Edinburgh was formerly the royal capital of the kingdom of Scotland. The city lies in a narrow valley between two ranges of hills. Over it loom the walls of a castle perched on a towering crag. There is just a single road by which the castle can be reached. For the rest, a precipitous cliff overhangs the valley and buttresses of bare rock jut into it. The city's shops and houses fill the remaining space. A forest of church spires points heavenwards. Whitewashed houses and gleaming buildings of pale stone line the hillsides, following the contours of the land. The railway station lies in the valley bottom. On the northern slope of the valley are the [Princes Street] gardens, in which stands a lofty tower [the Sir Walter Scott monument] designed in a Scottish style. Before the memorial to Prince Albert was erected in Hyde Park, in London, to commemorate the Great Exhibition, this was built as a trial. It is a magnificent structure, finer indeed than the memorial in Hyde Park. Immediately opposite it is the Royal Hotel. The land on the south side of the valley consists of high hills, on which the ‘Old Town’ of Edinburgh stands, its houses crowded together in narrow streets. The very extensive ‘New Town’ spreads out among the hills on the north side. The hilly nature of the terrain does not prevent the use of horse-drawn vehicles.