Where the
city began.

In 1380, the Netherbow Port stood guard at the foot of the Royal Mile — a stone gate, a porter's bell, a threshold between the burgh of Edinburgh and the burgh of the Canongate. Travellers paid their toll. Merchants announced their wares. Heads of traitors looked down from its spikes.

The gate was demolished in 1764. Its bell still hangs nearby. Its brass outline is set in cobblestones at our front door.

"Though the stone gate is gone, the spirit of welcoming travellers remains — only now we serve them coffee instead of charging a toll."