quint_mb's photostream  

The Balmoral is a luxury five-star hotel in Edinburgh formally known as the North British Hotel until the late 1980s.

The hotel originally opened in 1902 and for most of the twentieth century was known as the North British Hotel, a traditional railway hotel built for the North British Railway Company adjacent to their Waverley Station. It kept the same name until the late 1980s when it was renamed the Balmoral Hotel after refurbishment

For travellers arriving by train, the hotel provided comfortable and elegant lodgings, before they continued their journeys. To assist passengers in reaching their train on time, the hotel tower's clock, visible from a considerable distance away, is traditionally set to be two minutes fast. The clock tower, at 190 feet (58 m) high, forms a prominent landmark in Edinburgh's city centre.

P9144776

© Mark r Bowman

Exif data auto added by theGOOD Uploadr
File Size : 1.4 mb
Camera Make : OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
Camera Model : E-30
Software : Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows
Exposure : 0.600 seconds
Aperture : f/3.2
ISO Speed : 200
Focal Length : 32 mm

The Bank Hotel in Edinburgh
Situated on the Royal Mile and built in 1923 as a grand Bank, the building was extensively renovated with many original features restored in 1998 to create The Bank Hotel which was refurbished in February 2008.

P9144627
© Mark r Bowman

Exif data auto added by theGOOD Uploadr
File Size : 5.4 mb
Camera Make : OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
Camera Model : E-30
Software : Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows
Exposure : 0.333 seconds
Aperture : f/2.8
ISO Speed : 200
Focal Length : 14 mm

The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.

As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long and runs from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle Rock down to Holyrood The streets which make up the Royal Mile are (west to east) Castle Esplanade, Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street, Canongate and Abbey Strand.

P9144243a

© Mark r Bowman

Exif data auto added by theGOOD Uploadr
File Size : 8.1 mb
Camera Make : OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
Camera Model : E-30
Software : Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows
Exposure : 0.167 seconds
Aperture : f/4
ISO Speed : 400
Focal Length : 32 mm

The Royal Mile looking up Castle Esplanade and Castle Hill towards the Castle and The Camera Obscura.
The Castle Esplanade was laid out in the 19th century primarily as a parade ground for troops. It is the venue of the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Cannonball House is notable for a cannonball lodged in the wall, said to have been accidentally fired from the Castle.

From the Castle Esplanade, the short section of the road entitled Castlehill is dominated by the former Tolbooth Highland St John's Church (on the south side at the foot of this section), now the headquarters of the Edinburgh International Festival society - The Hub, and on the north side by the Camera Obscura & World of Illusions

P9144651c

© Mark r Bowman

Exif data auto added by theGOOD Uploadr
File Size : 3.5 mb
Camera Make : OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
Camera Model : E-30
Software : Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows
Exposure : 0.600 seconds
Aperture : f/3.5
ISO Speed : 200
Focal Length : 54 mm

The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott . It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opposite Jenners department store on Princes Street and near to Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station.

The tower is 200 feet 6 inches (61.11 m) high, and has a series of viewing decks reached by a series of narrow spiral staircases giving panoramic views of central Edinburgh and its surroundings. The highest viewing deck is reached by a total of 287 steps . It is built from Binny sandstone, this oily stone was known to attract dirt quickly and it is now very hard to make out the numerous carved figures.

P9144695c

© Mark r Bowman

Exif data auto added by theGOOD Uploadr
File Size : 4.6 mb
Camera Make : OLYMPUS IMAGING CORP.
Camera Model : E-30
Software : Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows
Exposure : 4.000 seconds
Aperture : f/2.8
ISO Speed : 200
Focal Length : 14 mm