THE skies may have been grey and the roads torn up by roadworks, but one team of judges was able to see through it all to vote Edinburgh Scotland's most beautiful city.
The city council took the opportunity to give Beautiful Scotland judges a tour of the city during August's annual Festival roadworks ban, when the diggers took a welcome break, to demonstrate the city at its best.
Judges commented on the "very hig
h standard of horticulture and cleanliness, despite the poor weather and the pressure of tourism", and handed over the coveted City Award for the first time in the Capital's history.
Residents of one Wester Hailes' high rises were also feeling proud after scooping Beautiful Scotland's High Flats Village Trophy. The trophy went to residents of Hailesland Park, a community run project supported by the council.
The Beautiful Scotland campaign aims to discover the most clean, sustainable and beautiful communities in Scotland.
Among the features that convinced judges were Princes Street Gardens' floral clock, the new St Andrew Square Gardens and the continuing splendour of the Botanics.
David Jamieson, the city's parks and greenspace manager, said: "The renovation of St Andrew Square Garden has proved highly successful and work we have undertaken to invest in long-term tree health by carrying out a city-wide tree survey is also proving to have a positive impact.
"Other initiatives that gained points for us was the use of the City Car Club and hybrid cars at the council along with the Green Flag scheme that is used to rate the quality of our parks.
"The work of neighbourhood teams has also contributed to street cleanliness and the lack of dog fouling which has made an impact on our scores."
Council leader Jenny Dawe praised the hard work and dedication of the people who work all year round.
She said: "We are immensely proud of this important award and we are committed to keeping Edinburgh beautiful. I was delighted to have the opportunity to thank some of the staff and highlight some of the praise given to the city by this year's judges." The award means Edinburgh will now represent Scotland at Britain in Bloom, 2009.
The full article contains 371 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
