Gilmerton Cove.

Our U3A group was at Gilmerton Cove today; it was a curious place to visit as nothing seems to be known about it.

There is a cottage in an Edinburgh suburb that has been extended with a series of underground tunnels and rooms with the extension having been constructed more than three hundred years ago; how much more is unknown, it might be a few decades - but then again, it could be a thousand years. The cottage standing there today is certainly not the original. The Cove first came to light when the local blacksmith claimed to have carved it out of the solid sandstone himself over a period of about six years; an obviously impossible task.

It needs a creative tour guide to tell all the possible, but totally unsubstantiated stories about the origins and uses of the place; witches, covenanters, smugglers, illicit stills and brothels all feature heavilly. The lady in the corner (yes, we know she is female, her mouth is open [don‘t shoot me, blame our lady guide]) is thought to be a visitor who was locked in one night.

I've just posted yesterday's, "At the Hive Entrance."