Old photograph of Scots walking down Middle Meadow Walk in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Meadows originally contained a loch, known as the " burgh loch " or, later, the " South Loch ". It covered much of the area bounded in the east by Hope Park Terrace and in the west by the point where Melville Drive becomes Brougham Street, and in the south by Melville Drive and in the north by the site later occupied by the Old Royal Infirmary. It was partially drained in the mid-17th century and for a time named Straiton's Loch or Straiton's Park after the burgess who tried to improve the area. In 1722 Sir Thomas Hope, 8th Baronet Hope of Craighall, born 1681, died 1771, an agricultural improver and politician, ordered more drainage work, making the marshy land into a park with a path round the edge, hedges, avenues of lime trees, drainage canals and a summer house. The central tree lined path known as Middle Meadow Walk followed, and for several decades maps labelled this area as " The Meadows or Hope Park ". It is the traditional practice ground of the Royal Company of Archers, whose meeting place is nearby. In 1827 an Act of Parliament protected the Meadows from being built upon.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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