Thistle Street, Edinburgh in STORM magazine, Singapore
In our many journeys – be they in the neighbourhood, across town or overseas – we travel along many streets. We walk them, drive, ride and run along them. Sometimes, especially when you have wandered away from your familiar streets, some of them begin to look similar. And if you’ve traversed them often enough, even a landmark shopping avenue – like Orchard Road in Singapore, or the Champs-Elysses in Paris or Bond Street in London – begins to become a little predictable.
But sometimes you stumble upon a street more special. Where there’s something about the light, the way it is laid out, the way the street curves or that curious mix of shops and services that co-exist in bonhomie, cheek by jowl. And after you’ve long since left, and life has overtaken you, memories of that street occasionally come to mind; snapshots of a moment. There are a few streets around the world, that have the character to etch themselves into your memory. Storm walk through some of them.
Art and culture, ancient architecture, parks, traditional pubs, contemporary restaurants, the sound of drifting bagpipes, and a dominating 12th Century castle make up Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital.
Uniquely divided into two distinct sections – the Old Town and the New Town – the older side of the city is characterised by meandering cobbled wynds (paths), historical closes, intimate court yards and medieval architecture, while the newer presents a completely contrasting face of wide open avenues and crescents, and an orderly infrastructure to its imposing neo-classical grandeur.
These elegant streets play host to much of Edinburgh’s commercial and consumerist activities, and lying in their shadows, just a stone’s throw away, you will find a quiet and unassuming lane more reminiscent of its Old Town counterparts, its Georgian terraces muffling the nearby hustle and bustle.
And while Thistle Street’s grander neighbours bear regal street names such as George, Hanover, Queen and Princes, this narrow cobbled back street modestly invokes Scotland’s national flower – that prickly weed, the thistle. Twinned with nearby Rose Street, these two national emblems represent the Acts of Union, passed in 1707 by the parliaments of Scotland and England, in a pact of peace.
It’s beginnings may be steeped in history, but the wealth of treasures that Thistle Street safeguards are anything but antiquated. The thriving independent business that reside here are run by some of Scotland’s most forward-thinking entrepreneurs providing shoppers with a discerning yet understated retail experience.
First, there are several boutiques, including Jane Davidson and Pam Jenkins, both of which were recently named in British Vogue’s list of the best 40 British boutiques – the only boutiques in the whole of Scotland to make the cut.
Jane Davidson, has been a magnet to the city’s well-heeled since the 1960s, but it wasn’t until 2001, when Jane’s daughter Sarah took over the business, that it became the fashion mecca that it is today. Just across the road, shoe boutique Pam Jenkins, provides the perfect pit-stop to complete your outift with a snazzy pair of heels from designers such as Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo or Giuseppe Zanotti. But if you seek something more Scottish, it doesn’t get more traditional than a kilt, and at number 48 you will find the controversial and newsworthy 21st Century Kilts.
Since launching the company at London Fashion Week in 1999 with a collection of silver PVC snakeskin kilts, owner and master kilt-maker Howie Nicholsby’s mission has been to modernise Scotland’s traditional dress. He has experimented with different fabrics including leather and denim, and has earned himself many famous clients in the process, including Madonna and Robbie Williams.
When all that retail therapy brings on hunger pangs, you don’t have far to stagger under the weight of your shopping bags. Thistle Street is as varied in the culinary department as it is in the retail realm. A selection of restaurants offers a broad range of international cuisine. Among others, there’s French fine dining at Cafe St Honoré and Café Marlayne, what was Scotland’s first Mexican restaurant in the form of Tex Mex II, Dusit with it comtemporary Thai, and Fishers in the City, dishing up a comprehensive selection of fresh Scottish seafood, and named ‘Scotland’s Best Seafood Restaurant’ by national broadsheet The Scotsman.
Of course a visit to Scotland’s capital city wouldn’t be complete without sampling their most famous export – ‘the Water of Life’ – whisky. Thistle Street Bar, a typical Scottish pub, or what the Scots would refer to as a ‘local boozer’, is the perfect watering hole, with over 50 malt whiskies proudly displayed on it gantry. Here you will garner a glimpse of real local life, with its traditional dark wood features, real open fire, and collection of locals popping in for a ‘pie and a pint’. There are plenty of cosy corners in which to nurse your single malt, and even a small beer garden for those rarest of occasions – a sunny Scottish summer’s day.
Written by Marianne Rogerson
This article originally appeared in STORM magazine, Jan-Feb 2011 issue.