OFF TO THE BIG SMOKE

AULD REEKIE - EDINBURGH

Why Is Edinburgh Called Auld Reekie? Asked Deborah Chu in Culture Trip.

Before Edinburgh was being lauded as the ‘Athens of the North,’ it was contending with a rather more… unsavoury reputation. The Auld Reekie, as Scotland’s capital city is still sometimes affectionately called today, means ‘Old Smokey‘ in the Scots dialect. But how did beautiful Edinburgh gain this rather unfortunate nickname in the first place?







Though the city may be renowned for its architectural splendour and the beauty of its natural surroundings today, the situation was much different in the 17th century. Beginning in the late Middle Ages, the entire city (today encompassing Edinburgh’s Old Town neighbourhood) was enclosed by a wall. These fortifications and the Nor’ Loch, a body of water to the north of the city, ensured that Edinburgh was well protected against threat of invasion.

This security, however, came at a price. The Nor’ Loch, which today is the site of the picturesque Princes Street Gardens, was unfortunately the drainage site for the citizenry’s waste and effluence, as well as a popular site for dumping dead bodies. The foul smell that would thus rise from its stagnant waters was overwhelming, to say the least.

Compounding the loch’s reeking stench was the air pollution from the city’s chimneys and coal fires. As Old Town became increasingly overcrowded, the defensive walls prevented residents from expanding outwards, thus resulting in a dense concentration of homes within a small area. The smoke which billowed out created a thick, choking smog over the city. The combination of the Nor’ Loch’s stink and the noxious fog from the city thus became the origins of Auld Reekie.

These days, residents of Edinburgh have largely reclaimed this insalubrious title, with tour groups and cafés proudly adopting the nickname as their own. So the next time you’re climbing Arthur’s Seat and marvelling at the beauty of this city, take a second to try and imagine what it must have looked like centuries ago, and thank the heavens for how far Edinburgh has come since its reeking past.

Cutting, copying and pasting brought to you by The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ

******************************

I have fond recollections of Edinburgh but, we're not going to there soon. We had hoped to travel to Scotland next year but I doubt that there will be much international travel in our plans, post Covid-19 (if there is a post Covid-19).

No, we're going to Auckland today to collect some paintings from the apartment which has been sold. The key handover is at the end of this month.

Normally when we spend time in Auckland we go out for dinner but we won't do that tonight  even though Level 2 allows it. No, we'll go by Farro's supermarket on the way down and pick up some ready-made-meals for dinner and breakfast.

We'll only stay the night, leaving the apartment ready for the new owners. It won't really be missed as it was just a utility for The Old Girl to use while she was working in Auckland. The apartment I miss is the 2-bedroom one that we sold before buying the current one.

Current apartment

.

Previous apartment