Heart of Midlothian (Royal Mile)

For other uses of "Heart of Midlothian", see Heart of Midlothian (disambiguation).

The Heart of Midlothian is a heart-shaped mosaic, formed of coloured granite setts, located outside St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. It marks the site of the entrance to Edinburgh's Old Tolbooth, which was demolished in 1817. Sir Walter Scott would immortalise the Tolbooth in his 1818 novel The Heart of Midlothian, which centres on a girl who is wrongfully imprisoned there.

Locals will often spit upon the heart, an action which is said to bring good luck, though it may have originated as a sign of disdain for the executions that took place in the Tolbooth. The Edinburgh football team Heart of Midlothian F.C. takes its name from the mosaic.

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