We are very fortunate in the capital to have easy access to many areas of greenery, both manicured parks and more rugged areas like the Pentlands. We are going to take them one by one.
Today we are in the award-winning St Andrew Square which was only recently opened up to the public. Now it has a Coffee Republic cafe with wifi (free with your order for 45 minutes) although even the staff here have yet to realise the true source of their wages….. A good place for dropping in whilst shopping, this is a lovely space on a dry sunny day to sit on the grass, read a book or eat lunch. In the middle of the square stands the 41 metre high Melville Monument, atop of which Henry Dundas, former First Lord of the Admiralty and a man of considerable political power, surveys the square. He was a member of the Faculty of Advocates and MP and was unofficially known as the uncrowned King of Scotland.
This green space already existed, but was opened up to the public as a result of a partnership between The City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise in April 2008. Just over £2.5m was invested in forming new walkways and low walls which provide a place to sit. Before that this green area was only visible through the railings. The Edinburgh World Heritage Trust contributed to the renovation of Henry Dundas’s monument with the installation of uplighters to give him a new night-time profile.
Around the edges of the square there are office buildings, department stores Jenners and Harvey Nichols, bars, restaurants and Sainsburys. The Royal Bank of Scotland former HQ is here, although now replaced by the world HQ out at Gogar by the airport. The bank building on the east side of the square is set back from the normal building line and has an in/out driveway with fancy gates and railings in front of it.
The square was built in the 18th century in accordance with James Craig’s design. Initially a residential area it is now mainly in commercial use, but the green area in the middle is mainly for leisure and recharging your batteries.
Edinburgh Spotlight has an ongoing feature about some of the other green spaces in the city if you click here.
[googleMap name=”St Andrew Square” description=”Garden” width=”400″ height=”400″ directions_from=”true”]St Andrew Square Garden Edinburgh[/googleMap]
