Have a butcher's at this...

This is Fleshmarket Close in Edinburgh, it runs from the High Street down to Market Street and was cut in two by Cockburn Street when it was built around 1860. This is a view from the Market Street end looking up the hill towards Cockburn Street. Originally named after the meat market that was situated here, it led down from the High Street to the slaughterhouse at the Nor'Loch as it was then - now Princes Street Gardens and the main railway line to Glasgow.

The building on the left of the close used to house The Scotsman and Evening News newspapers and the pubs on the right used to house the journalists and assorted print workers. I would hazard a guess that their trade is still sorely missed.

The Halfway House is apparently Edinburgh's "Famous Smallest Pub" which may well be true but it certainly isn't halfway up the close. Next door is Jinglin' Geordie, a pub named after George Heriot (1563-1624) a wealthy, well connected goldsmith and money lender. There is no evidence that he spent any of his money in this pub. Fleshmarket Close's main claim to fame is of course that it's the title of Ian Rankin's 2004 crime novel.