Edinburgh

Scott Monument

The 61.5m/200ft Scott Monument, which is located in the eastern section of Princes Street Gardens of Edinburgh, was erected in memory of the writer Sir Walter Scott. The monument was built from 1840-44 to a design by George Meikle Kemp, which he based on Melrose Abbey. Unfortunately Kemp drowned in the Union Canal about 7 months before the monument was completed.

The monument is just over 200ft high with 287 steps leading to the top, which offers stunning views of the surrounding area. There are 64 statuettes in the monument representing characters from Scott's Waverley novels - 8 of these were in place when the monument was finished; a further 24 were added in 1871; and the final 32 were in place by 1882.

The statue under the archway at the bottom was unveiled in 1846 and shows Scott with his dog Maida.

A recent project to replace some of the eroded, blackened stonework with new sandstone has given the monument a mottled appearance. The Binny Quarry in Uphall, West Lothian supplied the sandstone when the monument was first built – it was re-opened for the restoration, which took place in 1998-9.

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