Birl Through Bruntsfield
Once you've done them all, you can try for the bonus cache: Jig Through Half a Dozen History Multis
OK, Let's begin our meander! You can start anywhere and find your own route; but this one will ensure you don't miss anything.
Waypoint 1 N 55° 56.119 W 3° 11.846 Warrender Swim Centre
A private baths club was opened in Thirlestane Road in 1887 by Sir George Warrender of Lochend. They had a billiard room, turkish baths, a pond and gym in addition to the pool itself. It was taken over by the council in 1906. A well-known swimmer there was David Wilkie, who won Olympic Gold at Montreal in 1976. As a student living in Marchmont in the 1970s, I used to come here to have a bath as my lodgings didn't provide one. In 2009 a panel fell into the water from the glass roof and injured some swimmers. The swim centre nowadays has all the modern facilites you would expect. If you like, and it’s open, go inside the entrance hall and admire the ‘Warrender Wall’ with its display of successful swimmers.
CLUE 1: Look at one of the big orange signs. How many times does the letter’F’ appear? (trust what you see!)
Now cross over the road, go down Spottiswoode St, turn right into Spottiswoode Rd then left into Arden St. Spottiswoode St was for a time the home of Pat McGregor, a fictional character in the stories about Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith.
Way point 2 N55 56.263 W003 11.765 Inspector Rebus
No. 17 Arden Street is home to Ian Rankin's fictional Detective Inspector John Rebus. Ian Rankin himself lived in no. 24 when he was a student. Look at the main door to the tenement.
Clue 2: How many bell-pulls remain?
Cross over the road to No. 16 Arden Street.
Waypoint 3 N 55° 56.269 W 003° 11.785 The Polish General
This was once the home of Polish General Stanislaw Maczec (1892-1994) who fought valiantly against the Germans in both WWI and WWII and then escaped to Scotland to create the 1st Polish Armoured Division, which he led into battle on D-Day.
CLUE 3: When did he move in here? 194?
Now continue to the bottom of Arden Street and turn left into Warrender Park Road
Waypoint 4 N 55º 56.309 W003º 11.870 Typical Tenement
If you look up, you will see one of the typical inscriptions that I mentioned in the introduction. This one is a date.
CLUE 4: What is the date high up on the wall? 18?3
Cross the road to the south side of Warrender Park Road.
Waypoint 5cN 55° 56.296 W 003° 11.920 Usher Institute
The John Usher Institute of Public Health was a first of its kind, being devoted to research in public health. You may recognise the name from the Usher Hall in Lothian Road, or perhaps the beer and whisky business; (maybe not so great for public health). Before it was built, the land here had a temporary church erected in 1885 known as the 'Iron Church' built to accommodate the growing population of Marchmont, as the already well-established Barclay Church was too small. This part of Warrender Park Road at that time was just beginning to be built up and still had a rural air about it; the Glasgow firm of cattle dealers McQuade and Nelson kept a herd of bullocks here, that had to be moved to allow building to commence. As a medical student in Edinburgh in the 1970s, Peedieduchess attended lectures in this building, which has now been redeveloped into student housing.
CLUE 5: There is a date in Latin on this side of the building. How many letters make up the year?
Now continue along Warrender Park Road a very short distance.
Way point 6 N 55º 56.265 W003º 12.035 James Gillespie’s High School
This is James Gillespie’s High School and dates from 1803. It was built using a legacy left by James Gillespie, who made his fortune from tobacco production using slave labour in Virginia. The school started off as a boys-only school in Bruntsfield Place; then it moved to Gillespie Crescent; then to Warrender Park Crescent where it became a High School in 1923. The building here in Warrender Park Road was opened in 1966 as a co-ed comprehensive High School. Further renovation took place and in 2016 the modern facility you see now was opened to over 1,200 pupils aged 11 to 18. Of note: you can just glimpse the original Bruntsfield House in the campus.
CLUE 6: Peek through the gates and see if you can spot the old Bruntsfield House. You should also see in the distance a modern building named for a very brave and inspirational young Nobel laureate. How many letters are there in her name?
Walk a little further along Warrender Park Road.
Waypoint 7 N 55º 56.262 W 003º 12.070 133 Warrender Park Road
CLUE 7: There is a group of 3 symbols inscribed on the building above and left of the no. 133. What is the middle one?
Answer 1 if you think its a lion; 2 if you think its a unicorn; 3 if you think its a star.
From here, go down Marchmont Street and turn left into Warrender Park Crescent.
Waypoint 8 N 55° 56.302 W 3° 12.148 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Built in 1905 as Boroughmuir School, the school became James Gillespie's in 1914 then after the new Gillespie's buiding was opened in 1966 it went back to being Boroughmuir as their Junior School. It is believed that the author Muriel Spark used the school as a model for the 'Marcia Blaine School for Girls' in her much-loved novel, ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’. Miss Brodie was modelled on a real teacher here called Miss Christina Kay.The building is now University of Edinburgh residences (2015). Go inside the gates in Warrender Park Crescent a short distance and find a plaque on the building on your right honouring Muriel Spark (1918-2006).
