NUMBER 853

BENCHMARKS continued

M.C. has a lot of experience of being confronted with odd looks from passers-by, and even members of the Garda, when involved in his benchmark hunting duty. Their impression seems to be that anyone going about studying the base of a wall must be a bit soft in the head. Michael Byrne got a lesson in this particular aspect of benchmark hunting in Edinburgh recently. Michael writes “This 'mark would have escaped capture except that some passing mongrel obligingly highlighted it making it so much easier to spot. There is a very valuable lesson to be learned here too, for all Benchmark Hunters who leave home without their chalk. While hunched down taking the initial photo, I agonised over running after the guy who passed by, to fully explain what I was up to, as I know he thinks he has just seen a completely mental tourist taking photos of a dog pee.

It is located on the corner of Warrender Park Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, at it's junction with Whitehouse Loan Junction. (as well as the usual terms like Road, Park, Avenue etc, they have additional ones like Loan and Wynd to name a few).”

Below: A 'mark on Warrender Park Road in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

Above: Looking east down Warrender Park Road, at it's junction with Whitehouse Loan. The 'mark is "highlighted" at bottom right.

 

NUMBER 852

BENCHMARKS continued

Number 8, in the haul from Edinburgh provided by Michael Byrne, is located on the left hand roadside corner of the very grandly named "Barclay Viewforth Church of Scotland" on Bruntsfield Place. Edinburgh is awash with old churches and kirks of every denomination, with many of them no longer used for worship, but fully recycled as commercial premises, while maintaining their imposing exteriors. This one is still in the hands of the faithful however.

Below: A 'mark on Barclay Viewforth Church of Scotland, on Bruntsfield Place in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

 Above: Looking SW on Bruntsfield Place, across the roadside face of the church. The 'mark is at bottom left.

NUMBER 851

BENCHMARKS continued

This one from Michael Byrne is also on Comiston Road, Edinburgh. It's on the base of a pillar at it's junction with Comiston Drive.

Below: A 'mark on Coniston Road in Edinburgh in Scotland.

 

Above: Looking south along Comiston Road, Edinburgh with the 'mark visible at bottom right. 

NUMBER 850

BENCHMARKS continued

This is the sixth in the series from Edinburgh from Michael Byrne. It's on the corner of Young Street at it's junction with North Castle Street. Michael had to resort to flash to capture it, given the very late hour it was spotted.

Below: A 'mark on Young Street, Edinburgh in Scotland.

 

Above: Looking west up Young Street. With apologies from Michael for the very poor quality of this location photo, taken using flash, on an extremely windy night, (which fully accounts for the blur) on the way home from the pub. The 'mark is visible on the edge of the second corner stone up.

NUMBER 849

BENCHMARKS continued

This one in Edinburgh from Michael Byrne is a beauty. He writes “it's virtually impossible to miss, given it's size, quality of cut and being almost highlighted against the blackened stone railing plinth. It's on Comiston Road in Edinburgh. Included is the shadow of the moment of capture!”

Below: A 'mark on Comiston Road in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

 Above: Looking north along Comiston Road, Edinburgh, with the 'mark very obvious on the right.

NUMBER 848

BENCHMARKS continued

Michael Byrne found this 'mark on the railway bridge on Morningside Road in Edinburgh.

Below: A 'mark on the railway bridge on Morningside Road in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

 Above: Looking north on Morningside Road with the 'mark at right.

NUMBER 847

BENCHMARKS continued

The third one from Michael Byrne's incredible benchmark adventure in Edinburgh is on the left hand gable wall of the Gatehouse to Doddingston Kirk, founded in the 12th century. The Gatehouse was built when it became necessary to protect each fresh internment from grave-robbers, plying a very lucrative trade in supplying the Anatomy Schools with fresh corpses. The infamous pair Burke and Hare of Edinburgh got around such security measures by resorting to murders (1828). Nearby, the Sheep's Heid Inn, dating back to 1360, was also checked for 'marks of course.

Below: A 'mark on the Gatehouse to Doddingston Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

Above: The Gatehouse with the Kirk visible through the gates. The 'mark is visible on the bottom right hand corner of the facing gable wall.