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Princes Street Gardens Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland

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Information about and images of Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh on Undiscovered Scotland.

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princes-street.com the definitive guide to Princes Street and Princes Streeet Gardens. All the History, People, Photos and Information. Lists every shop, close and places of interest, places to eat and places to stay in the world's ultimate festival city

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It began as a simple embankment made up of dirt and rubble excavated from the foundations of Edinburgh's New Town. Today we call it the Mound.

The Mound was formed between 1781 and 1830 from an incredible one and a half million tons of earth and rubble left over from the construction of the New Town. Its inception followed the 1765 drainage of the old Nor' Loch, the foul-smelling, stagnant basin of water that would one day become Princes Street Gardens.

Around 1780, Old Town clothier George Boyd decided to take a short-cut across the marshland of the drained Nor' Loch to have a look at the developing New Town. As a matter of convenience, Mr Boyd chose to negotiate the marshland rather than take the long way round over the recently completed North Bridge. It was clear to Mr Boyd that a more permanent passage directly linking the New Town with the Lawnmarket was required. Interestingly, it would be the New Town itself which would provide the solution. Beginning in 1781, the construction of George Boyd's new 'Mud Brig' made perfect use of the excavated earth and rubble dug from the steep slopes of the district that it was attempting to connect. An average of 1,800 cartloads of material would be deposited on a daily basis for the next 50 years in a project that would have cost a fortune had it not been constructed from reclaimed land. It was an incredibly simple yet effective way of bridging the Old Town with the new. The Earthen Mound, as it would be referred to for much of the 19th century, was born.

Unfortunately, it was not long before the Mound became a breeding ground for low-class entertainment and illegal trading. On the site where the National Gallery now stands, there were a mixture of shooting galleries, coconut shies, roulette tables and vendors hawking dubious cures for all manner of ills. On the Mound's western edge stood a handful of unsavoury-looking buildings which were deemed to spoil the rather picturesque surroundings. The most interesting and famous of these buildings was surely the Rotunda in which dioramas were shown. Visitors to the Rotunda could watch in awe as lantern-lit moving images of recent events and far-off places flashed before their eyes. However, even the presence of this early form of cinema failed to reverse the Mound's status as a thoroughfare best avoided. The esteemed 19th century literary figure and architectural conservationist, Lord Henry Cockburn famously described the Mound as a 'receptacle of all things disreputable'. It was an opinion shared by many and improvements would be required if the Mound was ever to shed its undesirable reputation.

In the 1840s massive improvements were made when much of the land along the top end of the Mound was cleared to make way for the National Gallery. The new building was designed to match the 1826-founded Royal Institution (now the Royal Scottish Academy) which was located directly south. Railway tunnels were driven underneath the Mound in 1846 to allow access to the west from Waverley train station. The Mound's roadway was also realigned, widened and eventually macadamised. The appearance and layout of the Mound remains little changed in the past 150 years.

Today the elegant sweep of the Mound plays an important role in the centre of Edinburgh, dividing the main thoroughfare Princes Street into two manageable halves. As one of the city's most prominent roadways it has become the site of numerous processions and marches as well as providing a crucial passage into the Old Town and George IV Bridge. George Boyd's humbly-constructed Mud Brig has successfully managed to stand the test of time.

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It began as a simple embankment made up of dirt and rubble excavated from the foundations of Edinburgh's New Town. Today we call it the Mound. The Mound was formed between 1781 and 1830 from an incredible one and a half million tons of earth and rubble left over from the construction of the New Town.

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VICTORIA Street with its historic architecture, elegant curve and colourful shop fronts is one of the city's most picturesque locations. In recent times however, it has been forced to ward off the threat of destruction.

Before the creation of Victoria Street and Johnston Terrace in the early 1800s, the steep, awkward incline of the old West Bow was the only feasible passage for those wishing to access the Lawnmarket and Edinburgh Castle from the west.

The old West Bow was a precipitous, narrow Z-shaped street linking the Grassmarket with Castlehill. Its path is somewhat preserved today by the steps which cut through Victoria Street towards the Upper Bow. Prior to the 19th century it was considered to be one of the most important roads in Edinburgh, despite its reputation as one of the most difficult to negotiate if travelling by carriage.

Many of the oldest buildings in the city were contained along the old West Bow. An abundance of timber-fronted houses had sprung up over the centuries, many of them resembling upside-down pyramids due to the manner in which the floors increasingly protruded out as they progressed upwards.

As such, the distance between the top floors of some of the houses on either side of the street was so little that it is said neighbours could enjoy 'the pleasure of tea drinking, without the trouble of leaving their respective abodes'.

The old West Bow was radically transformed between 1829-34 as part of town planner Thomas Hamilton's 1827 Improvement Act which was set up to provide better approaches into the Old Town from the west and south. The eventual design featured a gentle, curved link from the Grassmarket up to the newly-created George IV Bridge. It was originally named Bow Street, remaining so until 1837 when the arrival to the British throne of Queen Victoria was suitably honoured by the city.

