Reciting the perambulations of a botanical investigator who ‘no more knows his destiny than a tea leaf knows the history of the East India Company’, actor David Dixon (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) searches Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens for the archival remnants of the extinct Commidendrum rotundifolium tree of the island of St Helena.

Download a poetic train of thought to accompany you through the streets of the city. Orpheus and Eurydice is a new site-specific text for Edinburgh, linking the capital’s unique topography with the meter of walking pace, and the classical myth of the underworld.

This is an audio recording of a live performance by Ruth Barker, as she recites her reworking of the classical tale Orpheus and Eurydice.

The story can be listened to anywhere, but was composed around a particular walk alongside the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, starting at Stills Gallery on Cockburn Street, the Hub of the 2009 Edinburgh Arts Festival.

If you wish to follow the route suggested by the artist, start the podcast at Stills and, crossing Cockburn Street, enter Advocate’s Close and follow the stairs to the High Street (the Royal Mile). Once on the Royal Mile, turn Right, and walk up the hill until you reach Wardrop’s Court (on your right), the scene of Eurydice’s death. Listen to this part of the story here, and exit when directed (at ‘I left this place’) through Lady Stair’s close, which is to the far left of the court as you enter. From here, cross the Royal Mile and turn Left to walk back down the hill for a few meters. Fisher’s Close is on your right hand side. Down Fisher’s close, turn right to walk along Victoria Parade, and follow the elevated street all the way to the end. Take the stairs down, and make your way onto Johnstone Terrace. Cross the street and turn left, down the hill. The story ends on the stairs at the side of Edinburgh Castle.

The walk takes around 16 minutes, the full duration of the text. Please note that the use of Edinburgh’s close’s and steps means that this walk may not be suitable for people of reduced mobility. As an alternative, we recommend listening to the performance in Wardrop’s Court (Lady Stairs Court), which is just off the Royal Mile (Lawnmarket), and home to the Scottish Writers Museum.