I love the history that lies within a cemetery and here you will find the likes of Thomas Guthrie,…read moreThomas Chalmers, Robert Douglas Norman who died in the Titanic disaster, a mother and daughter who was poisoned and other fascinating burials including an Egyptian themed burial which is beautiful. As you enter you will find a little booklet that you can help yourself to, telling you of notable burials to look out for which is handy but you can find much more information online. It's a fascinating peaceful place to take a stroll. I love it. I think it's my favourite after Dean Cemetery.

Umm, I feel kind of strange and morbid reviewing a cemetery, so I'd better make one thing clear…read morefrom the start: I'm not reviewing it as a potential final resting place, or suggesting you invest in a plot here. I just think it's quite a nice place to take a walk on a sunny day, just like taking a walk in the park, except that, obviously, it's full of dead people. In my opinion, that actually makes a walk more interesting. Just from a social history point of view, it can be fascinating to study what's written on the grave stones, and sometimes you can reconstruct family sagas stretching across multiple generations from the information contained there. Poignant and tragic events, such as the loss of a child or the first world war, can be gleaned from the terse inscriptions, while the variety of monuments, from simple plinths to elaborate phallic edifices, tell a story of social status and the ostentatious expression of wealth. Even though this graveyard isn't particularly ancient, there's sill a lot of history contained here. Beware though - the gates are locked in the early evening, and I'm not sure that it would be much fun to get shut in and be forced to spend an evening with the ghosts and ghoulies.

I have recently lost my mum and I was recommended to the Liberton branch of Scotmid Funeral…read moreDirector's on Liberton Brae as I was told the chap who runs it is First class at his job. I cannot thank my friend enough for recommending this chap and company. I don't know if I'm allowed to say his name but I will anyway. His name was Kevin Buckley and from my first contact with him on the telephone until after the funeral he was the nicest most professional person I have ever come across in my entire life. He has a natural caring manner and made myself and my family feel at ease and he looked after us so well. He treated my late mum with the utmost of respect when she was in his branch when we came to see her for the last time and I will never forget what he did for us. He is a credit to this company and I thoroughly recommend anyone who has lost someone to contact him and he will look after them so well. The staff at the funeral were excellent too and gave my mum the send off she deserved. Thank you Scotmid and in particular Kevin!

a service you can trust. do try to exploit you when you are at your most vulnerable. older people…read moreworried about burdening their children with funeral costs can take out bonds in advance. a top notch service. one every generation of my family has used

The memorial plate is placed next to the entrance of the Deaconess hospital. Lady Grisel Baillie is…read morea local folklore heroine whose name is associated with a couple of artistic and religious events. Firstly, she was a song writer - the most popular song is 'And werena my heart licht I wad dee', Lady Grisel lived in the stormy 17th century and due to her kind heart and brave deeds (she concealed the covenanters, among them her own father) and for doing so she was proclaimed the first deaconess of the church of Scotland.

Why on earth am I reviewing a cemetery, you might ask? And it's a fair question, but this isn't a…read morerun-of-the-mill cemetery; in fact, it's not even open for burials any longer. Without wanting to sound callous or macabre, the history and heritage surrounding this place makes it more of a local interest site. Not only is it one of the oldest cemeteries in the city, dating back to the Black Death, it's also where the majority of the city's World War One and World War Two heroes are buried. In fact, during The Plague this cemetery was the only place where it wa not only acceptable but in fact encouraged to spit on the ground, as it was believed that this was the most effective way of preventing the infected air surrounding the mass graves of Plague victims from infecting you. Still, that's where the tourist attraction value of this place ends; it is a cemetery at the end of the day. But given its age, if you're trying to trace your family tree in Edinburgh then this may well be a good place to include in your search.