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Warriston Close - The North Gate

As Lana stood on her street corner, Tyler walked down the long stairway of Warriston Close, drawing shakily on a cigarette. He was still simmering and trying to fight off the urge to tell the whole damn Pantheon to go fuck itself. His groin hurt and his arm protested, but it was his sense of purpose that was truly undermined. As he emerged near the junction with Market Street, another set of footsteps fell in beside him. “How’re you doing?”

 

It was Thrall II. Tyler looked over both shoulders. “We shouldn’t be speaking.”

Warriston Close is the most direct route from Cockburn Street to the Royal Mile, but it makes you stop at the bottom, stare up the endless steps and think "maybe there's an easier way". It is a place of heavy breathing and perspiration, and the most graphic reminder that the Mile sits high on its ancient hill crest.

Turn the corner at the top and you'll find the entrance to one of Edinburgh's main tourist attractions - The Real Mary King's Close. 

But who cares about that? The real magic goes on behind a much more ignored doorway. Next time you climb those steps, raise your eyes to the old lamp at the very top and notice how it casts its light over another entrance.

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