Doors of Edinburgh.
It’s been a while since I’ve participated in a Thursday Doors post.
Don’t know what Thursday Doors is? It’s a place where door lovers of the world come together to share photos of, what else…. doors. It’s hosted by Norm 2.0 and you can check out other doors here. After checking out Norm’s fabulous doors, scroll down to the blue link to check out all the others.
In my past, I never was a door lover. I might see a nice one and admire it, but I never sought them out. I shared in this post how stumbling upon Thursday Doors changed the way that I view the everyday world.
Even though I don’t participate in many challenges, I do love how they tend to make me stop and think.
To take notice of something.
To think differently.
I think 99 times and I find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me. -Albert Einstein.
That’s why when I was catching up on blog reading and saw that Nikki at Flying Through Water was starting her first creative prompt and theme was RELAX, I knew that I’d have to join in.
I am not very good at relaxing.
I often like to relax with a good book or walking along the shore of the ocean.
But today, a stroll through some beautiful doors of Edinburgh, Scotland changes my focus and relaxes my soul.
I shared in last week’s Friday Faves about the Bedlam Theatre whose door is shown above.
Your calm mind is the ultimate weapon against your challenges. So relax. -Bryant McGill
As promised, here is the building in all its neo-gothic glory. Bedlam is a fully operational 90-seat theatre in the heart of Edinburgh. It is both a listed building and a historical landmark.
Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. – Chinese Proverb
The door above I spied from across the street.
I loved the symmetry of the lampposts and the rounded double doors with the rounded window above. I didn’t want to cross the street and thought the interesting paint job with its blacks and silvers of the car complemented the building.
It wasn’t until I was processing the photo that I noticed there was a sign indicating the nature of the building.
This is the door to St. Mark’s Unitarian Church.
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…including you. -Anne Lamott
Door searching has become such a part of my life that both my aunt and mother would point them out saying “Ooh Amy, here’s a good door”. So now they notice doors as well!
The door above was near Edinburgh Castle.
It is St. Columba’s by the Castle. An Episcopal church that describes itself as a progressive congregation worshipping in a mid-19th century Victorian church located just off the Royal Mile in the center of Edinburgh’s Old town.
Things become complicated only when we think about them. -Alan Watts
On the door above, I didn’t write down its location. Given that the photo is sandwiched between St. Columba’s and the photo below, I think that it was a side door to the building shown below.
Live your life by a compass, not a clock – Stephen Covey
This building is The Hub.
The building was originally built between 1842 and 1845, as the Victoria Hall, to house the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. It was created by architects James Gillespie Graham and Augustus Welby Pugin.
In 1999, the building underwent a transformation to create offices and performance space for the Edinburgh International Festival.
As well as having the Cafe, there is also space for weddings and many other types of events.
I stumbled across one of my favorite doors on a drizzly day out in Edinburgh.
We had purchased our pulled pork sandwiches at Oink on Victoria Street. The shop was crowded so we decided to head down to the Grassmarket to find a place to sit. We ended up ducking into what we thought was just a close (an alley), but really was a roadway that was to a gated section of George Heriot’s School. The school is speculated to be the inspiration for Hogwarts due to its architectural style. Another fact of the school is that the pupils at the school belong to one of four houses: Lauriston, Greyfriars, Raeburn, and Castle.
Curious…
You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens. -Many Hale
We moved out of the close and down to catch the sightseeing bus that we had a 48-hour ticket on. While tasting a piece of my aunt’s scone, I spied this door across the street.
41 Grassmarket.
The door itself isn’t quite that spectacular, but the windows and potted flowers draw your eye in and create a tranquil scene.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little stroll along some doorways that I found while meandering along the streets of Edinburgh
I hope that you find moments to enjoy the little things and notice them with a new set of eyes.
Eyes that seek the beauty to be found everywhere.
If we only pause.
Let your light shine!
Amy
Those doors really pop. Did you enhance them?
I did edit these photos, but the doors did pop, which is why they caught my eye. 🙂
Nice effect.
Thank you.
When I saw them, I thought the same!
Such amazing old buildings. And that there is a door themed day for door lovers to gather and share their photos is amazing. I, too, love doors, and windows–especially old windows. They can both be used for so many creative DIY projects. My mom for example had a coffee table made out of an old door. But it never occurred to me to take photos of doors specifically. Brilliant. I really enjoyed this post. 🙂 Thank you for this; it was inspiring.
