Royal Society of Chemistry Discussion Group Meetings

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and is located in the south east of the country. It is probably best known for the annual Edinburgh Festival which is held for four weeks from the beginning of August. The Festival, along with other events throughout the year has made Edinburgh one of the cultural centres of the world.

Edinburgh is comprised of the Old Town in the south and the New Town in the North. The Old Town is overlooked by Arthur`s Seat, right in the middle of Holyrood Park. Here also is Holyrood House, the residence of the Queen when she stays in Edinburgh. Next door is the Scottish Parliament which was re-convened after a brief hiatus from 1707-1997. The Royal Mile connects Holyrood and the Parliament to Edinburgh Castle, which stands on the tip on an extinct volcano right in the middle of the city.

The New Town was built in stages between 1765 and 1850. Here you find Edinburgh`s most famous street, Princes Street which has many high street brands including the Edinburgh institution of Jenners which has been trading in the current location since 1838. There are no shops on the south side of the street which instead is a viewpoint to the Old Town, Edinburgh castle and the former Nor Loch, now Princes Street Gardens.

The University of Edinburgh was established in the city in 1582 and is one of the Ancient Universities of Britain. The main part of the University is a number of buildings in the Old Town, including Pollock Halls, where conference delegates will be staying - right on the edge of Holyrood Park, the Queen`s back garden. If you are very lucky, you may get a view from your room onto Arthur`s Seat and Salisbury Crags! The conference dinner will also be held at Pollock, in the South Hall. The main conference business will be held in the School of Chemistry at King`s Buildings which was the first building to be built when all science units were moved to the site in the 1920s. King`s buildings is some 2 miles from Pollock Halls but public transport is easily obtainable and the walk between the two is an extremely pleasant morning constitutional on a nice day!