CLUE 8: What sort of women were being honoured? Take the 2nd letter of that word and convert it to a number using A=1, B=2, C=3 etc.IF THE GATE IS LOCKED: COUNT THE LEAVES ON THE THISTLES ON THE GATE AND DIVIDE BY 8
Now walk around to the back of the building. It's a surprisingly good view to the north isn't it!
Waypoint 9 N 55º 56.331 W 003º 12.135 Back of Building
Stand on the path and look up where you can just make out the original name of the school.
Clue 9 Above and right of the name, what sort of animal is seen?
Answer 6 if you think its an eagle; 7 if you think its a lion; 8 if you think its a unicorn.
Now we walk up Whitehouse Loan.
Waypoint 10 N 55° 56.170 W 003° 12.137 Bruntsfield Hospital
This rightly belongs to the district of Bruntsfield rather than Marchmont, but I've included it here because you'll be walking past it anyway! Admire the site of the former Bruntsfield Women’s Hospital. It opened in 1878 and closed in 1989. It’s place in history is assured partly due to its associations with 2 famous women doctors. As a junior doctor in the early 80s Peedieduchess gave anaesthetics there to women and children. It seems very strange now to realise that the room on the top floor where we used to take out tonsils and adenoids is now someone’s living room! There is a commemorative plaque here in honour of a famous doctor.
Clue 10: How many letters in her name?
Very soon you will come to another lovely church building.
Waypoint 11 N 55º 56.140 W 003º 12.090 Warrender Parish Church
Here is another lovely old building that has been converted into flats. Built in 1891 in Italian Renaissance style from red Dumfries ashlar sandstone, this church took over from the 'Iron Church', that served the local people up till then on a temporary basis, and was situated where the Usher Institute now is on Warrender Park Road.
Clue 11: There’s an inscription on the wall: it's away up high, above the main entrance: you may find it easier to see it from across the road. This is the motto of the Church of Scotland in Latin. How many letters are there in total?
Now we cross the road and walk past the main entrance of St Margaret's Convent and round the corner into Strathearn Road.
Waypoint 12 N 55° 56.037 W 003° 11.981 Gillis Centre
Our penultimate stop is at the Gillis Centre, named for Bishop James Gillis. It is a substantial plot containing several buildings and a conference centre owned by the Roman Catholic Church. St Margaret's Convent itself was once owned by a Lady Cliftonhall: she ended up being burnt at the stake for witchcraft! Formerly known as The Whitehouse, the ground was purchased in 1834 for £3,000 and the first convent was built in Scotland since the reformation, with the opening of the chapel the following year. The main work of the nuns was the education of girls and the care of poor and needy children of the Canongate. Bishop Gillis had an ambitious plan to build a cathedral, but that never came to pass. This centre is now the main Catholic education HQ for Scotland.
Clue 12: Stand just inside the gate on Strathearn Rd and look at the bell tower. How many tall arched windows can you see beneath the bell tower? You don't need to go right in: just look from the gate.
Phew! Just one more clue: We walk back all the way along Strathearn Rd and turn left into Marchmont Rd.
Waypoint 13 N 55° 56.197 W 003° 11.659 Marchmont School
Designed in Gothic style, it was opened in 1882 and covers a ‘v’ - shaped foot plan on the corner. It was temporarily requisitioned by the War Office during the war years but then went back to its original use until 1973, when the school was taken over by Napier University for its creative arts and photography departments. Finally, it was redeveloped for residential use, with a furniture shop in the basement. There are 2 'memorial' seats here: have a look at the one on the right.
Clue 13: How many letters are there in the surname of the person being remembered?
Take a seat on one of the benches and do your sums. There are lots of places nearby where you can have a snack, and wifi, if you prefer to do your calculations indoors.
I hope you have enjoyed your meander, which has taken you to some places of interest to the history of Marchmont.
The cache can be found at:
N 55º56.ABC W 003º11.DEF
Where:
A = clue 3 divided by clue 2
B = clue 6 plus clue 7
C = clue 9 minus clue 8
D = clue 11 minus clue 10
E = clue 13 multiplied by clue 5 multiplied by clue 1
F = clue 4 minus clue 12
Checksum: your northings should add up to 15 and your westings should add up to 11, but a further hint can be found on the geochecker.
c
MAXIMUM STEALTH REQUIRED PLEASE TO AVOID MUGGLE INTEREST
A note about parking: there are no public carparks in the area. On-street parking is pay and display, with charges applicable Monday to Friday from 08:30 till 17:30. At other times and at weekends there is no charge, but it is advisable to avoid resident permit spaces.
A note for wheelchair users: I think the whole route could be done in a wheelchair, although there are some roads without dropped pavements; the final container requires stretching up.
Congratulations wee-z, First to Find!