Thank you. I have seen quite a few amazing DIY projects with doors and windows. Doors and windows on old buildings tend to be quite amazing. 🙂
I agree with you that challenges make one take notice. Great doors here!
Thank you Susi. Those challenges are definitely a great thing for noticing or thinking about things you wouldn’t normally.
I saw that theater when we visited our daughter in Edinburgh a couple of years ago. It’s fabulous. I love the rest of your photos, Edinburgh is so beautiful, I can’t wait for my next trip over.
Thank you Jean. I thoroughly enjoyed Edinburgh. And to find a door (and a beautiful one at that) with the word “Bedlam” was icing on the cake. 🙂
At first I didn’t know if you had photo-shopped that but then I saw it was the Bedlam Theater. Nice one!
Oh wow. That was so much pretty and special all at once! I feel like it was a door dream 🙂
Love the red with gold hardware, looks like cobwebs — Whoa! of course, the steeple on that one, too!
And a blue Unitarian door, be still my heart. Plus Bedlam, already a fan. Phenomenal doors, Amy.
I am doing better at relaxing, but I believe I still have room for improvement. I hope we are given many years to perfect it.
Thanks Joey.
The gold hardware was impressive. Quite often when I would pass, the doors would be open so I was glad to capture them closed.
When I discovered that I had captured the door of a Unitarian Church, I thought “ooohhh, Joey will like this.” 🙂 I feel so special to have discovered a door that says “Bedlam”!
I have my ups and downs with learning to relax, but I also hope I have many years to perfect it!
Hoped you would take some shots of doors in Europe! This is outta this world! With the first church I have never seen these two bay “things” (towers, or what you call it?) above the red door. But love the blue door also very much! Adjusting back to life in the USA?
I am adjusting to life back in the USA :). It was so wonderful to get to see so many new and beautiful things. I’m not sure that I’ve seen those tower on a church either. The doors there were quite spectacular!
The doors I encounter daily are really boring compared to these.
Most doors I encounter are quite plain. I was excited to find these among my travels. 🙂
Such beautiful doors, I love the flower windows also! So cute.
Thank you. I think those flower windows really set off that scene! 🙂
Old World doors have so much pomp and ceremony about them and these ones are no exception. Add in the brilliant red and that regal blue … they are truly stunning.
#41 gets my nod as the favourite though. It’s the aligned windows, the window boxes, the arched entrance leading to alley beyond … and the tiny pirate flag in the upper window 🙂
Great photos!!
Thank you Joanne.
I do love Old World doors. The architecture surrounding them tends to be magnificent as well.
I didn’t notice the pirate flag until I was processing the photo and it made a nice surprise. 🙂
I love it when I notice something new in a photo after the fact.
Great doors! I really liked the hardware on them, and I love those window boxes filled to the brim and over flowing with flowers.
Thank you Deborah. Their hardware and coloring really made them stand out.
The flower boxes added such a beautiful touch. I need to dig through my photos, but I think I have a shot of windows brimming with flowers from Paris.
Wow what a sensory overload of wonderful doors in the post.The pale blue one with the black hardware stood out for me, but frankly they are all magnificent. And of course “Bedlam” is the cherry on the sunday 🙂
I love that you have recruited your mom and aunt in your hunt for doors!
I have family and friends pointing them out to me all the time now. It’s kinda of a fun thing to share 😀
Thanks Norm!
In a place where most were wooden or red, the blue stood out as quite magnificent. I would never have thought I’d see a door with “Bedlam”, definitely the cherry on top! 🙂
It is a fun thing to share with family and friends.
I have a “thing” for doors, and I love all your pictures! Beautiful!
Thank you so much!! I find doors to be quite fascinating now. 🙂
Wow, these doors are incredibly beautiful! Not to mention the buildings and architecture. I love the old world buildings. Thank you for sharing your little piece of the world.
Jo-Ann
Thank you! The buildings and architecture were quite stunning there. I couldn’t turn around without be amazed by the next building. 🙂
Love these doors!
Thank you! 🙂
Love these!! ❤️
Thank you! 🙂
Beautiful doors, thank you for sharing them.
Thank you!! 🙂
I love doors.
I’ve come to admire them so much more. 🙂
I love Edinburgh!wrote a post about it just few days ago 🙂
Edinburgh is truly a lovely city! <3
Love the doors!
Thank you! 🙂