Overview of Royal Mile, The

Edinburgh's most famous and historic thoroughfare, which has formed the heart of the Old Town since Mediaeval times. The Royal Mile includes Castlehill, the Lawnmarket, the Canongate and the Abbey Strand, but for much of its length is officially known simply as the High Street. Running down the hill from the royal fortress on the castle rock above the Lawnmarket, to the royal residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, east of the Canongate, for exactly one mile, hence its soubriquet. A series of narrow alleys, known as Closes, run off the street to the north and south like spines. It is these closes which give access to the tall tenements or lands which characterise the Mile.