The Song Rising Locations In Edinburgh

On Tuesday 7th March I was lucky enough to be able to attend the launch party for The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon. Samantha does an amazing job of bringing the city to life in the book, so while I was there, I thought I'd take some pictures of the locations featured in the book!


Locations from Chapter 15: The Grand Smoke

'Mist laced around the old stone buildings...Edinburgh was sometimes called the Grand Smoke, and now I knew why: there were chimneys everywhere,' (p.214)

You can also see the hills where Paige and Warden hike in the background.


'On the ledge of volcanic rock, a decaying fortress knelt on the skyline of the citadel.' (p.214
(The castle is looking pretty damn good for its age, so you just have to imagine the decay and crumbliness)

(I actually forgot to take a pic of the castle, and the one I took last time is pretty dark so I stole the one above from Google so you can see it better)

'The safe house was in an alleyway halfway up..."Anchor Close? Is this a joke?"' (p.215)

Chapter 16: The Vaults

'I could appreciate the beauty of the Old Town, It's buildings were beautiful and motley, with spires and rooftops that clambered skyward' (p.224)

'The steps led us up to the Grand Mile...Beneath our feet were broad, piebald cobblestones,' (p.225)

The Grand Mile is actually called the Royal Mile in real life. But in the world of The Bone Season, there isn't a monarchy anymore, so it was probably renamed by Scion. 

(also stolen from google)

'"The South Bridge Vaults," he said. "Sometimes known as the Edinburgh Vaults."' (p.226)

The Song Rising launch was actually hosted in some of the vaults. It was such an atmospheric space. However, I don't think i'd like to be alone in there...Edinburgh has mannnnyyy ghost stories. 

I found this picture of what the vaults look like under the South Bridge.

If you visit Edinburgh, you can take a tour of the Vaults. Auld Reekie Tours uses this picture on their website.

Chapter 18- Vigil

'We were making for the hills behind Haliruid House- once a royal palace,' (p.252)

Haliruid House is names Holyrood House in real life and is a place the Queen stays when she visits Scotland. Many Kings and Queens have stayed in the palace including Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots. 

'The park and grounds of Haliruid House was thick with pine trees. We hiked around them and up the rough-hewn hills, belted by a bitter wind.' (p.252)

The hills around Holyrood House are called the Salisbury Crags.

'We made camp below an overhang.' (p.252) 

Chapter 19- Offering

'At the edge of the park, I skidded to a stop, unable to believe what I was seeing. A multitude of people had amassed before the gates of Haliruid House- hundreds of them, gathered around a fountain on the enormous driveway,' (p.264)

You can see Holyrood behind me here (The big grey building) 

'Others were climbing on to the Gothic monument on the street to get out of the crush,' (p.267)

THIS BIT. 

IT KILLS ME. EVERY. TIME. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! 

Have you been to Edinburgh? Did you think The Song Rising captured it well? Has TSR made you want to visit (without the threat of Scion)?

Bonus picture of me just pretending I was the badass that is Paige Mahoney. ;)