Posts Tagged ‘Victoria Street’

Pigs in the city

Monday, July 15th, 2019

As Britain’s second most visited city after London, Edinburgh truly is a world class place to visit at any time of year.

Almost every inch of Scotland’s stunning capital city is a reminder of its fascinating history. Once you explore the narrow, cobbled alleys of the Old Town and the elegant crescents of the New Town, you’ll soon see why they’ve been jointly awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status. With so much to see and do, it can be hard to know where to start exploring. But we recommend a great place to start is the Royal Mile, home to the iconic Edinburgh Castle at one end and the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the Queen’s official residence in Scotland) at the other discover here. As you make your way along the Royal Mile, you’ll pass St Giles Cathedral, The Real Mary King’s Close underground tour and the amazing Scottish Parliament building.

There’s always something going on in Edinburgh but if you are interested in arts and culture then a visit to one of Edinburgh’s Festivals is an absolute must. Each August, people from all over the world flock to the city for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world and the iconic Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. And come December, if you are looking to celebrate the New Year in style then don’t miss the city’s spectacular Hogmanay celebrations.

And if you enjoy a little retail therapy, Edinburgh certainly won’t disappoint. Head to world famous Princes Street and George Street and for luxury brands look no further than Multrees Walk and Harvey Nichols in St Andrews Square.

After setting the scene like this we are very proud to be located in two of Edinburgh’s most famous and iconic streets and thought it would be fun to let you know some interesting facts about them and the vicinity.

VICTORIA STREET
Did you know that JK Rowling based magical shopping street Diagon Alley in Harry Potter on Victoria Street ?

The street is of course located in the Grassmarket, which was from 1477, one of Edinburgh’s main market places, a part of which was given over to the sale of horse and cattle (the name apparently deriving from livestock grazing in pens beyond its western end.

In 1803 William and Dorothy Wordsworth took rooms at the White Hart Inn, where the poet Robert Burns had stayed during his last visit to Edinburgh in 1791.

In his 1961 film Greyfriars Bobby, Walt Disney chose a lodging in the Grassmarket as the place where the Skye terrier’s owner dies (depicting him as a shepherd hoping to be hired at the market rather than the real-life dog’s owner, police night watchman John Gray.

CANONGATE
The Canongate is the lower section of the famous Royal Mile and ends at the Palace of Holyroodhouse which was built in 1501.  It was only incorporated into the city of Edinburgh in 1865 before that it was a separate burgh and had a history and culture all of its own.

Did you know that Bovril can trace its roots back to the Cannongate?  An early version of the drink was made by a Cannongate butcher John Johnstone who developed “Liquid Beer” by using spare beef and gelatine.  He emigrated to Canada and there further marketed his drink coming up with the name Bovril (from Bovis Latin name for a cow and the word Vril).

HANOVER STREET
Like many other streets in the New Town, Hanover Street was named in honour of the monarchs on the throne at the time of its construction.

The Hanoverian dynasty ruled Britain from 1714 to 1901, and George III was the reigning monarch at the time of Hanover Street’s construction in 1786.

After the First World War there were proposals to change the name to something less German-sounding, but they were unsuccessful and Hanover Street remained.

It’s a Wrap. Movie Locations in Edinburgh

Friday, April 1st, 2016

With our two great locations in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town in Victoria Street and the Canongate on the Royal Mile, the Oink team enjoy celebrity spotting particularly during the Edinburgh Festival but also benefit from being one of the prime locations for the many movies that are filmed in Edinburgh.  Recent movies filmed here have included One Day and Sunshine on Leith where key Edinburgh landmarks such as the Mound (scene of the song 500 miles) were showcased to a worldwide audience.  There is one film though that has been synonymous with Edinburgh for showing the darker side and that is Trainspotting and in the past few weeks the Oink team along with many in Edinburgh have been talking and spotting the filming taking place for the sequel likely to be called Porno (if it’s true to Irvine Welsh’s sequel book) which is due for release on the 27th January 2017.

