Manchester/Scotland 2025 - Edinburgh Old Town Royal Mile Walk (3/5 - Riddle's Close)

Along the Royal Miles, at both sides of the streets, are these alley ways called a Close. Most leads into residential places, courtyard, or different side of town. It was fun looking at all of them. One caught my eye, which was Riddle's Close. I've read about it before my trip, and I knew I could walk in to it. 

It was almost like a tourist attraction, and it was so cool to see the walkway in, like a little covered alley. 

There were proper information found on the walls outside, as well as along the alley way leading into the courtyard. Here was a placed that the philosopher David Hume used to lived at. Again, I was aware of Hume and his writings, but I wasn't aware that he was Scottish, lol. 

Walking in, there is a small courtyard inside, and you could imagine how it would have looked like in the olden days where people used to live here. I love that it was a bright orange! This was the more modern looking part of the building.

Here is a more older looking part, the part that could fit into a classical tale of the old world, with small doors and small windows, and maybe a chimney. The internal was also yellowish orange in colour.

There was also a kind of center located here which we did not enter. It was still our first day in Scotland, so I wasn't sure what was allowed to wander in, and what wasn't. I was just happy to be standing at the courtyard soaking in the history of the place.

And as we made our way out, I slowed down to read the writings on the wall found here. It tells of all the famous people, mainly philosophers and writers I guess, who have once lived here. I didn't know most of them. I only knew David Hume. But it was still interesting to read about them and their thoughts about things. 

Some writing from David Hume himself. I believe he was known as the first atheist at that time, that even during his deathbed, he held true to his belief. I guess that was something very rare in the Christian world at that time. 

Here is a saying to live by, in Latin "By Living We Learn". As we live, there is so much in the world for us to learn from and experience. So I thought that was a great saying to live by. Sometimes I feel that humans work and work, held down by responsibility, by earning money, and doom strolling on their phones that life just passes them by. They do not reflect, they are not curious. They just breath, and live, staying at the same place they were born, never wondering, never asking, never pondering. I wonder, is that a life worth living?