As the snow falls in Edinburgh today, we're reminded of this painting of the old Dunbar's Close, which once ran off the Lawnmarket in the Old Town. Jane Stewart Smith, Dunbar's Close, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh. (1868) © City Art Centre. Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

One of my photos of a frozen Ross Fountain in January 2024.

It's officially cold enough to behold our favourite winter scene in Edinburgh: a frozen Ross Fountain! 🧊 Photo: @tomduffinphotos.bsky.social

Fascinating article from Richard Roger and Cliff Hague explaining Edinburgh's transition from "hole-y city" to World Heritage Site🏗️ www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Happy holidays! Thank you to all our friends, event-attendees, colleagues and partners for your support of our work preserving, protecting and promoting the Old and New Towns World Heritage Site. Our office will be closed until Monday 5 January 2026. See you in the New Year!

1/ Leaning into the festive period, here's a few scenes of Edinburgh at Christmas during the 50s-70s: Christmas Tree at Mound - Lights switched on - General View - As children sing Christmas carols. 6th January 1959 (publication date) The Scotsman Publications Ltd.

An early present from us: this walking tour of new tales from the Old Town, first published in 2006 for Architecture Week (nearly 20 years ago!) The walk features some contemporary favourites, including @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social, @byleaveswelive.bsky.social and @scotstorycentre.bsky.social

We have a festive gift to share: our short guide to sash and case windows through the seasons! It is full of tips on how to ventilate, enhance comfort, and reduce energy use through good management and maintenance. Read more here: ewh.org.uk/timber-sash-... Photo: @tomduffinphotos.bsky.social

We're teaming up with @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social and Historic Environment Scotland to put on a photography competition, celebrating 30 years of the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more about it here: ewh.org.uk/photography-...

Our tram consultation closes this Monday (17 November). Visit our consultation hub to read the proposals and have your say: consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/tram-nor...

1/ Our Conservation Funding Programme grants were open for the month of October. Now they’re closed, our Conservation Team are sifting through applications and excitement is growing for future projects! More updates to come soon, but for now, here’s a reminder of some projects past:

You simply don't get a sense of the hidden architecture lurking beneath Edinburgh's South Bridge from street level until you look at the cross-sectional view. retrospectjournal.com/2024/11/10/a...

Edinburgh World Heritage continues to support the expansion of the tram network in Edinburgh. However, we have concerns about the impacts of the proposed tram route on major heritage structures within the World Heritage Site - in particular, South Bridge. Read our comment: ewh.org.uk/our-comments...

Edinburgh Poppies - in WW1 Scotland lost 1 in 10 males aged 16-55 with 147,000 souls giving their lives. Every man & woman's name is inscribed in Rolls of Honour in a Casket on marble plinth in the Shrine at the Scottish National War Memorial inside Edinburgh Castle. Their name liveth for evermore.

🔥 Bonfire in the Grassmarket, 1952. Not for the 5th of November, but for Victoria Day, Edinburgh's discretionary local public holiday, traditionally held on the last Monday in May on or before her birthday on the 24th.

Over five centuries ago, Edinburgh saw its very first fireworks display. In 1507, James IV – an explosives enthusiast – staged the city’s earliest recorded fireworks on what is now King’s Stables Road. 📸 @tomduffinphotos.bsky.social

🔴 The memorial will be the first dedicated to a woman in Princes Street Gardens www.scotsman.com/arts-and-cul...

As the leaves continue to fall, now would be a good time to revisit our building maintenance checklist for autumn! Inspections, clear-ups and repairs can make all the difference to historic buildings, bolstering their resilience for the coming winter.

It's nearly been thirty years since the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh were added to @unesco.org 's World Heritage List 🎈 Check out Historic Environment Scotland’s blog to explore the photographs that won the site its World Heritage status - blog.historicenvironment.scot/2025/11/edin...

Calton Hill FIREWORK CONTROL ZONE (FCZ) came into operation on 31 October 2025 & will continue until 9 November. CHCT appreciate the clear signage from @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social. We hope the FCZ will ensure less litter, environmental damage, noise pollution & anti-social behaviour, as in 2024.

"Legacies in Stone: Connecting Communities with Historic Graveyards." Our heritage sector colleagues @edinburghwh.bsky.social have successfully secured funding from the Heritage Fund for a three year project to assist Scottish voluntary groups looking after graveyards. 👇 ewh.org.uk/legacies-in-...

🧵 1/ Halloween feels like an appropriate moment to think about “Momento Mori” – symbolic “reminders that we will die” – found across Edinburgh’s historic graveyards. Here's a few of our favourites.

