Princes Street Gardens with Edinburgh Castle in the background by @pandeyrr 🍂 Princes Street Gardens were created in 1820 following the draining of the Nor Loch. This loch, which was first a marshland on the north side of Edinburgh, had initially been used as a natural medieval defence along with Edinburgh Castle. With the north and west parts of the town protected, Edinburgh only needed a fortification on the east and south side of the city. From the Middle Ages until the 19th century, it is believed that the Nor Loch was used to determine whether a suspect was guilty of witchcraft. A simple ‘dooking’ test was devised and if after you failed to perish by drowning, you were deemed without question to be guilty of witchery and would then be tried on the stake at Castlehill. Today Princes Street separates the Old Town from the New Town and remains one of the most important urban parks. Over the years the gardens have also become the focal point for both celebrations and commemorations, and are home to a fine collection of memorials and statues. These include: the Scott Monument; the Scots American War Memorial; the Scots Greys Memorial; the Spanish Civil War Memorial and the Black Watch Memorial to name a few.