The new street retained many of the older buildings at the foot of the curve, though countless medieval structures were lost forever along the rest of its route. On its northern side, an upper level terrace was constructed akin to a similar example which once existed on Leith Street before the St. James Centre.

A small flight of stairs halfway up the street helped to bridge the old with the new and preserve the ancient link from the Grassmarket to Castlehill. The terrace continued up towards George IV Bridge supported by a series of arches which later provided space for an arcade of shops.

Improvements continued on either side of Victoria Street over the next 40 years; the grand, imposing India Buildings constructed in 1864 are among the most notable. After the 1860s, the street would remain virtually unaltered for the next century. Change arrived in 1967 when the controversial decision was taken to remove the 19th century buildings situated on the north-east end of Victoria Street in order to create space for Lothian Regional Council's new headquarters.

The new office block would replace the old Midlothian County buildings that stretched across a section of George IV Bridge from Victoria Street to the Lawnmarket. Many of Edinburgh's citizens were incensed at the decision to construct a modern office block within the heart of Edinburgh's historic and world famous Old Town.

The Lothian Regional Council HQ was eventually demolished in 2007 to be replaced by the Hotel Missoni. The architects of the latest building to grace the site appear to have made an attempt to honour the past by reintroducing the arches which were an integral feature of the original plan.

The mix of several centuries of attractive architecture, vibrant atmosphere and quirky selection of shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants have secured Victoria Street's status as one of the jewels in Edinburgh's crown.

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Lost Edinburgh: The creation of Victoria Street

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VICTORIA Street with its historic architecture, elegant curve and colourful shop fronts is one of the city's most picturesque locations. In recent times however, it has been forced to ward off the threat of destruction.

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Big Country. This music was not released on an album but was combined into two lengthy tracks, each featuring various pieces of music and clips of actors from the film's audio, which appeared on limited edition formats of two Big Country 12″ singles. It was released on CD for the first time on the 1998 Big Country collection Restless Natives & Rarities, where it is presented as a single 35-minute track.

Restless Natives may be a film about working class Scots living outside the law in 1980s Edinburgh, but the comparisons with grittier, wittier fare like Trainspotting end there. This is a resolutely gentle, unchallenging film. It's also more than a little silly - but don't let that put you off.

Will (Friell) and Ronnie (Mullaney) are broke, and as Ronnie says, "without money you can't do anything". There are no jobs around for them that are worth doing. Ronnie is forced to work in a joke shop selling plastic poos to horrible little tykes while Will's Dad (Hill) is constantly berating him for preferring to mooch around the house all day rather than pick litter for the local council. Their solution to the problem is unique. Donning novelty masks from Ronnie's joke shop they take to the isolated roads around Glencoe on a motorbike and set themselves up as modernday highwaymen, holding up coach loads of tourists armed with nothing more than a plastic gun and a puffer that Ronnie says he's loaded with"itching powder, sneezing powder, athlete's foot powder and some stuff I got out of an old firework."

Filmed in Scotland, the story follows the adventures of two young men who don masks (a clown and a wolf-man) and hold up tourist coaches in the
Highlands. These modern highwaymen become local folk heroes as well as a touTwo young Edinburgh lads become modern day highwaymen holding up tourist coaches in this fine comedy with a soundtrack by Big Country. Restless Natives has probably the higest scenery count of any movie filmed in Scotland. A low budget gem of a movie it is soon to be released in the UK on DVD after a long period of being unavailablerist attraction in themselves.

The beginning of the Japanese Suzuki motorcycle 'advert' sequence in Restless Natives was filmed on the track (old military road) running parallel
to the main A83 road at the Rest and Be Thankful pass, Argyll. This can best be seen at the carpark and viewpoint at the top of the pass.

The rest of the advert sequence was filmed where the track joins the minor road to Lochgoilhead near the carpark and viewpoint. The chase scenes
following the advert seqence were filmed at various places on the road to Lochgoilhead
This review is from: Restless Natives [DVD] [1985] (DVD)
This has been a long time coming. Funded by film 4, the film has everything... Cameos by all sorts of British Stars (Mel SMith Inc), fantastic locations, Brilliant soundtrack (now available on CD: Restless Natives and Rarities by Big Country) and some great acting and writing!
This review is from: Restless Natives [DVD] [1985] (DVD)
If you like gentle comedies with a cracking soundtrack then you'll love this. As a previous reviewer stated, the soundtrack (by Big Country)deserved an Oscar nomination. Two naughty young scottish lads cause mayhem amongst the Scottish Highlands by robbing bus loads of American tourists disguised as a clown and wolfman. On their trail an inept police force aided and abetted by an even more inept American policeman. Brilliant script, brilliant story, brilliant acting, brilliant soundtrack - brilliant everything!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic 'feel good' film, on a small budget!, 9 Aug 2005 By David R. Moss "bacardibeast" (Cotswolds UK) - See all my review

I have been after this film for years!!! Finaly it's here, and it's just as good as I remember! OK, so I am a massive Big Country fan and that does make me biase, but this film just a brilliant romp from start to finish! You start off being introduced to two bored lads, who are stuck in the worst jobs they could have imagend, in the heart of industrial Scotland. They decide to suppliment there income by highway robbery but don't have the heart, or means, to use violence.