👻 We’ve got some scarily good news to lift your spirits this Halloween! 🎃 We've won funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for Legacies in Stone: Connecting Communities with Historic Graveyards. More info on the project, volunteering opportunities and more - ewh.org.uk/legacies-in-...

Our Conservation Funding Grants are open for 2 more days, so now is your last chance to apply for support with major repairs or historic shopfront improvements. More info here: ewh.org.uk/the-unesco-w...

On #InternationalAnimationDay, we're thinking about The Illusionist (2010) - a hand-drawn animation set mostly in Edinburgh, and described by director Sylvain Chomet as a "love letter to the city" 💌 Look out for the Cameo Cinema in the clip below!

Today marks the beginning of #HeritageCareersWeek – a national week of activity to raise awareness of careers in the historic environment sector and tackle misconceptions. Keep an eye on our channels for staff career stories, job-search tips and more 📷

Today is United Nations Day, marking 80 years since the United Nations was created to promote peace, human rights, social progress and sustainable development across the world. UNESCO, the specialised agency accountable for international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture

As part of Heritage Careers Week, Historic Environment Scotland is holding a free Heritage Careers Fair in Edinburgh Castle next Monday 27 October. Sign up here, and share with any young people curious about careers in heritage - www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/discover-h...

1/ Happy World Food Day! On this day, we’re encouraged to think about food security and sustainability to commemorate the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in 1945.

#OnThisDay Robert Fergusson died at the age of 24 in Edinburgh. A life-size, street-level statue of the Fergusson can be found outside Canongate Kirkyard, where the poet is buried. His most famous work is “Auld Reekie” which presents a snapshot of life in Edinburgh in his time.

Our Head of Climate Change, Yann Grandgirard will be speaking at HeriTACE's online event "From Case-by-Case to Scalable Solutions: Typology Approaches in Historical Building Renovation" tomorrow! Secure your spot below: heritace.eu/news-HeriTAC...

From 2016-18, we helped Stewart Christie & Co Ltd restore their shopfront to its original 1851 design - swipe to see the final product! Applications for our Historic Shopfront Improvement grants are open for another 3 weeks - more info here ewh.org.uk/the-unesco-w...

The southwest façade of North Bridge is on show again! We can now see the expert hand finished details in all their glory. Work is continuing to ensure that this unique piece of Edinburgh's history is preserved for future generations.

A satisfying before and after of our interpretation panels at New Calton Burial Ground 🪦 Thank you to the fantastic Bereavement Services team at @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social for the clean-up! 🧼

Happy World Architecture Day! Edinburgh's centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site almost 30 years ago, for its authentically preserved examples of town planning in the Medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town. Here's some of our favourite buildings in the site, what's yours?

Storm Amy arrives in Edinburgh today – here’s some guidance on what to watch out for around historic buildings. More guidance is available from @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social www.edinburgh.gov.uk/shared-repai...

For the month of October, our Conservation Funding Programme is open to applications. Don’t miss this opportunity to restore your historic home or business. Find out more at ewh.org.uk/the-unesco-w...

We welcome @leftwing66.bsky.social's motion for tomorrow’s full @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social meeting, where she spotlights the newly developed World Heritage Site Management Plan, and recommends the development of a more expansive Heritage Strategy. We hope it will generate positive support! 🏛️

Thank you @gmacdonaldsnp.bsky.social for shouting out Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival in Parliament yesterday! Read the full motion here: www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-...

Fascinating article on Ebenezer James MacRae, a City Architect responsible for shaping the Edinburgh we know today. blog.historicenvironment.scot/2025/07/eben...

🧵 1/ Next week we open our doors for the Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival! It is completely *free* to attend, and we still have a few tickets left for the following events: Tuesday 19 August Roof Slating demo by Compass Roofing

🧵 1/ We commend the @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social for confronting its legacy with race and slavery. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

August is approaching, which means the return of the everyone’s favourite festival: the Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival 🛠️ Explore the full free line-up here: ewh.org.uk/edinburgh-tr...

🧵 1/ We have some exciting news: Terry Levinthal has been appointed as Director of Edinburgh World Heritage!

You have just over a week to apply to be the new member of our innovative Climate Change team!

2/2 Deadline: midday on Friday 25 July 2025 Salary: £35,020 Contract: Fixed Term until 31 March 2026 (with the possibility of extension) Read the full job description here: ewh.org.uk/public-realm...

1/2 New job alert! Edinburgh World Heritage is looking for a skilled project manager with experience in architectural conservation to manage and process our grant-aided partnership projects. 📸 Tom Duffin