The Pleasance - August 2008

The Pleasance

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Here is a busy scene during the Edinburgh Festival 2008. Theatre-goers pass up and down the Pleasance on their way to and from Festival Fringe performances at the Pleasance Courtyard and other venues.

The Wall

This view looks down Pleasance from the corner of Drummond Street towards Cowgate and Holyrood Road. The street leading up the hill, in the distance, in the centre of the picture is St Mary's Street.

The high wall on the extreme left, on the corner of Drummond Street and Pleasance is part of Edinburgh's defences, the Flodden Wall, built after the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The Police Box

The old Police Box stands at the corner of the street dates from the first half of the 20th century, but is now no longer used, in the days of mobile phones.

St Mary's Street

The buildings on the right-hand side (east side) of St Mary's Street were erected in the 1860s. On the left-hand side (west side) of the street, there is a new Travelodge hotel, built probably around 2000.

Pleasance

A row of old shops, now demolished, used to stand in the area now grassed over on the west side of Pleasance. The light-coloured building on the east side of Pleasance are new, as is the large sign, near the centre of the photo, displaying the number of parking spaces available at various car parks in the centre of the city.