Old Town, Edinburgh

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Area:
Population: 20,000
Climate:
Edinburgh has a mild climate. Its proximity to the sea mitigates temperature extremes. Winters are relatively warm, with average daily
minimum temperatures remaining above freezing, while summers are comparatively cool, with temperatures seldom rising much
above 70 °F (21 °C). Annual precipitation is moderate, averaging 27 inches (685 mm), and is evenly distributed throughout the year.
Edinburgh lacks prolonged sunshine: on average it annually receives less than one-third of the possible sunshine for its latitude. But its
ever-changing cloudscape partly compensates for this.
Topography
• The topography for the city is known as "crag and tail" and was created
during the ice age when receding glaciers scored across the land pushing
soft soil aside but being split by harder crags of volcaninc rock.
• The hilltop crag was the earliest part of the city to develop, becoming
fortified and eventually developing into the current Edinburgh Castle. The
rest of the city grew slowly down the tail of land from the Castle Rock.
• This was an easily defended spot with marshland on the south and a loch,
the Nor Loch, on the north. Access up the main road to the settlement
therefore was restricted by means of various gates and a City Wall (now
mostly gone).