Birl Through Bruntsfield
Once you've done them all, you can try for the bonus cache: Jig Through Half a Dozen History Multis
The walk should be achievable by most reasonably able-bodied people on foot or by bicycle. For wheelchair users or those with limited mobility: the whole of the Meadows is flat, with good level paths. The northernmost section of Middle Meadow Walk is slightly inclined (for stage 7). Peedieduchess, who is of average fitness for a wee fat woman in her 7th decade, can walk round the whole route in 1 hr 20 minutes. You can do the waypoints in any order you like, it doesn't matter, but I rather like the idea of starting with a Unicorn and finishing with a Lion.
OK, let's mosey along! I'll tell you some more about the history as we go.
Waypoint 1 N 55° 56.527 W 3° 12.018 Unicorns
Here you are standing beside one of a pair of octagonal Mason's Pillars, erected in 1886 on either side of Melville Drive. They were part of the International Exhibiton that year and were intended to demonstrate the different kinds of stone available.
CLUE 1: What is the name of the bridge? (no. of letters)
ALTERNATIVE CLUE 1: During the Edinburgh International Festival, the pillar will be hidden behind advertising hoardings. This is usually from late July till mid-September. If that is the case, you can answer by crossing the road to the other pillar at N 55° 56.515' W 3° 12.041'. You can see the name of the bridge from the pavement.
Waypoint 2 N 55° 56.506 W 3° 11.932 Prince Albert Victor Sundial.
Designed by James Gowans and erected to mark the opening of the International Exhibition by HRH Prince Albert Victor, a grandson of Queen Victoria, on 8th May 1886. Like the unicorn pillars, this was part of the exhibition to show off the different colours and types of sandstone produced in the day. On the 5th level up there used to be dials facing the cardinal compass points; it showed Edinburgh Time, which was 12 minutes and 45 seconds after Greenwich time. Have a read of the information on the board to get a sense of how huge this exhibiton was.
CLUE 2: How many visitors came to the exhibition? X,770,000
Waypoint 3 N 55° 56.444 W 3° 11.672 Helen Acquroff Drinking Fountain.
Helen Acquroff was a blind musician and poet who was deeply involved in the Temperance movement. She sang in music halls and gained the nickname 'Sister Cathedral' after giving a lecture about the evils of drink in Glasgow Cathedral.
By the way, if you are wondering why one of the paths leading from here is called 'Jawbone Walk', it's because there used to be an arch made from a whale's jaw situated at the pedestrian crossing in Melville Drive. The arch originally formed the display stand of the Zetland and Fair Isle Knitters Association who attended the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art. The bones were removed in 2014 for specialist restoration and are expected to return in the summer of 2019.
CLUE 3: Where did the granite for the fountain come from? (no. of letters)
Waypoint 4 N 55° 56.426 W 3° 11.660 Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (1931-2007) came from the Bengal region of India and was a spiritual leader and teacher of meditation who also believed in the importance of physical exercise. In 1985 the first 'Chinmoy Peace Mile' was inaugurated in Oxford and there are now many of them around the world. Competitions are held in the Meadows during the summer months.
CLUE 4: How many lines are in the quotation about peace?
Waypoint 5 N 55° 56.537 W 3° 11.495 Medieval Gang Warfare .
Have a look at this noticeboard to learn something about the famous people who used to come here for a wee walk, and the gangs that used to fight each other in medieval times. Nothing new then!
CLUE 5: What was the nickname of Sir Walter Scott? 2 words.... no. of letters
Waypoint 6 N 55° 56.553 W 3° 11.476 NCN 75
National Cycle Route 75 ends up at Greenock! When you go to the next way point you will pass an electronic counter that displays how many cyclists have passed by today. It often reaches 1,000; although little boys can sometimes be seen having a bit of fun jumping on the sensor to increase the number!
CLUE 6: What year was the signpost designed? 199X
Waypoint 7 N 55° 56.714 W 3° 11.470 More Unicorns!
These octagonal gate piers were erected in 1850. One of the unicorns carries a banner saying 'NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA' which comes from Psalm 127 and features on the coat of arms of Edinburgh. It means something like: 'without the Lord, our actions are in vain'. The other one has 'NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT' which is the motto of the Royal Stuart dynasty and adopted by the British Army. It roughly translates into English as 'don't mess with me or you'll be punished' but I like the Scots translation 'wha daur meddle wi' me'. Some of the letters are missing so you'll have to take my word for it.
CLUE 7: One of the unicorns has a shorter horn than the other. Maybe it was broken? Answer 1 if you think its the westmost one, answer 2 if you think its the eastmost one
Waypoint 8 N 55° 56.559 W 3° 11.460 Murals
In 2014, 2 amazing women, artist Astrid Jaekel and poet Rachel Woolf, decided to cover up the graffiti that had blighted the back wall of the Scottish Power substation by creating these wonderful murals. Every time I stop to look at them I notice something new. Absolutely everything has relevance to the area. I think my favourite things are the bagpiping unicorns and the quotation from the 'Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'. Please if you have time, mention in your log what your favourite bit is!
CLUE 8: Count the number of musical instruments on the murals. (the drums count as 1).Answer = 1X
Waypoint 9 N 55° 56.522 W 3° 11.185 Buccleuch Parish School.
Designed by the architect George Smith in 1839, this building has also been known as Hope Park Halls and is believed to be the oldest school in Edinburgh. It is built in the Jacobean style. It is currently owned by the Orthodox Church of St Andrew, and has services conducted in English, Greek, and Slavonic.
CLUE 9: What is the date on the building? Look up, with the tennis courts behind you. 18X9
Waypoint 10 N 55° 56.500 W 3° 11.080 Boroughloch Brewery
As previously mentioned, one of the uses of the Boroughloch was to supply water for brewing. However the loch had already been drained by the time the brewery was opened here in 1805 by James Anderson. By the middle of the 19th century, this brewery had become the 5th largest in Scotland and exported to Australia, India, West Indies, South Africa and the USA. Brewing ceased in January 1907 and they switched to making aerated water: it is said, because the owner's rich American heiress wife disapproved of alcohol. The brewery has now been converted to residential use. The South Side was famous for brewing until the early 1970s.
CLUE 10:How many private parking spaces are there?
Waypoint 11 N 55° 56.430 W 3° 11.002 Lion Pillar
At last, we reach the final waypoint. You have seen 4 unicorns already: now here is the 5th unicorn and 1 lion. These 2 pillars were presented to the City of Edinburgh by the printing and publishing firm of Thomas Nelson and Sons in appreciation of the temporary accommodation allocated to them on the Meadows after their Hope Park Crescent premises were destroyed by fire in 1876. Designed by John Lessels 1880, the north pillar has the lion, and the south pillar has a unicorn.
CLUE 11: what is the date on the pillar? 18X0
I hope you have enjoyed moseying through the Meadows, and perhaps you've learned something new about this fine park!
The cache can be found at:
N 55º56.ABC W 003º11.DEF
Where:
A = clue 11 divide by clue 2
B =clue 9 plus clue 10
C = clue 6 minus clue 4
D = clue 5 minus clue 3
E = clue 8 plus clue 9
F = clue 3 minus clue 1 minus clue 7
Checksum: your 6 numbers should add up to 18.
MAXIMUM STEALTH REQUIRED PLEASE TO AVOID MUGGLE INTEREST