The Royal Mile, located in the charming capital of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a one mile route that connects two monuments of high importance for the history of the United Kingdom, the Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Royal Palace. Nowadays it is the most popular and busiest tourist street of the city, while every August hosts the biggest annual art and culture festival in the world. While walking through the path, you will enjoy the sightings of a plethora of Gothic and Medieval monuments and buildings as well as museums, hotels, restaurants, pubs and shops selling local products.
Discovering the Royal Mile
First thing to do is visit the whiskey and wοοl merchants. It is there where you will notice the difference between the authentic art and the trade one. Take a break in front of the heart of Midlothian, and admire the heart shaped mosaic, on the sidewalk near the St Giles High Kirk. It marks the spot of the 15th century Tolbooth of Edinburgh, which was demolished in 1817 and was back then the administrative center of the city, the prison as well as the public execution spot. It gave its name to Sir Walter Scott’s novel, The Heart of Midlothian, which was published in 1818. Visitors to Edinburgh will often witness the passers-by spit on the heart. That way they condemn the execution spot as well as being considered good luck. A popular myth says that spitting is meant as a promise to return to Edinburgh one day. However there is a myth, which states that it is bad luck to walk over the heart and those who defy it will never find true love.
