Hidden historic vaults The hidden arch in Edinburgh

If you happen to be in the area, I can only recommend a visit to Edinburgh. The capital of Scottland has an interesting surprise in store for the underground enthusiast.

When the ice retreated at the end of the ice age, it got stuck at a huge granite rock. The ice then parted and dug deep valleys on both sides of the rock. This is how Endinburgh´s Castle Rock, 134 metres high, was created. Ist steep cliffs were ideal for for building a fortress and so Edinburgh Castle was erected which, in turn, gave the rock its name.

Already in early days, bridges were built across the two valleys around the rock. One of them, the North Bridge, can be quickly identified as such while the other, the South Bridge, looks like an ordinary road. When I passed it, I suspected nothing at first. I saw what seemed to be on ordinary Edinburgh shopping street with two- and three-storey houses on both sides. Then, however, I came past an empty site and saw – to my great astonishment – a road which crossed deep under my feet. This called for an investigation!

Once I had gotten off the bridge, the whole fascination of the bridge struck me: The little two- and three-storey houses I had seen on the bridge were, in fact, up to seven storeys high. The bridge has been completely obscured by the houses built along it. The arches of the bridge were converted into cellars by installing additional walls and then used for storage purposes. We can safely assume that especially smugglers and moonshine distillers were active there. Since Edinburgh has a reputation for gruesome stories (such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), the bridge can obviously not be omitted in this context. So, for example, a serial killer is said to have stored his corpses there before selling them to the university for study purposes. One day he was caught after having murdered a prostitute. Half of the students in the lecture recognised her body...

The arches of the bridge were not used for over a century and subsequently forgotten about. Only recently have they been opened to the public. A guided tours starts off at the tourist information office by the railway station and costs five pounds. A few less reputable horror tours start from the Royal Mile – you can hardly fail to spot the placards advertising them.