'Old Reekie' - Edinburgh, the setting for the Parallel Realm books
- david179818
- Dec 1, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
I've lived near Edinburgh, long known as 'Old Reekie', for much of my life and love its gritty history and quirky architecture - it's a great backdrop for ‘Touchpaper’ and the ‘Parallel Realm’ series. But maybe you don’t know the so-called 'Athens of the North? To help you out, here’s my brief guide.
The city started as an accumulation of buildings crammed inside a medieval city wall, and when I say crammed, I really mean crammed. Some of the old town tenements were as many as fourteen stories high (a fire in 1824 burned down the timbered upper levels, so they’re mostly lower today). Narrow closes and wynds lead off the Royal Mile, some opening onto courts – small courtyards between the buildings.
The so-called Royal Mile (though it isn’t really a mile) sits astride a sloping ridge, running from the rocky crag Edinburgh Castle sits on, down to Holyrood Palace at the bottom. The palace is the Scottish seat of the royal family, alongside Holyrood Park, the only royal park away from London. But if you’re thinking about bench-seats and manicured flower-beds, think again. Holyrood Park comprises steep rugged crags and peaks, including Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat, which overlooks the city and is the setting for the opening of ‘Touchpaper’.
An odd feature of the Old Town is the hotch-potch of vaults, cellars and tunnels created below bridges and buildings – Edinburgh’s so-called ‘underground city’, where many of Edinburgh’s poor led torrid lives in the past. At the north side of the old town a large loch – the Nor’ Loch was drained by 1820, creating a valley which is now occupied by Waverley Station and the famous Princes Street Gardens. This one really is a park with bench seats and manicured flower-beds and it's also home to the gothic spire of the Scott Monument.
Beyond, the New Town, contrasts with the jumbled medieval architecture of the Old Town. A grid of stunning Georgian town-houses, many now shops or offices, surround broad streets and open squares. This is where Alyssum’s herbal shop is to be found, with Archer’s library deep below.
At the east end of the New Town looms Calton Hill, home to the Royal Observatory and several monuments, including the National Monument of Scotland. Archer is fond of hanging out here, perhaps because he enjoys the fact that the builders of this Parthenon copy ran out of money in 1826, earning it the nickname ‘Edinburgh’s Folly’. Calton Hill offers a clear view of the Firth of Forth and of the busy thoroughfare of Leith Walk, which links the city to Leith, Edinburgh’s port.
That’s a quick description of the city, but if you haven’t visited, you really should. During the Edinburgh Festival in August, the famous Edinburgh Fringe takes over the city – hundreds of stage shows, street theatre and a fabulous atmosphere. Do come, but remember to keep your eyes peeled for a scowling, long-legged figure in a cloak, striding up the Royal Mile, his long boots clicking on the cobbles.
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