Princes Street Gardens are two adjacent public parks in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and building of the New Town, beginning in the 1760s.
East Princes Street Gardens in 2005, looking north-east from The Mound, showing the Scott Monument (l), Balmoral Hotel (c) and Waverley Station (r) with the North Bridge behind it
Glasgow-bound train about to enter the Haymarket Tunnel
East Princes St Gardens
Princes Street and the gardens in 2010
The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a man-made loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens and Waverley station which lie between the Royal Mile and Princes Street.
Edinburgh Castle with the Nor Loch in the foreground, c. 1690. Part of an engraving by John Slezer
Site of the Nor Loch after draining, c. 1781
East Princes Street Gardens in 2005