Here in Edinburgh, there's nothing we love more than to take in the sights of our beautiful capital by foot - especially on a lazy Sunday afternoon - but, believe it or not, there was a time when this could land you in jail.
In 1693, it was made a public order offence to do any work, domestic chores or unnecessary walking in the capital on the Lord's Day. The regulations even barred citizens from carrying more than one pint of water from the city's wells.
Edinburgh in these days was strictly Presbyterian and any disruption of the Sabbath by engaging in anything but worship was seen as sinful. As stated in Exodus 20:11, God rested on the seventh day after six days of work, and it was therefore concluded that the Sabbath should be a day only of rest and prayer.
READ MORE - TV's Mrs Hinch in hospital dash with son as 'something just didn't feel right'
Included in the long list of banned activities was the simple act of taking a walk down the street - and there were certain places in the capital where you weren't allowed to step foot whatsoever, or else you risked a fine or imprisonment.
According to the 19th century historian David Robertson, so worried were Edinburgh's God-fearing magistrates of Sabbath breakers, that it became an offence to walk on the Castlehill during the hours of 'Divine Service', unless you were on your way to church.
The reasons for barring people from walking Castlehill, which was one of old Edinburgh's main thoroughfares, were numerous.
Merchants would be stopped from entering the city via the Grassmarket and the West Bow, while the prohibition also prevented people escaping into Edinburgh's 'ruralities' and enjoying any form of leisure time around the banks of the Nor' Loch or through the pastures of Barefoots Park, which would eventually become the New Town.
Sign up to our Edinburgh Live nostalgia newsletters for more local history and heritage content straight to your inbox
But while Edinburgh's Sunday walking laws would eventually be relaxed, the capital would remain an extremely moral place well into the modern era.
In the 1860s, a debate raged about whether or not the Edinburgh public should be allowed Sunday access to the city's Botanical Gardens - much like their UK compatriots in London, where the Kew Gardens were fully open.
After all, it was argued, the 'plebs' could freely access the East Princes Street Gardens (West Princes Street Gardens were private in this era), or the 'gritty soil' of the Calton Hill, or the trim walks' of the Dean Cemetery. Why should one Edinburgh garden be a "tree of good", while the other was viewed as a "tree of evil"?
While the practice of walking on a Sunday was no longer against the law, Scotland, it seems, was very much more restricted than other Christian countries during this time, with the National Sunday League stating in 1862: "Walking on a Sunday - except in going to or from church or chapel - is a desecration of the day".
Sunday remains a day of rest in the Christian religion, but there is thankfully no longer a moral or legal obligation for the state to impose it as a rule on individuals.
Sure, there is still the odd shop that chooses to close on the Sabbath and many places and institutions observe reduced opening hours, but at least we're free to walk Castlehill and any other street for that matter.
Food for thought the next time you hear a fellow Edinburgh local complain that the shops at Cameron Toll are closing a couple of hours early on a Sunday.
READ NEXT:
Edinburgh landmarks shown in 12 old images that reveal how they looked over a century ago
The forgotten Edinburgh village that was wiped out for Waverley Station
53 amazing Edinburgh photos that'll take you right back to the 1980s
The creepy Edinburgh Wax Museum that 'scared local children witless'c
Edinburgh's lost amusement park that stood for more than 100 years
