The name “Isle of the Vicars” hints at a history richer than Inchmickery’s current stark landscape might suggest. Just a stone’s throw from Edinburgh, this tiny island, barely larger than a city block, holds secrets whispered on the wind. Inchmickery wasn’t always a silent sentinel. Its Gaelic name, Innis nam Biocaire, implies a time bustling with religious life, perhaps echoing the Culdee settlement on nearby Inchcolm. Imagine monks traversing the island, their chants swallowed by the cries of seabirds. That peaceful existence was shattered by the world wars. Inchmickery, deemed strategically vital, transformed into a fortress of concrete and steel. Gun emplacements, deliberately designed to resemble a battleship, bristled from its surface, guarding the approaches to the Firth of Forth. Today, the echoes of war have faded. Inchmickery belongs to the birds once more. Designated an RSPB reserve, it’s a haven for common eider, sandwich terns, and gulls, their cries the only reminder of the island’s tumultuous past.
Duke Street United Reformed Church
Hidden within the bustling streets of Leith, Duke Street United Reformed Church has witnessed over 150 years of Edinburgh’s history.