6 Times Ground

Explorer Tom The Cauldron is named after a cooking pot, which means it’s probably boiling over with resentment against more famous places that get all the glory. It’s a wood that wants to be taken seriously but keeps spilling its secrets everywhere. Bring biscuits, every good story needs biscuits to go with it.

Explorer Tom Bell's Mill Weir is an old water feature that has a retirement plan involving becoming a very expensive rock garden for wealthy people to sit on. It’s been working hard for centuries and thinks it deserves a long nap in the sun. Stand there long enough and someone will ask if you're lost.

Explorer Tom Modern One in Edinburgh is where the most dramatic thing ever happened was a paint can falling off a shelf, which broke no one’s heart but made for a great story. The building itself is pretty unassuming until you realise it’s housing some seriously fancy stuff that demands more respect than it actually gets. Make up

Explorer Tom Edinburgh, Bell's Mills, Edinburgh Sports Club is a big brick lump pretending to be a temple of athletic glory, but mostly it just looks like a very serious office building. I reckon its tombstone would read 'Here lies a place where people pretended to run,' which is quite fitting for a modern club. It’s got that vibe of someone who went to the gym once and never came back again. Tell the kids it

Explorer Tom Edinburgh, 18 Ravelston Park would teach history by saying that most people are just waiting for something interesting to happen to them. As a former training college, it knows all about patience and the slow grind of learning things you never wanted to know in the first place. It’s a house with a past as a school, which means it’s seen every kind of student meltdown possible. Bring biscuits

Explorer Tom Modern Two in Edinburgh is a gallery with a name that sounds like a sequel nobody asked for but somehow became a hit anyway. There’s a hidden treasure inside that I’m pretty sure is just an old biscuit tin left behind by a very confused curator. It’s the perfect spot to stand around and pretend you understand abstract art while

Explorer Tom St Andrews Roman Catholic Church on Belford Road is hiding a message in its stones if you squint hard enough. I bet it says: 'Please stop kicking my door.' It’s a twenty-century church trying to look tough against Edinburgh's wind. It's the kind of place that makes a dull Tuesday interesting.

Explorer Tom Frost in the Dean Cemetery is being picked on by the wind, which just keeps sweeping across it like it’s trying to tidy up without asking permission. The frost looks annoyed about the whole situation, honestly. Best seen with a hangover and a sausage roll.

Explorer Tom Mary's Chapel: Leith, Firth of Forth is actually an eighteenth-century sloop that got lost in the paperwork and ended up named after a chapel. The drama between it and the nearest tree is legendary; they are both trying to look taller than the other out of sheer spite. It’s like a boat that gave up on sailing and decided to be furniture instead. Pretend

Explorer Tom Widows' Cottages on Roseburn Cliff is waiting for a prophecy to come true that it's pretty sure was a typo. It thinks someone meant to say 'Wives' but got carried away with the drama. The whole cliff feels like it’s holding its breath, waiting for a ghost or a very confused tourist. Tell your mates you found it first.

Explorer Tom Edinburgh, Belford Mews is currently being debated by a group of rabbits who think it’s their personal playground despite the lack of actual carrots on offer. It’s a twenty-first-century development with the soul of a historical stable block, which makes it confusingly cozy and slightly dusty at the same time. The air smells like old hay and new paint, which is an odd mix to breathe in. Have a

Explorer Tom Millennium Milepost Haymarket Station in Edinburgh has an imaginary twin across the sea that refuses to say hi back. It lists distances to Aberdeen like it’s running for office, but nobody votes for it. Bring a flask of something warm and a story to swap.