Cultural centre of the nation. Seat of the Scottish Presbyterian Church and the roman Catholic archbishop. Several universities and research institutes, major centre of banking, insurance and commerce. Major port on the Scottish coast. Old and new Blossoms from the cherry trees in the Canongate churchyard are swirled across the road by the wind.
Drifts lie along the gutters like late, pink snow.
The church has glittering gold stag antlers at the apex of the roof, symbol of a miracle in 1128. This street is called royal because it runs between Edinburgh Castle, brooding on its high rock above the city, and Holyrood Palace, created by the Stuart kings of Scotland and court of the tragic Mary Queen of Scots. Now the street holds the law Courts and Cathedral, but also pubs and cafes and many small shops - tartans and designer knitwear and cashmere are specialties. It is considered the finest example of Georgian architecture and town planning in Britain. It is spacious and formal, the elegant streets form a grid plan north from Princess Street, Edinburgh's main shopping street, and west from St. Andrew's Square, the home of banking and the town's financial community, though the financial centre under construction at the other end of Princes Street and the nearby new International conference Centre are important new developments.