Calton Hill

After attending a meeting today at the Dovecot in Edinburgh, I managed to take some shots of Calton Hill on the way back to Waverley Station.

Calton Hill is an extinct volcano, which rises to the east of Edinburgh's New Town. The collection of classical styled buildings and monuments on Calton Hill has led to Edinburgh being called 'Athens of the North'.

The tall obelisk on the left is in Calton Cemetery. Locally it is called "Cleopatra's Needle." Truth is it's a memorial to five unfortunate men unlawfully transported to Australia for daring to promote votes for ordinary people; only one returned. To the right of the obelisk is the Nelson Monument; though they appear close together, the latter is in fact on the other side of Regent's Road! It was built in 1816 to commemorate victory at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. To its right is what remains of the old municipal prison: the governor's house.