All this movie talk got us thinking and we decided to take a look at what has been filmed at or near our two outlets.

Arthurs Seat
Edinburgh’s extinct volcano looks down on the city and particularly the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament (not forgetting our Oink Shop just up from the parliament on the Canongate) and is the scene of movies such as One Day, the 2004 version of Greyfriars Bobby, Battle of the Sexes starring Peter Seller and Chariots of Fire.

The Royal Mile
The Royal Mile linking Edinburgh Castle at the top to the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the bottom is a fabulous backdrop for films with the many closes going off the street and its rich history it is arguably a Directors dream location.  Films shot here include Cloud Atlas shot at the City Chambers where Frobisher (Ben Wishaw) escapes down a drainpipe leaving behind Sixsmith (James D’Arcy).  And in Parliament Square Emma, Dex and friends meet up after a long evening in One Day. It is also the Christmas Market scene in the 1996 film Jude.

The Grassmarket
This is the location for many movies and TV shows including Pramface, Complicity, Filth, Book of Blood, Outcast, Mausam and Taggart.  And an old movie but a classic is the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.  The Grassmarket is the scene in the film when Miss Jean Brodie (Maggie Smith) instructs her girls on Mary Queen of Scots and Mussolini two historical characters not often linked.

James McAvoy filming 'Filth' outside Oink on Victoria Street in Edinburgh

James McAvoy filming ‘Filth’ outside Oink on Victoria Street in Edinburgh

Victoria Street
Finally in Victoria Street we have seen quite a few films and TV filmed including James McAvoyy in Filth which was filmed just outside Oink allowing us to take the photo we have included in this article.  Other films shot here include One Day, Case Histories (which again gave viewers a clear shot of our Victoria Street Oink Shop) Driving Lessons starring Julie Walters and Cloud Atlas starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry.  Before our time but the 1986 Scottish Film Restless Natives was filmed here with a motorbike chase sequence right above Oink at Victoria Terrace.

We hope we have given you a flavour of some of the movies shot in Edinburgh.  If you would like more information VisitScotland in association with Film Edinburgh, This is Edinburgh and Transport Edinburgh have produced a Edinburgh Film Map so you can see Edinburgh through the lens of the Movie Camera as you travel around the city.

And if you do decide to do the Edinburgh Movie Trail and find yourself popping by our Canongate and Victoria Street Shops, then you have a great excuse to enjoy an Oink or a Grunter.  You might even spot a famous face while you are enjoying your roll.

Name our new Mascot

Thursday, May 7th, 2015

Thank you to all who have entered our recent competition on Facebook to name our new mascot which is in our Victoria Street shop.

and the winning name and runner ups are;

(1)    Notorious P.I.G
(2)    Truffles
(3)    Orwell

Oink Mascot, Victoria Street Shop

Oink Mascot in our Victoria Street Shop – can you spot it?

The winners were drawn at our team meeting on Monday the 11 May.

We would like to thank everyone for your suggestions, great names and the selection process will not be easy.

We have excluded no one and all names are in the running.  The competition really is just a bit of fun and other that using our Facebook account to ask for your suggestions, it has nothing to do with Facebook, nor are Facebook involved in anyway.

The winners will be contacted by private message, and here is the prizes that they will receive;

The winner will receive a Oink Hoodie and a voucher for a grunter
2nd prize, Oink T shirt and a Oink voucher
3rd prize Oink Hat and Piglet voucher

A Foodie Break In Edinburgh

Thursday, August 15th, 2013

We are delighted to be featured, along with other local businesses, in a piece in The HuffPost Lifestyle United Kingdom;

“In search of a late lunch, we head to Victoria Street and visit one of my favourite foodie spots in the world: Oink. This tiny sandwich bar offers fresh hog roast sandwiches from its own range of Scottish Border farms, and can be recognised from the fully-sized pig displayed roasting in its window each day. It’s a treat not to be missed, but make sure you get down early: when the roast is finished, the shop closes for the day.”

Thank you to Lauren Razavi

to read the article in full visit The HuffPost

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