Plan of Edinburgh, 18th century

Pictorial prospects of Edinburgh Castle and the city from Calton Hill and the Dean can be seen here in this detail from an 18th century plan of Edinburgh – an exact copy of the original by D. Wit. The illustration clearly shows the tightly packed steep, narrow closes of the Royal Mile leading down from Edinburgh Castle, which produce the skeletal structure of a herringbone pattern. 

Credit: With the permission of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KT, NRS, RHP9466 (Link to the Online Catalogue entry)