After a shakey start, the continue to "hold up buses!" full of aging and non too intelligent American Tourists. During one hiest, one of them falls for the tour guide. Thus insues a tangled, but litte hearted and easy to follow, story of innocent minded crime and blind luck, as the two become infamous Highland legends in a Rob Roy / Robin Hood style.

As the Wolfman tries to keep his sweet-heart and the Clown revels in the status of "Scotland 17th most wanted man", things start to go wrong, and the two struggle to keep there friendship.

Finaly, good will out, and the two end the rein as legends, followed by the unworried Police and a Japanese camera crew. But as the film says "Is this the end, or just the beginning of the legend?"

The sound track is fantastic and really enhances the mood. The scenery is breath taking and the acting is simply brilliant from the two star's in there first full length film.

I just hope you will enjoy the film as much as I have. And if you want a reminder of the 'fell good' facter, look out for the Big Country ablum 'Restless Natives & rarities'.

I'll see you just outside Glencoe, on a 125, with the sound track playing and enjoying the scenery!!!
Big Country Soundtrack Lyrics
Instrumental motion picture soundtrack including the songs "Home Come the Angels" and "Restless Natives" and instrumental excerpts entitled "Highland Scenery" and "Margo's Theme". The soundtrack also includes the following dialogue excerpts from the film:

Margo: And now to your left, you can see some of the most spectacular scenery in Scotland. The mountain rising in the center is Ben Lochert, and in a cave on the other side, Bonny Prince Charlie is said to have taken refuge from the redcoats.

Will's father: Ha! Police are today searching for two young Scots, who held up and robbed a coach-load of tourists on a remote Highland road, disguised as a clown and a wolfman. They took an estimated £600 in cash and an unknown quantity of valuables from the forty frightened passengers before riding off at high speed into the hills again.

Will: You don't know me. You've never seen me before. You've never seen me before. [ghostlyvoice effect]

Margo: I know you.

Will: No, you don't. Impossible! You can't.

Margo: I do know you. What do they call you?

Will: My name is Will. You don't know me. You've never seen me before. [ghostly voice effect]

Margo: Maybe I'll see you again then,

Will. Will: I hold up buses. Margo: I've never met a robber before. It's like Rob Roy isn't it? There's one legend that says the heroes aren't dead at all; just sleeping underneath the hills. And one day they'll come back.

Will: Like ghosts

Margo: Something like that. Do you believe in ghosts? [ghostly voice effect]

Ronnie: I've been holdin' up buses. You know, like robbin' them. Takin' all the tourists' money. Been in the papers and everythin'. I'm really quite enjoyin' it. Anyway, I'll try not to get in any trouble.

Ronnie: You see, I get things done. I found out about this place. A place where I can get around people who really know how to get things done. People like me. I'm a disadvantaged child. I don't have the security of the family unit to back me up. I've got to do things on my own. Judges are lenient on people like me.

Will: And so amongst these rocks lived Through summer heat and winter snow The eagle he was lord above And Rob was lord below Man in bar: Alright, come on. Stand back you lot. Come on. Stand back. Give the boy some space. Lads, I have here the seventeenth most-wanted man in Scotland.[Cheering]

Bartender: What do you want?

Ronnie: I'll have a ginger beer, thanks.

Will: Ronnie, d'ye wannae come tomorrow?

Ronnie: Aye.

Will: It's all finished now, isn't it? We're still going. One more time to Strathault; the clown and the wolfman.["Restless Natives" performed by Big Country] Police inspector: You're bigger than the Loch Ness monster. Grossly irresponsible criminal behavior of the most flagrant kind. I canna let you go. Reporter: We may never know who they were. But one thing is certain. Now, no one can tame them. Is this the end of a story, or the beginning of a legend?

Margo: Do you believe in ghosts? [ghostly voice effect]

["Home Came the Angels" performed by Big Country]

This compilation: ℗ 1998 Mercury Records Ltd. (London) © 1998 Mercury Records
Ltd. (London) a PolyGram company. Original Releases Of These Tracks Restless Natives & Rarities (1998) Sound track running time 34:57

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ_Mg7m-ZfY
Restless Natives
Film Poster Directed by Michael
Hoffman

Produced by

Rick
Stevenson

Andy
Paterson

Mark Bentley

Written by Ninian
Dunnett

Starring

Vincent
Friell

Joe Mullaney

Teri Lally

Ned Beatty

Robert
Urquhart

Bernard Hill

Mel Smith

Music by

Stuart
Adamson

Cinematography

Oliver
Stapleton

Distributed
by

Optimum
Releasing

MGM

Warner
Brothers

Release
date(s)1985

Running time 90 minutes

Country Template:Film
Scotland

Language English

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Big Country Film - Restless Natives | Stuart Adamson

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Big Country. This music was not released on an album but was combined into two lengthy tracks, each featuring various pieces of music and clips of actors from the film's audio, which appeared on limited edition formats of two Big Country 12″ singles.

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Trailer for the 1985 Scottish comedy film 'Restless Natives' featuring music by Big Country.