If visiting Scotland for any reason, there is little excuse for not arranging the readily available cheap hire car and heading to the capital.

Visiting the World Heritage site of Edinburgh old town is always a tremendous pleasure. The Old Town area is crowned by the magnificent hulk of Edinburgh Castle looming over the city from its site on the crag formed from the plug of an ancient volcano. The area stretches away to the west, down the steeply sloping Royal Mile to Holyrood House and the ruins of Holyrood Abbey.

This medieval section of Scotland’s cultural centre has kept to the layout of small yards or alleys stretching either sides of the Mile. Wandering among the old stone buildings will bring you many treats, be they shopping, eating, drinking, music, literature or comedy.

The dark alleyways and cobbles are evocative of a dark past, crime was often rife in this part of town and the legend of characters such as Burke and Hare haunt the air.

One happier story from the past is that of Greyfriars Bobby. Lovers of children’s literature and animals will adore the heart warming story or this loyal little dog and following the tale around the old town will give any visitor a glimpse of some of the areas off the famous cobbled main drag.

A poor gardener’s son from Forfar arrived in Edinburgh looking for work in the mid 1800s. For many who worked on the land, work was scarce due to flooding across eastern Scotland and after living in squalor with his wife and son John Gray joined the Constabulary. This promised 13 shillings a week and an apartment off Cowgate, the street running parallel to the Mile one block south.

As a police officer in a rough part of town Gray was required to have a dog. He chose a Skye Terrier; a tenacious, lively shaggy dog, who was the perfect police companion on the night shifts around the markets. Bobby was chosen as the best name for a policeman’s dog.

The harsh winter and outside life of John Gray caused ill health and in 1858 the constable succumbed to tuberculosis. He died with Bobby at his feet but that wasn’t the end of the little dog’s loyalty.

John Gray was laid to rest at Greyfriars Kirkyard, adjacent to Candlemaker’s Row, just a few streets to the south of the castle. Bobby stood guard at the grave, eating with a kind café owner in the nearby Eating House, for the rest of his life. Many residents observed this 14 year vigil and even Queen Victoria heard of the faithful hound and came to visit him at the Kirk.

The Kirk and Candlemaker’s Row can be visited today and a statue at the end of the Row commemorates Bobby and his loyalty to his master. The Eating House bears a plaque proclaiming that the canine companion ate on the premises and an engraved bowl and collar belonging to Bobby can be seen in the Edinburgh Museum on the Royal Mile.

This is just one of the stories of the city’s colourful past but it’s hard to find a more warming tale to follow around the Old Town.

Linda is a freelance writer and bookseller who, following 19 years in IT for a large airline, loves to write about the places she has visited. She also adores her other job as a bookseller in a local bookstore.