first weekend back from the US we decided to pay the £3 entry fee and climb the 287 steps to the top. The structure was completed in 1846, some 14 years after the writer’s death. It looks like a kind of sunken gothic church spire.

The Scott Monument

There are 3 levels separated by narrow stone staircases winding their way up the buttress legs of the structure. The views across the city are unparalleled with any other viewpoint in town.

Gothic Rocket?

Looking North towards the Firth

Looking East over Waverley Station, North Bridge and Arthur’s Seat

Looking South over the Royal Mile and Pentland Hills

The view down Princes Street

Edinburgh Castle Silhouette

OThe Edinburgh Christmas ‘Big’ Wheel

On the first floor of the monument is a small chapel like room with beautiful stained glass, now a small museum to the life of Scott.

Windows in the memorial

As we were leaving I also managed to get this shot over Princes St Gardens and the castle.

Through the gardens

The Scott Monument is a fantastic and inexpensive way to take in the Edinburgh skyline, and take in a bit of history at the same time. If you’ve been there, what did you think?

All photos in this post were taken with an iPhone 5,  I must admit I’ve been blown away by the quality of the pictures.