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One step at a time

I was in Edinburgh recently.  I had to get from Waverley Station to the Museum of Scotland and decided to go up the Scotsman Steps, which I hadn't used for many years.  I was a bit dubious about taking this route because the last time I climbed the steps, which bring you out on North Bridge by the Scotsman Hotel, the enclosed staircase was clearly being used by a rather unsavoury collection of people who thought it was some kind of public loo.  Not nice.  Imagine my surprise, and relief, to find that the more enclosed spaces were not unpleasant and furthermore the steps themselves looked rather more interesting than the last time I climbed them.
As recently as 2011 the steps were re-laid using a variety of 104 different marbles.  The colours were beautiful.
 The step below is my favourite.
The swirl in the blue and green step below looks a bit like Hokusai's woodcut image The Great Wave off Kanagawa - at a stretch!
The next step reminds me of a cave painting.
If you are visiting Edinburgh and want to make your way to the Royal Mile from Waverley Station, the steps are definitely a route worth taking.

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